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Three out of Three!

REAP has won the top prize for each category that they entered at the Kisumu Show this year.

REAP came first in Best Small Trade Stand, Best NGO and Best stand in Environmental Management. The first two had been won in previous years but the third was particularly noteworthy since it was competing with large well resourced organizations.

Cries of ‘unfair’ overruled

When the winners were announced there was a protest and in the evening a delegation from the organizers checked on whether the awards had been fairly allocated.
When they were taken round the stand and REAP’s environmental emphasis was clearly explained they were left in no doubt that the award was well deserved.

Using Rubbish

Representatives from the stands that came second and third in Environmental Management also visited the REAP stand and confirmed they were fairly beaten.

What clinched the decision was a display of rubbish, as seen on so many streets, from which the environmental hazards were pointed out. Then REAP had displayed how the rubbish could be reused. Items such as bottles, plastic bags and bottle tops were shown as valuable resources for much of REAP’s teaching.

Ropes for Plastic Bags

One method of recycling that REAP has found to have particular appeal has been the making of ropes from plastic supermarket bags.

Another example is the use of 2 litre plastic bottles. These can be used for spraying animals or for hand washing.

Natural medicines is the other major teaching of REAP that is achieving huge interest at the moment. Many people have suffered from the very dry first half of the year, but REAP has still managed to supply plants to those who need them.

Vetiver grass hedges that have been established in most places where REAP has contacts are showing their benefit in erosion control and water conservation.

Below, Wilamina, Domitilla and Margaret are making a mattress out of old plastic supermarket bags.

PRAYER POINTS

• For a new source of income to replace the Samaritan’s Purse Grant that came to an end this year.
• For those who have suffered from the lack of rains in Kenya where the draught has had devastating consequences.
• For the swift completion of acquiring a plot of land that REAP has found near Kisumu.
• Praise for the public success of many of REAP’s ideas.

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Vetiver Grass gains ground!

The recent heavy rainfall, following an unusually dry season, has brought huge amounts of soil down the slopes. A lot of small farmers have found that the quality of their soil has been severely depleted.

However, this was good news for REAP worker George, because he had planted a hedge of vetiver grass round his land.

Fellow farmers had seen how hard George worked taking extra cuttings of Artemisia when the long dry season caused many source plants to flower early.

Then the heavy rain swept soil down the hillside from the plots higher up the slope, but George’s vetiver hedge stopped it going any further and buried all his cuttings under a foot of silt.

George’s anxious neighbours came round to commiserate, because they could see his hard labour had been destroyed. This gave him an ideal opportunity to assure them of how pleased he was to have gained so much fertile soil – a far more valuable asset!

Sam has been very active this year in planting out more vetiver grass nurseries, so there is enough to plant significant contour hedges on a number of farms.

Taking a stand at the Kakamega Show

This year REAP had a small stand at the Kakamega Show which was held at the end of May.

This was mainly manned by REAP contact people from Western Province, assisted by REAP staff!

The stand was much smaller than the one at Kisumu so it just focused on Natural Medicines, but still stimulated a lot of interest and established good contacts.

Indian Christians helped

The week of training for eight people from Help a Child India at Ukweli Pastoral Centre near Kisumu was an encouragement to all.

REAP’s teaching on natural medicines was almost all new to them and they were very keen to learn the Biblical perspective.  Local churches also found encouragement as they had only known Hindu and Muslim Asians!

Nairobi office becomes an information hub

REAP’s Nairobi office is a busy place… a constant stream of  people come to discuss natural medicines and buy literature, whilst it’s small nursery to the rear has recently supplied plants to Sudan and India as well as to different groups in Kenya.

PRAYER POINTS

Thanks that interest in REAP teaching is expanding so that demand for workshops is greater than can be met by the present number of staff.

For insights into how REAP can focus more effectively on teaching against materialism, which often inhibits the effectiveness of spreading REAP’s teaching.

For another year of success at the Kisum Show in August.  The extended garden area is now proving to be a good nursery resource, although further land is needed and obstacles to the purchase of land need to be overcome swiftly.