One Step at a Time: GVI’s Achievements in Kasaani

Continuing the summary of GVI’s achievements in the Taveta region on the border of Tsavo West National Park, this post will summarize the achievements of GVI volunteers in Kasaani village. The community of Kasaani is aiming to replace poaching with chicken farming, honey production, honey based products and agriculture. As such, GVI volunteers have been working with the community to provide educational lessons and critical infrastructure to support these industries for the past four years.

--Kasaani community run chicken coop--

-- Zeller and David put the fence for the chicken coop in Kasaani--

Over the past four years volunteers in Kasaani have:
• Taught community to make recycled paper from elephant dung which is now used to make labels for their products.
• Delivered lessons on making and packaging a variety of body products from honey including, Vanilla Honey Bath Wash and Honey and Almond Sugar Body Scrub. These products are now being sold in tourist lodges in Kenya.
• Taught the community of Kasaani about free range chicken farming including disease treatment and recognition, and general chicken care.
• Delivered lessons on agricultural improvement. Drought resistant crops are now being successfully grown by the community of Kasaani to assist them with generating sustainable incomes.

--Volunteers give lessons on drought resistant crops to Masai in Saliata--

• Delivered lessons on making fruit jams and dried fruit which are being sold in local markets.
• Constructed a chilli-oil fence around the community’s beehives to prevent damage from elephants.
• Built a community run chicken coop to provide the village with an income generating project which also improves access to protein rich food sources in the area.
• Built a 3.5km water pipeline from Saliata to Kasaani to supply the community with access to fresh drinking water.

--Kate hard at work on the water pipeline to Kasaani--

Volunteers from GVI have also built a community run farm in Saliata to provide this small Masai community located four kilometres east of Kasaani with an alternative livelihood to livestock. The aim this project was to ensure the community was no longer dependent upon a single livelihood option and thus to help prevent a reoccurrence of the devastating drought related poverty in the community which occurred in late 2009. Once again, many thanks to everyone who has supported the communities of Kasaani and Saliata; if you would like to support these or similar projects GVI are working on then simply visit http://www.justgiving.com/GVItsavowest.

One Step at a Time: GVI’s Achievements in Kasaani