My name is Muthoni Kamau. I am a graduate Student at Cornell University. I have a Masters in International Development from Cornell and about to wind up an MS in Adult Education and Extension. I am interested in Action Research that would enable women in developing countries utilize their Indigenous Knowledge to pull themselves out of poverty. I am a Ford Foundation Fellow. Back home in Kenya I am an activist for Human rights, Women Empowerment and a champion for good governance, especially of natural resources. I believe in empowering and entrusting an informed organized community to govern themselves and the natural environment around them, and the state facilitating this enterprise, hence my passion to organize the campaign to assist rural Kenyan women start and run community bakeries.
The Village Bakery
For families in rural Kenya to eat some bread or any baked goodies, it takes a visit to the town center, which for many rural folks is once in a blue moon, or a visit by their relatives or friends who live in Nairobi or other major city. Imagine people who watch wheat and other grains growing around them, sometimes they have some in their farms. The grain is bought at throw-away prices. The grain travels to the city for processing into flour, which is either sold as flour or baked into bread and other things, sold at exorbitant prices. What is worse, the villager can only afford the white bread, as the whole bread that is less processed and therefore more nutritious is unaffordable. Majority of rural folks are women and children, they work themselves to death, yet wallow in poverty as their drudgery work does not translate into incomes, nor is it usually recognized beyond their families. Sometimes even within the families running the house and working the land is still not recognized as work. This is why the idea of starting village bakeries is great! And this is just a start, with other projects that introduce jobs in rural villages by villagers producing and acting as the primary consumers for produced goods to follow.
Which village to start
This campaign is for Mukindu village in Rurii Location, Nyandarua District of Central Kenya. The bakery will be built next to the villagers’ dispensary, which is on community land.
Time frame
Between early December and March the building together with the biogas and rainwater harvesting systems will be built to ensure that the rains when they come in March will provide water for the bakery to run. Equipment and installations will be done by March once the building is completed. So beginning April the bakery should be up and running.
How it will be done
- There are rarely no buildings in rural Kenya villages where one can rent to start such projects as the bakery. But building one is simple and cheap, compared to the benefits the project will bring to the village. So step one will be to put up such a building, simple probably one major room and some storage room. With materials there are architects and constructors already willing to contribute to the venture by volunteering their expertise and time. The building will also include a biogas system, to fuel the kitchen! Women will bring animal waste and other garbage to make sure the biogas system produces enough gas for the bakery. It will also include installing a rainwater harvesting system, putting gutters around the house and if necessary extra clean surfaces, and installing a tank which will hold the water. The estimate for this is $15000
- Even with biogas there will be need to install some solar energy to help with running equipment and refrigeration. $4000
- Step three will be to install ovens, and some counters and other equipment.$5000
- Once the place is set the groups needs to purchase the initial ingredients. They will buy grain and mill at a local miller, even though it is still far from their bakery, but at least the grain will not have traveled to the main cities to the big millers. This will make it cheaper and also nutritionally richer. But the rest of the ingredients they will need will still come from the city. With time the bakery will make enough money for the group to start and run their own mill, which will be a blessing to the villagers as well because they will be able to mill their grain here as well. Packing the cooked items for sale will take some capital as well. Another $4000 is therefore needed for this.
Please join me in giving women and children in rural Kenya a right to eat fresh and locally baked bread, whole and otherwise to help improve their health, even as the bakery gives the women some income they direly need.
Other than your own contribution you could also let your friends, relatives and colleagues know about this campaign. If you are Kenyan or can travel to Kenya, and you have time and or expertise, please consider contributing the same to this campaign.