Before

Mitedi is in the Nguu Tatu hills on the north coast of Mombasa, Kenya.  Children represent half of the population and the adults are predominantly women as the men are working in urban parts of Mombasa and are only allowed to visit during their days off.

Mitedi’s land was barren and heavily eroded from years of deforestation.  The soil was rock hard with little vegetation due to the poor quality of the soil.  Their homes were simple mud or cloth structures with woven grass roofs.  The closest source of water was a 4 hour round trip by foot, making it difficult to have sufficient water for household use, let alone irrigate any plants.  In late 2007, the Mitedi women formed a self help group and approached Haller for assistance.

Now

In less than 2 years of working in partnership with Haller, Mitedi has started to rehabilitate their land which has enabled them to have food and water security.  Mitedi has 6 rain-fed dams, a well, a variety of nutritional crops, fish and chicken, using our integrated fish aquaculture system.  The children attend a community nursery school with an adjacent outreach medical centre which provides weekly clinics, immunisation and health workshops.  A biogas digester and solar power provides energy for cooking and light for the community centre.  They have also started micro-businesses with the surplus of energy and crops to provide an income.  These initiatives have enabled them to break the poverty cycle they had previously faced and provide a more self-sufficient and sustainable life for their future generations