Read about Finn’s Impact on Nasio’s Livelihoods’ Projects

Hello, my name is Finn Gauden, and I have recently completed a month volunteering with The Nasio Trust in western Kenya.  During this month, I have been carrying out research into the agricultural support programmes run by Nasio and investigating potential next steps and improvements.

I arrived at the Nasio guesthouse to a very warm welcome on my first evening, before being shown to my room and given an excellent meal of rice and chicken. The next day I got the grand tour of the property and ongoing projects before meeting the wonderful people I would be working with. Nasio runs a wide range of projects across health, education and sustainable livelihoods, working to improve the lives of people in Mumias West. As a result, there is an incredible and bustling atmosphere with something always going on to get involved with.

For my research, I was working with the agriculture department at Nasio, reviewing the projects they are involved with. Throughout this process, I was looking for ways to improve these programmes and help them take the next steps towards success. The first stage of this was getting to know the work Nasio is doing around agriculture in this region, both on their own land and supporting others. These include a dairy and vegetable farm used to provide school meals and sold to support Nasio’s other activities. There is also a spirulina farm producing the superfood algae to help counter malnutrition in the region.

Off Nasio property, support is provided to farmers in the form of training, seeds and other inputs for 0.25 acres. This allows farmers to learn about and implement sustainable agriculture practices to increase yields and improve soil quality. Additionally, there is a Young Farmers programme supporting children in schools to learn about and practice vegetable gardening.

These were the programmes I was particularly interested in, and I spent the next two weeks interviewing farmers and students to find out how they experienced the programmes and the challenges they were facing. I found this incredibly valuable and learnt huge amounts about rural life in western Kenya as well as the agriculture that supports it. During this process, I had the fortune to meet many amazing people and work alongside some of them. Seeing what they were doing to support the community was truly inspiring and highlighted the amazing work that Nasio has been able to accomplish.

I took these interviews, and the information I gathered from them, and combined it with my own knowledge from my background in international development to produce some ideas for solutions to challenges faced by farmers and the Nasio programmes. These recommendations were also heavily influenced by members of the agriculture team at Nasio, whose ideas and input were central to my final decision-making. I then produced a report, detailing my findings and including my recommendations for future changes to the agriculture programmes at Nasio. I presented this report to Nasio staff at the end of my visit, outlining the challenges I had identified and the recommendations I was making.

This was an amazing experience that will stay with me forever. I learnt an incredible amount about life and work in western Kenya that will influence me personally and professionally for a long time and I hope to get the chance to return soon!