River Cottage, Kenya

With a potential food shortage looming in Kenya due to the recent drought, KCIS really needs to get River Cottage Kenya started so that we can grow food for the orphanage.

The orphanage at Kisii is quite well-placed, inasmuch as it is in one of the most fertile areas of kenya, but food prices are rising, following market forces – yes, even rural farmers know about supply and demand!

Furthermore, people in Kenya who have control over food distribution are stock-piling, waiting for food prices to rise higher, so as to make a quick buck.

Reading this, you would almost think I was writing about the developed world, wouldn’t you?

If we grow our own food, we can feed our children. If we have a surplus, we can actually make some money and replenish our medical fund, which we had to raid last year, during the post-election troubles.

So, if anyone reading this can help to raise funds – we don’t need a lot – please contact us on the KCIS website.

I need a break …

Some of you know me as their friendly local computer fixer. Others know me as working for a Kenyan Non-Governmental Organisation. Others still know that I am a small-time businessman in Kenya.

But I am also a 24/7 carer for an ageing parent.

OK, I admit, this doesn’t involve a lot – being there just in case, I suppose is my biggest task. I do all the cooking, make copious cups of tea, get the shopping in, do the heavy stuff in the garden and act as taxi.

That really isn’t a problem. But just having to be here, all the time, is.

I need to get away for a while. Not for a rest, just a change. On the last two occasions I managed to get away, I escaped to Kenya, where I take up the hat of NGO and I work.

Admittedly, the pace is slower, but it is a lot warmer, and two of my three bases are over 5,500 ft, which makes it difficult to exert myself. And, of course, I don’t have a car, so I walk, something else I have difficulty with as I am mildy disabled.

There is so much I want to do in Kenya, River Cottage being my main project at the moment. Bu I can do absolutely nothing while I am in the UK.

So, I need a break …