Day 12 - The Farmer in the Dell

Today was devoted to visiting the farm of Pastor Titus Kibet. We met Titus through Pastor Isaac when they were preparing for Joyce Strong to come to Kenya and speak during a women’s conference in 2011. I had the opportunity two years ago to visit with Titus and his family and was so impressed with everything he had going on at his farm I wanted Ellen to see it. I thought maybe it would give her some ideas for the cooperative.


When we arrived I first had to greet my little namesake whom I haven’t seen since a few months after her birth; she is now two years old. Little “Dawn-Dawn” as she insists on being called, is a bundle of energy and has a lot of determination! After greeting the other children (Gerald, Mary, and Ann) and Beatrice (Titus’ wife), we sat down to discuss his work. Farmers in Kenya are starting to realize that maize is not necessarily the best crop to grow since it requires six months from planting to harvest and is very susceptible to erratic weather. Farmers are now starting to look to growing other vegetables which they can grow and harvest in half the time, and then plant again. Titus also has chickens and dairy cows. The cows produce enough milk for his family, with a little besides which they sell for extra shillings. The chickens produce eggs for his family with others left over to take to market and sell. Then he took us to see their incubator which Beatrice had just built. (We’ll attach a picture after we get back to the States . . . it takes too long to download here!) Ellen and I were expecting to see a wood frame with chicken wire and some light bulbs for heat. What we saw was a brick cooking stove raised up off the floor with a space underneath that contained a holder for about a dozen eggs. The space was covered in the front with chicken wire and the chickens ran around underneath the “stove” being warmed by the cooking fire. It was BRILLIANT! Beatrice now goes to the homes of other women demonstrating how to build these “incubators” and receives payment for her knowledge!

We enjoyed Kenyan tea (with milk) and crepes while we talked about the mission of RUN, politics in Kenya, and many other things. Our time was over all too soon, but all the drive home I could see the wheels turning in Ellen’s mind – I can’t wait to see how what we saw today may play into the agricultural cooperative!