The ARK Shamba - Farming God's Way

A shamba is a small plot of land that serves as a family farm, usually growing staple foods like maize and beans that the family can eat and sell. A Rocha Kenya has recently acquired a shamba near the town of Gede, which is meant to function as a demonstration plot for a method of conservation agriculture developed specifically for Africa, called "Farming God's Way."

Basically the method consists of modeling a farm after a forest, meaning no tilling, high levels of nutrient cycling, leaf litter/mulch, and biodiversity (crop rotation). But it puts a lot of emphasis on the spiritual aspects of farming as taught in the Bible: acknowledging God and God alone, tithing, praying over the land, etc. It's a pretty neat program and I'm enjoying learning more about it through our weekly monday afternoon workshops/bible studies.

Recently I got to visit our shamba with a couple of Islamic teachers who are interested in this method of Farming God's Way.

It was great to talk to our muslim brothers about creation care and the transforming power of combining Biblical, spiritual truth with practical, scientific methods of improving land use and thus crop yield and overall quality of life. 

The plot also houses our native plant seed bank and nursery where we grow native trees and shrubs and educate local families about the importance of planting these native species on their land as an investment for the future instead of relying on the protected forest land for their timber needs. Our ASSETS families especially are expected to replant some of their land with these seedlings.

We are currently in the second year of farming this plot according to the farming God's way methods and things are going well, our maize is already very tall and producing tassels. Next year they hope to be able to hold training events on site, spreading the wisdom to the surrounding community about the importance of putting God first in your work. Lets pray that these efforts are able to bless the community and show God's glory for many years to come.