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| Jackson with son, Meshack |
Jackson is a farmer, businessman, and entrepreneur from rural
western Kenya. He is also a faithful Christian and a committed Mennonite church
member.
Last week we left Migori, drove about 10 miles west where we
left the paved road, took a gravel road to the right, a bit later took the
right fork, then we turned right onto a lane so narrow that both mirrors on the
car were rubbing the bushes on either side. About one mile in, we stopped at
the home of Jackson Okanya, a 33 year old Mennonite who lives with his wife and
young son on the same compound as his parents, 2 sisters and a younger brother.
It is a beautiful area, with rolling hills, fertile soil, and plenty of rain.
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| Pineapples among the banana trees |
In 2010, Jackson graduated from Daystar University in Nairobi
with a degree in community development. At the same time he was developing his
interest in agriculture. He was not new to gardening, having grown up in a
rural area where his family gardened for their own livelihood. But Jackson was
interested in learning more effective and efficient farming methods, so he
began visiting successful farms and attending seminars about various aspects of
agriculture.
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| Mature banana grove |
In early 2013, after working in Nairobi, including a few
months as office assistant for the Kenya office of Eastern Mennonite Missions,
Jackson returned to his home area to begin developing his dream. First he tried
to work through the local church, inviting church members to make a small investment
of time and money to start garden plots using better methods. But because of
Jackson’s education and outside contacts, some began to say that outside funds would
be available. The members stopped paying their fees because they expected help
from outside and the project failed. The outside funds had not been promised
and none were received.
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| Jackson in front of a new planting of bananas |
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| Jackson and his brother Samwel with the brick press |
When the project with the church failed, he asked his father
for several acres on his father’s farm to begin on his own. Using his limited personal
savings in the equivalent of US$20, he bought seeds and fertilizer, and, using
his own energy, cleared a small plot of weeds, and began his project. When he
harvested the produce, he reinvested the profits to expand the garden,
introduce new crops, and begin new projects. Today, about 3 years later, he has
about 3 acres where he grows cooking bananas, ripe bananas, papaya, passion
fruit, pineapples, mangos, onions, and greens for market, in addition to corn
and cassava for their family’s use. A flock of chickens gives eggs and meat. He
bought a brick-making machine to construct his own buildings and to sell to the
community.
Jackson’s vision is to expand to include better mangos, as
well as raising goats, pigs, dairy cows, and catfish. He wants to build facilities
to process his produce, such as packaging fruit, butchering and packaging
chicken and fish, and processing milk. He is exploring making flour from
bananas as an alternative nutrition supplement in hospitals. His 5 year plan is to train his younger brother
to manage the farm and Jackson will focus on developing the distribution and
marketing through his contacts in Nairobi and other cities.
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| Jackson, Joe, and father John Okanya |
Why is he doing it? Primarily because he sees it as a way to
serve the church and the local community. Not only does it provide food, it will
also provide employment and income for him and others. It will help the church,
as members will gain the ability to support the church financially. Jackson
also sees it as an opportunity to demonstrate that economic development is
possible without depending on outside resources to get started. It requires
vision, hard work, patience, and good management of resources. Jackson
considers his project to be practicing the gospel. Finally, Jackson knows he
has been blessed by God, and he wants to share his blessings with others,
whether it is produce or an example of what is possible with vision and hard
work.
