Jon shares a few photos from his trip to Kenya with Send a Cow

In Western Kenya I was struck by just how effective some of the simplest ideas can be.  Take Send a Cow’s pass it on principle; kick-starting one small farm with the giving of seeds, skills and livestock sends waves of hope through villages as the newly-learned skills and yield are shared with neighbours, who then share with their neighbour and so on, until whole communities’ lives are changed for the better.

This is me (centre) with the Eluche women’s group in Mumias sub-county.  Some of the women have been diagnosed as HIV Positive but all work together on their farm, looking after each other’s children to ensure they’ll have food and shelter, whatever the future holds.

This Dairy Farmers’ Co-operative Society in Siaya was set up with Send a Cow, to ensure that local farmers always get a guaranteed fair price when selling their milk.

Even the simplest ideas, like this raised dish rack, help Send a Cow’s farming families stay healthy

Another genius idea.  Send a Cow shows farmers how to make a tip-tap, to promote good hygiene through hand-washing (you press your foot on the stick so that water pours from the bottle.  Simple!)

These raised beds are known as mountain gardens (crops grown on ‘mountains’ of rich compost sourced from other parts of the farm).  Keeping crops off the ground also prevents animal and insect infestations.

Members of the family oversee different sections of the farm.  Consolatta Massinde from the Pattu Women’s Group proudly showed me her chickens which were her main responsibility. 

Another brilliantly simple idea from Send a Cow; crops are planted below the eaves of a building to capture rainwater as it runs off the roof!

These keyhole gardens are fed from the top with compost from the farm. 

These school children watched as ‘Joy’ the cow was passed on as a gift between Send a Cow farmers providing milk and fertilising manure. This occasion brings together officials and women’s groups from all around the region who sing and dance in celebration.

Please help us kick-start yet more farms through our Cattle Drive so we can continue to help others through farming for many generations to come.  Donate here before the 30 June your donation will be matched by the government’s UK Aid Match scheme,

Thank you for your continued Cattle Drive support (and keep an eye out for a film of my trip.  I’ll be posting it on the blog soon….)

Jon Simon