VWB/VSF Student Project: Kenya

Nutriton Seminars at Wakulima

2009-09-02T22:57:00.000-07:00

Aug 27

Today was the first day of nutrition seminars. Micronutrient deficiencies, coined as ”Hidden Hunger”, are prevalent in developing countries world wide. Vitamin A, Zinc, Iron and Iodine are the key nutrients of interest for optimal mental and physical development and immunity(UNICEF). Food based strategies for combating Hidden Hunger include:

- increased consumption of dark green and orange fruits and vegetables (Vitamin A),

- increased consumption of animal source foods (Zinc and Iron),

- improving absorption of zinc and iron from vegetarian diets through reducing anti-nutrients in the diet by soaking beans prior to cooking and drinking tea two hours before or after a meal.

- Preparing nutritionally balanced porridge, using milk, for small children and nursing moms.

Together with nutrition information based on the Kenyan Food Pyramid, these are the key messages for our seminars.

Regina and Gerald has identified locations and I had identified farmers to attend, taking ½ from each membership group, selected randomly except where interviewees were living very close together. In the latter case, the group of 2 or 3 members were selected for August or January seminar. Sam, Hilda, Regina and I had prepared, translated and copied a Family Nutrition Fact Sheet, and recipes and planting and harvesting directions for the traditional, drought tolerant, leafy greens. Francis (our house chef) was up at 4:30am to finish cooking the soaked maize and beans into githeri, and then into fried githeri as well as prepare pumpkin chapati and a mixed dish of managu, terere, and mafake (all traditional leafy greens).

Sam and I picked up Regina (research assistant extrordinare) and Hilda (nutritionist) at 8:30 and headed into the hills to the coffee factory for the first seminar. Several women from 'far' were already there and people trickled in until about 10 am when we started. Hilda is a very good adult educator, engaging everyone with her questions, laugh and antics driving home key messages of family nutrition and combating Hidden Hunger.

People were very happy with the seminar and asked alot of questions, wanting Hilda to stay and talk longer so they could learn more. I of course want to see the knowledge in action, come January, so we stopped according to our schedule and had our food tasting session, presenting some of the ways that each family can combat Hidden Hunger in their homes.

The food samples were a hit and people were very surprised that the beans were soaked, that it was dried maize that was so soft and tasty, that the traditional greens tasted so good and that there was mashed pumpking in the beautiful chapatis!

During the interviews most women interviewees reported knowledge of soaking beans but did not practice as it “reportedly” impaired the taste of the githeri. Traditional, drought tolerant leafy greens have a `poverty` perception thus farmers tend toward kales and chard despite these crops needing more water and being less pest resistant. We were told that “city folk” in Kenya are moving back to these traditional greens so in addition to eating them from their own farms, there may be an income opportunity from these greens as well.

They were appreciative of the Family Nutrition fact sheet, the seeds and directions for the Traditional greens (terere, managu, saget, and clotalaria) and for the cooking oil. The seminar began with a prayer, finished with a song and ended with another prayer. Many thanks were given to Farmers Helping Farmers and to the supporters of this project for the information and gifts.

Over the course of four seminars in two days, only 3 families of the 58 invited failed to show up for the training.

Tasting foods prepared to enhance family nutrition

2009-08-31T07:50:00.000-07:00

We have successfully completed nutrition seminars with selectedWakulima Dairy members. Include in the seminar was tasting githeri prepared by pre-soaking beans to reduce anti-nutrients, tasting chapatis prepared with added mashed pumpkin to enhance Vitamin A and other nutrients, and a taste of 'spinach' prepared using a mixture of drought tolerant Traditional Leafy Green vegetables. Everyone was delighted and suprised by the good flavours of the food. I am looking forward to the follow-up survey in January to see if this knowledge is in practice. More story to follow when I deal with some minor computer challenges!

2009-08-21T10:41:00.000-07:00

2009-08-21T10:32:00.001-07:00

2009-08-18T20:55:00.000-07:00

Survey work is off to a great start!

2009-08-18T20:42:00.000-07:00

In fact, we have administered almost 80 surveys! We are interviewing dairy farmers from all over the Mukerwe-ini district, and the scenery is just amazing.

Colleen and I arrived in Kenya, only a few hours late, and a few bags short. We spent only a day in Nairobi before heading out to Nyeri area where we would set up home for the next 4 weeks. After a minor collision with a matatu on the road out of Nairobi, we arrived in Mukerwe-ini a mere 5 hours behind schedule, but have had a pretty good run of luck since our arrival.

Our daily schedule has mainly consisted of interviewing between six and eight farmers, in two teams. The roads and terrain have made logistics a challenge, but the local research assistant here has an uncanny knack of knowing where every farmer lives, and about how long they have been members of the Wakulima Dairy Ltd. We end the interview with a deworming of their cows, and head off to the next farm. Since there is a 24 hour recall as part of this survey, there is usually a bunch of laughter when we ask them to get out their pots and pans so we can measure them (to determine recipe yields). It will be interesting to see how correlations work out – to see if high milk production and long term membership is able to penetrate to the level of the families own nutrition.

More to come!

~Lisa

Wukerwe-ini, Kenya
2009

August 19th, 2009

Interviews underway

2009-08-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

Lisa and I have now been in Kenya for over a week and with the skilled assistance of Samwel Mbugua and Regina Gachuru, have interviewed almost 30 farmers regarding their socioeconomic position, food security, and dietary intake. As a thankyou for their time we have dewormed an equal number of dairy cows using a pour-on anthelminthic. We are well supported by the Wakulima Dairy Ltd. Getting the cooperation of over 100 farmers having zero to over 10 years as members of the dairy group to cooperate with the research.

To gain the detailed understanding of the diet we have had to become familiar with many previously unfamiliar foods such as roasted maize and 'githeri'. In this picture we are conducting an interview meanwhile being treated to Kenyan style tea, chapatis and roasted maize. We computed the edible portion of the maize in from this activity.

Florence Hombera and Lisa with Molly after a successful Dawa ya minyoo (deworming) treatment. In behind are two pumpkins that the family graciously gave us following the meeting. The people we have met have greeted our many questions with a gracious openness and their kindness and sharing is something that always leaves me in awe.

the project in general

2009-04-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

Lisa and I are excited to travel to central Kenya later this year. We will conduct a nutrition and socio-economic status cross sectional survey of members of a. The vet interventions have improved milk production and reproduction. The project will better establish the benefits to the members from dairy co-op membership and if this impacts their family's nutrition.