Marimanti Rural Training Center, Kenya

Farmers of MarimantiWoman with a mortar and pestleMarimanti Training CenterMarimanti fields and mountains

Tharaka District is located in the Eastern Province of Kenya and has a population of about 100,000 poor peasant farmers. Marimanti Center was established by the Methodist Church in Kenya in the 1960s to provide training to these communities, increase their production, and raise their standard of living.

Vista Hermosa provided a 3-year grant from 2002-2004 to rehabilitate the colonial-era facilities, purchase computer equipment, and install a solar power system. With these upgraded facilities, the Center pursued their goals to train over 400 farmers per year in crop production, disease and pest control, intensive kitchen gardens, organic farming, livestock production, soil and water conservation, nutrition, family life education, and government policy on agricultural production. They established demonstration plots and tree nurseries (Acacia, Neem, mango, orange, pawpaw, banana), expanded their honey refinery for income generation, and established a seed bank for farmers.

From 2005-2008, we provided grants to construct new dorm facilities and a larger kitchen and dining facility. With these modern facilities, the center can now house more farmers from distant communities and earn income by renting the facilities out and catering to other NGOs for trainings and events.

Currently, we are providing funding to complete a water sedimentation basin so that the center can draw water from the nearby river, use it for irrigation, and purify it for drinking water.