By Janelle Larson | Penn State Faculty
Greetings,
A group of students from Penn State University recently spent two and a half weeks in Nyeri, working with staff at the CYEC and the Polytechnic on various projects. The students were part of a spring semester class, where they learned about Kenyan history and culture, along with community development and agriculture. Early in the semester, CYEC staff met with our class over zoom and outlined several priorities for this year, including regenerative agriculture (specifically leguminous cover crops), development of a healthy, affordable porridge they could sell to the local community and a life skills program for their children.
Our students developed ideas and materials for these projects which they implemented while in Kenya. Our Ag team introduced lablab beans – as a legume, it fixes nitrogen in the soil, reducing the need for purchased fertilizers. The vines also cover the soil, improving soil health. The porridge team met with local health care providers to identify nutrient needs in the community – type II diabetes is on the rise, so they worked with a nutritionist to identify grains with a low glycemic index. Using this information, they developed and tested a recipe the Centre can mill and sell to the local community. Finally, our life skills team worked with the Centre social worker to develop sessions on identifying values, conflict-management and communication skills and healthy relationships, among other topics.
Our students loved the opportunity to learn and work alongside the dedicated staff in Nyeri! We’re honored to help support the amazing work they’re doing!
Links:
By Benard Odour | Manager, Rathithi Polytechnic
By Janelle Larson | Zawadi Fund President
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