PROJECTS

Most adult members of this community have had very little schooling. When severe drought hits and their livestock dies, they do not have other sources of income, so their only option for survival is to sell land and move to the slums or attempt to rebuild their herds.

ACACIA MOYO - WHERE TRADITION MEETS TECHNOLOGY

works to develop sustainable sources of income that are not dependent on livestock. We aim to generate enough income through our projects to prevent further land sales and allow the community to flourish.

BEEKEEPING

Former Chief Nickson Parmisa encourages Acacia Moyo to develop beekeeping as a sustainable source of income.

WHY BEEKEEPING?

There is a huge demand for honey in Kenya as people become aware that honey is healthier than sugar. Many small, rural communities have successfully created small business enterprises with the production and sale of honey and related products.

In addition, our large Muslim population values honey as a sacred food and comprises a significant portion of the local market. Kenya honey is also exported to various regions, such as the United States, Somalia, Uganda, and the United Arab Emirates.

Our plan is to produce our own raw honey from the flowering trees and shrubs around the school. This honey will be sold to various processors, that will refine and market it. Eventually, we hope to have our own processing and refining equipment.

A healthy colony can yield eight to ten kilos per hive per harvest. With two harvests per year, one beehive can yield a minimum of 16 kilos which sell at KES 500 per kilo. With ten hives, this translates to a total income of KES 80,000 - about $615. We plan to eventually have 100 hives in our apiary, and expect an income of about $6000 per annum.

This income will be funnelled back into the business via Acacia Moyo and our Beekeepers' Cooperative, which currently consists of 35 paid members.

OUR PROGRAM

Acacia Moyo is based at the Empakasi Primary School in Kitengela, which serves some 300 Maasai students.

We have three acres of land there at our disposal. In 2024, with the help of Rotary Club Nairobi, we obtained a new water pump and borehole that reaches groundwater at a depth of 250 meters. While the school previously had no water at all and had to truck it in, there is now ample water for all purposes,

In 2022, professional trainer Henry Muteti ran our first beekeeping class with some 30 adult students. Many of them were from the Ntalala Womens Cooperative.

In 2023, the worst drought in recorded history hit Kenya. It was followed by drastic flooding, with the result that our program was held up for over a year.

In 2024, Henry addressed over 100 students at Empakasi Primary School about the importance of beekeeping for the environment and as a viable source of income for themselves. The students spent the day planting 300 seedlings of six different species of flowering trees and bushes, especially selected for this arid climate. They will provide forage for our bees.

These trees and shrubs will provide valuable forage for our bees. We will have unique honey, flavored primarily by the surrounding Acacia trees, but also by our bottle brush, mulberry and other plants.

Students from our first training taste their

honey comb.

A member of Ntalala Womens Cooperative speaks up in favor of beekeeping.

A student waters a newly planted seedling

The area lies within the arid and semi-arid zone of Machakos. Species were selected for their proven hardiness in this environment and for their production of flowers, nectar, and pollen.

The species are:

1. Cordia Abyssinica

2. Warburgia

3. Markhamia Lutea

4. Senna spectacle

5. Mulberry (ndae)

6. Croton megalocarrus

7. Bottle brush(red)

8. Naivasha thorn

Students head out to our field where they will plant seedlings of six different species of flowering trees and bushes. Our apiary will be adjacent to this field.

Professional beekeeper, bee botanist and trainer Henry Muteti speaks to over 100 students at Empakasi Primary School about the role of beekeeping in restorative agriculture. The students then planted 300 seedlings of six different hardy tree and shrub species.

NEXT STEPS

OUNNR PROGRAN

1. We are raising funds to purchase wood, equipment, and tools to make our own beehives. We will receive training from local hive makers. This program ties into our stated mission of teaching marketable skills to students.

2. We have taken the first step in setting up our apiary by planting diverse species as forage for bees. Empakasi is a dry, arid area in which it is almost impossible to plant vegetables. These trees will also provide shade and moisture while nurturing the soil and affording habitat for many creatures, such as birds, small mammals, and insects.

3. We are working with teachers at the school to create a curriculum around our project. Students will not only learn beekeeping, but will also be introduced first-hand to basic botany. Each student is required to care for the trees as if they were their own children and to document the growth of their trees in words and images. We hope to create a TREE LIBRARY, useful for generations to come. We are teaching students that the trees are their legacy, which will remain on school grounds for years to come.

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WATER

The Empakasi Primary School has never had readily available water - until now! The school had to truck in water at great expense, and there was never enough for the sanitary and cooking needs of three hundred children.

Through our work with the Rotary Club of Nairobi, we received a brand new water pump for the existing borehole, which taps into groundwater 250 meters beneath the Earth's surface.

We now have water for cooking, showers, toilets, and irrigation!

Our deepest gratitude goes to Mike Eldon of the Nairobi Rotary Club, who brokered the donation from Davis & Shirtliff - one of the major water equipment companies in Kenya.

EDUCATION

Since 2019, we have supported 8 girls and 1 boy through 4 years of high school, including their books, equipment and uniforms. Although they may move on to modern careers, they are committed to bringing their knowledge and experience back to the community.

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16-year-old Joshua Lemayian did so well at Empakasi Secondary School that he was invited to attend Oloolaiser High School, one of the best national schools in Kenya with an excellent academic record. This photo was taken on his very first, terrifying day!

We paid for Joshua's first year and he continues to do extremely well academically.

Joshua is the FIRST MAASAI CHILD from Kitengela to attend such a school. Now we need to pay for the next three years.

WE NEED $1500 FOR JOSHUA'S NEXT THREE YEARS OF HIGH SCHOOL

DONATE FOR JOSHUA

Ezekiel Tolunteia was 20 years old when we shot this video in 2020. He graduated high school last year at the age of 23.

Ruth (standing) and her friends were also filmed in 2020 and have since graduated high school.

BEADING

From l to r: Naomi Teto, Sarah David, Betty Tonkei and Rispah Simoine discuss their beading tradition. "Even in a hundred years, no matter how much it has changed, beading will still give us our identity."

OUR PROGRAM

Maasai women are renowned for their brightly colored beaded jewelry, in which specific colors hold specific meaning. Red signifies blood, bravery, and unity. White represents health, peace, and purity. Blue is the color of the sky and represents energy, and green is the color of grass, which signifies the land and production. Maasai women can make an income by selling beaded jewelry to tourists, but Kitengela is far removed from tourist areas and city shops and galleries.

ACACIA MOYO'S HQ is located in Santa Fe, NM - home of the International Folk Art Market (IFAM) - the largest in the world. In 2019, our local group called Olkamau Womens Beading Cooperative was accepted to present their work at IFAM. Beader Phoebe Lasoi was selected to represent the community and attended the Market together with then Assistant Chief Nickson Parmisa. Phoebe benefitted from several free workshops on branding, exporting and packaging while Nickson was interviewed on public media about his community and the challenges they face. We made over $20,000 in the three-day market - money which supported many community projects, including other beaders, high school students and our beekeeping operation. Following this success, we provided training in leather cutting and contemporary beadwork designs to Naomi Teto, Sarah David and Rispah Simoine, who have formed their own training collective for younger beaders.

We are proud that our empowerment of Phoebe Lasoi has enabled her to participate as an individual vendor in IFAM 2023 and 2024.

IFAM 2019 GALLERY

Assistant Chief Nickson Parmisa and beader Phoebe Lasoi at our booth

Chief Nickson Parmisa meets fashion designer Donna Karan

Phoebe Lasoi conducts a beading workshop at Santa Fe's Community College (SFCC)

Chief Nickson Parmisa gives a talk to an enthusiastic crowd at Santa Fe's Travel Bug store

ACACIA MOYO
Where Tradition Meets Technology

ikimann@earthlink.net acaciamoyo@gmail.com

19 Espira Court, Santa Fe, NM 87508

+1646 479-5884

PO Box 76, Kitengela, Kenya, 00241

+254721428470

ACACIA MOYO - WHERE TRADITION MEETS TECHNOLOGY is fiscally sponsored by Creative Visions Foundation (CVF). CVF is a publicly supported 501c3, which supports Creative Activists who use the power of media and the arts to affect positive change in the world.