My Happy Place

Growing up in East Africa, Kenya, a Country rich in minerals and predominant in an agricultural ecosystem. Farming ultimately becomes second nature to you. From the tranquility of the Countries red soil to the wildlife and the authenticity of organic foods, everyday feel like a breath of fresh air.

My Mother was no exception when it came to farming. While residing in the Village, the equivalence to the countryside, she would wake up at wee hours of the night to attend to her farms and domestic animals daily. The commitment, dedication, and passion she had for farming was unbelievable. She woke up diligently daily between 4am-5am without relying on the roosters’ crow. You see back then alarm clocks were not a necessity nor did people have that luxury. We solemnly relied on the Rooster crowing early in the mornings to indicate it was 6am.

Watching my mother create a living primarily through farming, made me form an interest in the idea. I formed a passion for farming from a young age and often followed my Mother to her farms to learn the techniques. Initially she would chase me away for being too young but with time she grew to accept my interest in farming. I liked the idea but did not like the concept of waking up so early daily, so in due time I got burnt out from waking up so early.

Even though my commitment deteriorated, my passion for gardening and farming was still intact. I strategized and came up with a solution that would benefit me in my farming journey without losing sleep daily. I managed to convince my Mother to give me a small portion of her land by proving my commitment to taking care of it. She agreed under one condition, she gave me a portion of land that was not ploughed and insisted I plough it myself to prove myself. I was not allowed to seek help from her workers nor anyone else, or else she would take the land back. I did just that, ploughed the land for a week and went on to grow my first vegetables in the midst of a drought season.

Come to think about it, the First 1,000 Shillings I ever made was from Gardening. Back then 1000/KSh was a lot of money; so, at 10yrs old, I felt rich temporarily. My Mother often emphasized on the joy of reaping your hard work and money. And I felt that joy, from the money I made selling my vegetables to the locals. I Loved Gardening so much that my Mother decided to extend my contract for the small portion of land I had received, as well as increase the size the following season. And instead of going with the Flow, I chose to plant Collard greens instead. Everyone Condemned my garden saying it would never make it. Drought season was coming, and most cash crops did not survive the drought season. Well, long story short, my veggies did survive and sustained Nyakachians during that drought season. Due to the Shortage of vegetables/greens, at the time; I sold my veggies to the locals and made my first entrepreneurship money. and from that day, a hobby/passion for gardening was born.

Generally, my hobbies are diverse and ranges from cooking, health and fitness, and any outdoor activities. But most importantly, my passion is in Gardening. Gardening has so many health benefits, it is a stress reliever. I consider gardening to be Therapy to my Soul, so you can always find me outdoors, in the garden holding a garden-hoe and ready to plough. I currently grow my own produce which I enjoy cooking with daily. This concept has helped me cut back on produce expenses all year long and encouraged me to eat more organically. With the ongoing pandemic, we must be health conscious of everything we are consuming and who/where is handled. I recently extended my garden beds to 3 garden beds. To help minimize space, I used Oldcastle bricks to connect the wood frames that forms the garden beds. They are slightly pricy but it curbs the need to manually plough each garden. I also placed a weed barrier on the bottom of each garden to curb weed growing inside the garden bed. I use a combination of topsoil, cow manure, and mulch to help enrichen my soil and keep plants moist. I maybe many miles away from Kenya but the concept for gardening/farming is still the same. Gardening has not only helped me sustain a healthy lifestyle, but also inspired me to keep my Mothers Legacy. She taught me everything I know about farming and took a chance on me from an incredibly young age. I have been able to combine my gardening passion with my hobby for fresh homemade foods. As a result, I went on to create a cookbook last year using my flavorful recipes from my organic Garden bed. My long term-goal is to use the proceeds from the cookbook to jumpstart my Non-profit Organization in Honor of my late Mom in the near future. As well as inspire others to invest their time and energy in gardening. It is an activity the whole family can take part in while staying healthy and eating healthy as well.