Kenya—Africa
Odede Village
Kenya
Odede
ODEDE—KENYA
Nam Lolwe (Lake Victoria) Community Co-operative Society
OVERVIEW
WHERE
The Ochienga District (population approx 10,000 and area of about 52sqkms) is on the
Uyoma Peninsula of Lake Victoria, Kenya. It lies directly opposite Kisumu across the same
Lake
Kisumu is one of Kenya’s largest provincial towns with an airport and is by road one and half
hours away.
World Youth International (WYI) identified Odede, one of 11 villages in Ochienga, as the
appropriate centre piece to implement a critical community needs project for the benefit of
the whole District.
Odede is on the shores of Lake Victoria, the second largest fresh water lake in the world but
the water is highly polluted and most native species of fish have been eaten out since the
introduction of Nile Perch.
Climate Conditions
Receives an average of 1100mm per year. This rain is in two seasons. The long rains fall in
the months of March to June with the peak in April. Short rains come in the months of
September and October. The long dry seasons set in November through to February.
It’s a convectional rainfall being under the direct influence of the lake. The rains however are
accompanied by strong winds, thunder and lightening and usually occur in the afternoon
hour.. Occasionally accompanied by hailstones, the rains are heavy down pours and fall for a
short time lasting about 10-15minutes.
The rain distribution is however very erratic, predicting the rains has become difficult. Either
it comes early and ends early or comes late and ends sooner. When this happens, a long
period of dryness happens. The farmers thus are left with a very poor harvest and because
of these conditions they are restricted to one crop per year.
Life Line
Main Road - The main road is about 3km away from the village. (Is in very good condition.
Completed 2009) The access tracks that cris cross the village are used only by bicycles.
Electrification - Electricity is not yet available to the population but is running on high voltage along the main road. There are plans by the government under rural electrification to
bring electricity to the village.
Water - The main water source is from Lake Victoria and a small pond. All of this water is
contaminated and is the cause of many illnesses and deaths. There is a Government Pipeline
that runs alongside the main highway, however this source is not utilised to its potential due
to cost.
WHO
The people of Ochienga belong to the Luo tribe (President Barack Obama father was a Luo
tribesman-born and buried 40 km away)
In the main they barely survive by engaging in peasant farming, some very small scale fishing and some minor local trading, mainly agriculture based. They live in family groups
(clans). These clans live in secure compounds and typically can consist of anything from 20
to 50 plus people.
WHY
Whilst having lived and worked with the people of Odede, it became very apparent that an holistic or wider approach needed to be undertaken, not only to turn this grave situation around
but to make it a model for future projects world wide. Poverty has destroyed their willingness to
trust each other and support each other. A committee was formed and the following critical aspects were addressed.
•
The vision of a society where cooperation and a feeling of well being abounds.
•
An organised democratic structure that empowered all its participants nurtured independence and entrepreneurialism while at the same time brought together all resources for
the betterment of all.
•
A HELP UP not a HAND OUT approach which fostered accountability and incorporated
an exit strategy whereby the community will be in control of their own destiny.
•
Make wise choices. Find an effective balance between short term and long term goals. In
essence striving to nurture sustainability, make intelligent decisions to ensure that the individual interests are respected but the benefits are for all.
The view of the committee is that if these objectives can be met all the desired social benefits
will follow, specifically the committee concluded that the formation of a Co-operative Society
was the only way to protect the weaker section of society and to promote the economic interests of the people. The committee took notice of the reasons why cooperatives fail and are determined to make sure these aspects are addressed from the outset. 2012 is the Year of the
Co-operative !
A NEW BEGINNING—REGISTRATION OF OUR CO-OPERATIVE—JANUARY 2012
BIRTH OF THE BARTER SYSTEM
WOULD YOU WORK FOR NO PAY
EVEN IF YOU CAN SEE
WHAT WAS AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL?
THE PEOPLE OF ODEDE WORK FOR NO PAY
THEY HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED
WHAT COULD BE AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL !!
They spend every spare moment trying to find ways to get food to feed their families
at the same time working on the projects.
Through the resources of World Youth International, Alex Amino, an African Facilitator and the assistance of Marilyn and Michael Chambers, together have been instrumental in forming the Lolwe
Community Co-operative in the village of Odede, Kenya. An amazing feat !
WHAT DID WE HAVE? - Nothing / Poverty
WHAT WE NOW HAVE! - We have achieved:
Child Rescue Centre has been completed – This is a home whereby we
rescue the most vulnerable children aged between 3yrs – 6yrs, rehabilitate them
along with their families and return them as soon as we can. We believe that
children belong with families and not in institutions.
Goat Breeding Programme has commenced - Yes we have the biggest
Goat Farm in Kenya with 100 local goats that will be crossed with the German
Alpine breed. This project will produce goat’s meat, milk and many more byproducts. There are 4 Purebred Bucks and 4 Purebred Does
Horticulture has commenced – Passionfruit Farming and Tissue Culture Bananas. We have planted 3 acres of Passionfruit and have over 100 Tissue Culture Banana Plants. The Men, Women and Youth each have 1 acre that they
care for and will assist each group to develop further. All crops are watered by a
Solar Wheelbarrow that we pump from Lake Victoria, the second largest fresh
water lake in the world.
Fair Trade Craft Industry has commenced - We have produced items for
export to Melbourne ie Stuffed animals, the cutest Angels you ever did see, key
rings and many more to come.
Reusable Sanitary Towels has commenced - This has been a Youth initiative whereby they have produced a reusable Sanitary Towel. The reason is that
many girls miss school due to not having appropriate hygiene items along with
women also missing many things in their life for the exact reason. Together we
developed an excellent reusable towel that I know will be a huge success. This
picture shows the male youths learning about Sanitary Towels from myself.
Eco Forestry Seedling Nursery has commenced - This is a Youth initiative
that is developing due to the destruction of all trees within the area for the use
of producing charcoal and wood for fires for cooking. Within a 5 month period
the Youth will have thousands of seedlings for sale along with developing educational programmes for the awareness of their environment. We have run 2
workshops with both men and women covering these very controversial issues.
Community Clinic and Family Planning Programme has commenced - We currently run a clinic which is sustained by the Women’s
Group. This is the temporary building. being used until our official Clinic is
built in 2012. A fee of 20 shillings is paid weekly by each woman and this
money goes to paying wages of the Nurse and the purchase of drugs. We
also run a Family Planning Clinic that encourages women to talk about planning their families ie implants, tubal ligations, condoms and general discussions with their husbands.
Access Road through the village of Odede has been completed Due
to all the activities within the village, the local Council chose us as one of
the very few villages to get an access road. This will enable trucks to access
our Horticulture crops along with other industry proposed for the village.
Eco Toilet has been completed – This toilet has been introduced within
the Child Rescue Centre whereby we separate the Urine from the Solid
Waste. We compost the Solid Waste with Green Mulch or Ash after each
use. Once the drum is full it is exposed to full sunlight and rolled each day.
This will break down over a period of 4-6 months and will produce 100%
humus compost. The urine is diluted 5 parts to one with water and used to
water our vegetable garden. This is currently in use and producing the most
amazing vegetables you ever did see.
This is Barack in our Shamba
Shamba (Vege Garden) is producing
We currently are growing, cabbages, tomatoes, beans, corn, spinach, egg
plants, butternut pumpkins, sakumawiki (spinach), onions, carrots, herbs.
Motor Vehicle. A vehicle has been purchased to ferry groups to educat
ional seminars & training, emergency use, general transport for volunteers
and will be used for transporting International Travellers to the Eco Village.
Also used for transporting stock for our Co-operative Shop.
WHAT DO WE NEED? - Injection of Funds.
As you can see for yourself we have commenced the most important part of any development,
The Projects, however no one is being paid for their work. I know there will be funds at the
end but consider that this is the first time these people have ever experienced any form of development. For them to contemplate what would be at the end of each project is far beyond
their imagination. That is why we have developed the BARTER SYSTEM. People get paid with
food……………...yes the most basic but an essential part of any families life to survive.
This is how it will work !
$1.12 per day to feed a family
The “BARTER”
System
THE ‘BATER’
SYSTEM
Employment - 20 families
Employment
! – 20
Families
1 Bag of Maize
Flour
= $42
THE40kg
‘BATER’
per day toSYSTEM
feed 20 families
4 x bags per
= $168
Employment
! –week
20 Families
1 days work = 2kg Maize Flour
To feed 20 families
for 6 months
$4,032
$1.12 per day per family
The Barter System
How it will work !
Firstly as mentioned we require an injection of funds to commence the Co-operative Shop
which will initially be stocked with Corn Maize, an important staple part of an African families
daily diet.
At the end of each working day, 1 person from 20 families will receive 2kg of maize as payment
for their days work.
The 20 people employed will work the 3 acres of Passionfruit, 100 Tissue Culture Bananas, 50
Goats for our goat breeding programme and the Eco Forestry Nursery.
The injection of $4032 is for a period of 6 months only whilst their crops grow and mature and
commence producing income. The funds received from all the projects will be injected back into
the Co-operative to establish the ongoing system of payment of food for a days work.
This system has the potential to provide ongoing payment for all work in all future projects generated within the village. It has the potential of paying school fees, hospital bills, clothing etc as
for each day worked a point system will apply and at the end of each day the points earnt can
be used to pay the relative bills as requested by the worker. The funds to do this are generated
by all projects. This is the future for these people to come out of poverty and will be a model to
the world.
This is the BIG picture but we have to start somewhere.
So consider being a part of something unique, something that will change the lives of people in
poverty along with changing your life……………
we can change the world—together !
With your support, we can make a real difference to these people’s lives
http://Worldyouth.org.au/WorldYouth_Ecommerce_MakeDonation_CreditCard
In the section where you fill in your personal details, there is a box called
'Additional Details'. Here please write Marilyn’s projects. A Tax Deductible receipt
will be issued.
Marilyn Chambers
Alex Omino
Eco Tourism Village
Concept Plan
Odede is approximately 2hrs by public transport to a major city called Kisumu , 1hr by private
transport. Kisumu is the second largest city in Kenya and has now just had an upgrade to it’s airport to an international standard.
The Odede Cooperative Society is currently securing a piece of land to construct an Administration
Centre and to establish an Eco Tourism Village which will provide accommodation for World Youth
International volunteers and international travellers. This in turn will generate an income to the
people of Odede and develop true sustainability.
The Eco Village will give international travellers the opportunity to experience an authentic traditional African lifestyle. They will be entertained by the local community with songs, dancing, cooking, Eco Forestry walks, tours of the famous Lake Victoria, second largest freshwater lake in the
world, story telling and meet with the community at a local level.
Traditional Mud Hut
The village will consist of 8 Traditional Mud Huts. They will accommodate up to 4 people. Each hut
will have a cement floor and internal cement walls. The exterior will be traditionally coated in mud
and will have a traditional thatched roof. They will be furnished with 4 single beds, chairs and a
small table.
Abila—Meeting place
This will be a round building in the centre of the village that will accommodate guests for dining,
general relaxation, story telling and meetings. The facility will provide World Youth International
volunteers with basic cooking facilities for their private use. International guests will have all meals
prepared traditionally by the local women.
Eco Toilet Block—please see enclosed for details
There will be an Eco Toilet Block provided for all guests.
Shower Block
A shower block will be constructed utilising gravity fed fresh water. Water will be harvested from
the iron roof.
Shamba—(vegetable garden)
The Eco Village will produce all vegetables required to cater for guests. This will also give visitors
the opportunity to get their hands dirty and or pick their very own fresh vegetables.
Transport
Traditional Housing / Accommodation
Cost of Construction & Furnishing
$1,500
Solar Panel
$500.00
Abila
(meeting place)
Traditional Houses placed in a semi circle
to serve as accommodation for Volunteers
and International Tourists
ECO TOILET
The Solid waste is separated from the urine and stored in drums.
URINE
Urine is diluted 5 parts to 1 and used for fertiliser on the vegetable gardens.
SOLID WASTE
After each use, it is composted with Ash or Green Mulch. Once the drum is full it is
sealed, stored in full sunlight and rolled each day to break down the waste. Perfect
Humus Compost is produced within a period of 4—6 months.
Cost of Construction—$3,500
Rainwater is harvested
Drum Storage—also drum
storage is at the back of the
building for the urine.
A fibreglass mould is set
into the floor with a Urine
chamber and a Solid
Waste chamber that falls
into drums.
The People of Odede