Until one day as I was watering my mangoes and avocado seedings I noticed a tomatoes plant sprouting near my mangoes and avocado seedlings. Then a thought to myself, let’s see what will happen, so I continued watering it along with my mangoes and avocado seedlings. Before long another tomatoes seedling sprouted, then another, then another, before I knew it I had tomatoes sprouting all over which I did not plant. Having tried to plant tomatoes and miserably failing in the past, I asked myself if this is something I really wanted to do. I figured why not perhaps there is a lesson to learn. Let’s see where this leads to.
Hi my name is Fostina FOSTINA last name Mani spelt MANI (www.fostinamani.com). I am the Global Trade Engagement Director at Betta Grains (www.bettagrains.com) am also the Founder of a market place called Mothers of Africa Mobile Soko (www.mothersofafricamobilesoko.com). I believe Africa can feed itself. I believe Africa can profit from agriculture trade. And that is why I am championing for an Agricultural Markets Revolution that favours Africa.
Well, the tomatoes seedlings grow taller than the mangoes and avocado seedlings rather quickly. Then I remembered someone telling me I should strap them on sticks so they can grow upwards. I thought to myself let’s do this. Before long, the tomatoes had outgrown the sticks, and I was running out of tall enough sticks and poles. Finally, I remembered seeing someone who was growing tomatoes in a green house, using plastic yarn. I thought to myself why not. How hard can that be? So I tied yarn across my small garden, the tied the tomatoes seedlings, I was not quite sure what I was doing, as you can imagine I broke a few, the yarn was not in any particular order, in other words it was messy, but I had actually harvest two tomatoes, and I thought to myself this is so cool.
Well, the tomatoes did grow, and kept on growing. What I had not realized was the few seeds from my chopping board had found their way into my small garden through my recycled kitchen water. I have never planted a single tomato seed. But my garden is overgrown with tomatoes, different varieties that come in different shapes and sizes. I have since become wiser because now I only cook with the tomatoes that look appealing, because that is what I want to harvest. I am slowly toying with the idea to moving into commercial tomato farming, especially since I have run out of space.
The tomatoes ignited an additional passion of playing around with different types of seeds. My son’s mother-in-law gifted me with very delicious passion fruits. The very rare and sweet passion fruits I used to enjoy as a child. Am used to eating passion fruits seeds and all, but I did not want the seeds going down the sewer drain. So, I decided to settle for passion juice instead, so I can save the seeds. I took the seeds and threw them on a soil that I had not planted anything. I did not know how to plant passion fruits, seeing the seeds were so many. The Nai busy gal I am I just threw them there and started dumping water on them as I continued to water my mangoes and avocado seedlings.
For a while nothing seemed to happen, but I just kept throwing water where I through I had thrown the passion fruit seeds. Until the rainy season started, and a few weeks in, my garden was full of passion fruits seedlings, there were so many some had even found their way under the tomato plants. I have always wanted to have a passion fruit fence. So, I planted some along my perimeter wall, both inside and outside but I still had more than enough. I may have shared how I have always wanted to have a fruit orchard in my previous episodes. Then I realized it was time to begin working towards that, before I knew it, I had started planning passion fruits in my village. I identified a small parcel of land that had been neglected, it was overgrown with bushes. However, it run along two water stream and had an amazing terrace of rock layers. I thought to myself why not go ahead and plant the passion fruit along the terrace to help strengthen the existing soil erosion terrace.
So off I ventured into passion fruit farming, the only problem was it was during the dry season, and both my husband and especially my mother-in-law did not seem to understand my logic. They gave me a lecture or two about how not to plant when it is not rainy season. However, seeing that I was raised in the city, they decided to humor my excitement and figured out I would soon find out for myself when my passion fruits dry up. In addition to the passion fruits, I also decided to plant mangoes, avocados, and pawpaw. I saw everyone’s one raised eyebrow, they simply had not seen my secret weapon, which was my kitchen water waste, not to mentions the very many plastic bottles I had been collecting, because as previously mentioned am extremely bothered by plastic bottles waste.
So, I planted my mangoes, avocadoes, and passion fruits. I had also carried water in plastic bottles, I was going to use the plastic bottles for drip irrigation by simply making a hole on the lid of the plastic bottle which I would turn upside down. One of the family workers was gracious enough to advice, me to also make very big holes at the bottom of the holes to prevent people from stealing the bottles to use in fetching water or buying milk. So, I made sure my seedlings had more than enough water, then proceeding to place my very simple native sense drip irrigation in placing, and off I returned to the city.
I was unable to travel to the village for about two weeks, however when I finally made it, much to my surprise the mangoes, avocados, and passion fruits were doing exceptionally well, despite the evidence of poor rainfall all around me, as most of the maize crop had started to dry up due to inadequate rainfall. My mother-in-law by then had stumbled on a TV program showing the use of plastic bottles in drip irrigation and self-watering plants. She was pleasantly surprised that my seedlings were doing very well. Having won her over, she decided she also wanted in on the passion fruit project, on the second trip she admitted she had tried growing avocadoes, pawpaw, and bananas but because there was no one to water them, so they had dried. I asked for permission to take responsibility for her seedlings which had started drying due to lack of water.
My story was not without failure, or should I say lesson learnt. I gave in to pressure to allow one of the workers to place the water bottles for me. However, seeing that he did not understand the logic behind the process, he sunk the water bottle far below the roots of the passion fruits, so the roots of the passion fruit seedlings were not able to reach the water. So, I taught him, and demonstrated, but also learnt, that I must always go over to ensure that the water bottles are well placed. I also incorporate the zai pits (planting pockets, or basins), so that water can last longer.
Africa is heavily dependent on rain feed agriculture, even though every homestead using a minimum of about 80 liters of water daily. Most of that water is used in the kitchen and in washing clothes. If each family would collect only 60 liters of kitchen waste daily, that is more than enough water to grow enough onions, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, and every type of food consumed in every homestead both during and after the rainy season. There is a myth that Africans believe. That soapy water will dry the seedlings. That is not true, I use both the water waste from both the kitchen and that used in washing clothes and am yet to see any seedling die. Did you know the water in Africa Urban cities dirty rivers especially Nairobi which contains all sorts of unmentioned wastes such as sewage is purified as the water pass through the ground, suspended particles and bacteria are removed. This purification process depends on the makeup of the soil in the riverbanks and the distance of the stream and river must travel. Flowing water can clean itself. Physical, chemical, and biological processes are all part of the self-purification ability of water.
I hope you have enjoyed my story, more importantly I hope to have planted a seed of encouragement, to cause you to look at your kitchen water waste, as something you can use, to start with a small kitchen garden, eventually into large commercial farming. Harvesting kitchen water waste is a habit like any other that must be developed. Start with one pot of dirty kitchen water, and one seedling…..
Thank you for listening to me. Please like, share and subscribe so we can together champion an agricultural markets revolution that favours Africa.
