BRINGING ABERDARES TO OUR HOMES

Crucial role played by the forests in giving our national liberators hiding places during the freedom fight against the British Colonialists cultivates a culture of Environmental conservation in thousands of patriotic Kenyans. Most of them daring to grow trees anywhere within the Kenyan boundaries no matter the climatic conditions.

A good picture is being portrayed at Dedan Kimathi Village in Thome, an area in the Semi Arid Rumuruti ;Laikipia County. It is an ASAL area turning green as a result of sheer determination and thirst to create a heaven on earth.

In 2019 and 2020, Dedan Kimathi Foundation purchased a piece of land in the area and allocated a number of special cases of homelessness among some old freedom fighters. They further folded their sleeves and planted trees around the humble homesteads constructed for the needy beneficiaries.

Four years later, the village is all green. The residents are enjoying the cool environment, shade and less wind as the trees play their wind breaking role fairly well.

With a cooled environment and some rain, the locals are quickly turning the pastoralism land to rich crop production zones. Beans, maize, cabbages are among the crops the farmers are producing without breaking a sweat.

Defying all odds to grow trees in the area successfully assures Kenyans of a successful transformation of this nation to create more arable lands from the arid areas in existence. With this guarantee, it is now the role of each person to put at least 30% of their land under tree cover in line with the presidential call to 30% national tree cover by the year 2032.

By so doing, the tree cover will bring back rains, reduce wind destruction on structures, preserve biodiversity and increase food security through increased agricultural productions.