[Image]From mangrove loggers and hunters and gatherers, native and minority residents of Lamu are now turning to farming.The Boni minority community has adopted the new lifestyle to save themselves from looming hunger.They are traditionally hunters and gatherers who have for decades depended on the Boni forest for survival.Their livelihoods were, however. shattered and their lifestyle forever altered after the government declared the Boni forest a no-go zone.This following the commencement of the Linda Boni security meant to flush out al Shabaab militants believed to be holed up within.The operation is still underway, meaning the Bonis cannot access the forest to hunt and gather food.Similarly, the native Bajuni community, who have practised mangrove harvesting for decades, have equally abandoned the trade and embraced farming.The community's livelihood was disrupted following a nationwide logging ban between 2018 and 2019.However, with huge support from the Red Cross Society, more than 600 farmers from the two communities have received incentives that have enabled them to reap handsomely this planting season, with many reporting bounty harvests.Areas that benefitted from the initiave include Ndau and Vipingoni, Mangai, Basuba, Pandanguo, Bodhai-Junction, Milimani and Mararani.Rumi Mohamed, chairperson of the Ndau Island Mangrove Loggers Association, said farming has provided a guarantee for adequate food supply and proceeds from the sale of surplus produce.Crops grown and harvested in bulk include cassava, simsim, bananas, cashew nuts and coconut.“The logging ban left us in a really bad place that was hard to come out of,” Mohamed said.“We are however grateful to the Red Cross for helping us out of that situation by teaching us farming and providing all the necessary support.”Vipingoni village logger-turned-farmer Ali Bana said the bounty harvest was both a shocker and an encouragement that the community can still do farming and succeed.Boni hunter-turned-farmer from Mangai village Ali Abdalla said the community had received adequate training and drought-resistant seeds from the Red Cross, which had enabled them to reap in plenty.“We are talking about harvesting 20 bags of maize and cassava per acre. It's immense and we are glad for the support,” Abdalla said.Kenya Red Cross Society Lamu branch coordinator Kauthar Alwy said the society came up with the initiative to empower the mangrove loggers to embrace modern farming.This was in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross."It's a programme called Economic Security Project. Its main objective is to ensure food security among communities," Alwy said."We started with 100 farmers but as we speak, at least 635 have benefited from the various training and other agro inputs that have subsequently resulted in bounty harvests."She said those who were assisted are mainly mangrove loggers, hunters and fruit gatherers in both Lamu East and West subcounties. The objective was to also open up strategies through which more farmers will be assisted to be more productive across Lamu."We will continue to provide agroinputs, tools and training to farmers here so they can plant and harvest even during tough climatic conditions like drought," she said. BY THE STAR
posted by Breaking Kenya news at 10:36 on 18 Jun 2022
"Native lifestyles ditched as Lamu takes up farming"
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