Farmerstories - Macadamia 

Edith Wanyaga Mbogo

First and last name:: Edith Wanyaga Mbogo

Residence: Mufu, Meru

Age:   32 years old😉 (she did not want to reveal her true age)

Familienstatus: married

How do you describe your current life situation in general (what is going well at the moment / what is going less well)?

Farming means that I am my own boss and I am financially independent. I also get a good profit from selling my macadamia to Ten Senses. I have three hundred trees and grow on seven acres. I love being a farmer!

Why are you a farmer and do you like your job? If yes why do you like your profession?

Farming means that I am my own boss and I am financially independent. I also get a good profit from selling my macadamia to Ten Senses. I have three hundred trees and grow on seven acres. I love being a farmer!

What are the advantages of working for Pakka partner "Ten Senses"?

Ten Senses will only buy if they can pay me immediately. I like working with Ten Senses. They are honest and fair.

How long have you been working / producing for Pakka Partner "Ten Senses"?

Since 2015

What has improved in your life in general since you started working for Pakka Partner Ten Senses?

I built my own house, bought cows that give me milk. I also managed to send my children to school.

What has improved (worsened) for you/your family during the past year??

Covid and the prices for my organic macadamia nuts. But while everyone suffered from the total lockdown, Ten Senses continued to buy macadamia nuts from me. They supported me during times when things were tough.

What improvements do you hope/wish for in the coming year?

better prices for Macadamia.

Nicasio Ngaga Diomisio

First and last name: Nicasio Ngaga Diomisio

Residence:  Meru

Family status:  Married to a lovely wife and 2 sons who are 18 and 21 years old.

Age:  48 years old

How do you describe your current life situation in general (what is going well at the moment / what is going less well)?

Our life as farmers is blessed because it allows my family to live well. We grow organic macadamia and also grow has avocados. We also have cows, beehives for delicious honey and we even make our own fertilizer.

I am a proud man and I want to leave a legacy to my two sons by making sure the farm produces so that my sons and their future families are well off. This is my desire and makes me work hard every day.

We also grow tomatoes, beans, casava, tree tomatoes, bananas, avocados and of course macadamia nuts.

Why are you a farmer and do you like your job? If yes why do you like your profession?

I was born into a farming family, my father was a father, and so am I. What I appreciate is that I can easily convert macadamia into cash: If I need to pay school fees or hospital bills, I can pay immediately and provide for my family. My two sons went to school thanks to the money we earned as a family from macadamia.

What are the advantages of working for Pakka partner "Ten Senses"?

Ten Senses will only buy if they can pay me immediately. When I need money, I can harvest my macadamia and sell it to Ten Senses at a fair price. Their sales office is only 200 meters from my house and easy to reach. It is great to work with them.

How long have you been working / producing for Pakka Partner "Ten Senses"?

Since 2015

What has improved in your life in general since you started working for Pakka Partner Ten Senses?

My boys went to school and I also bought cows.

What has improved (worsened) for you/your family during the past year??

Low prices for macadamia. We pray that these prices will soon rise again.

What improvements do you hope/wish for in the coming year?

Better prices for macadamia.

Mjafe Musa Mbutu

First and last name: Mjafe Musa Mbutu

Residence:  Meru

Family status:  married and we have 2 children

Age:  70 years old

How do you describe your current life situation in general (what is going well at the moment / what is going less well)?

Good, but the lockout last year was tough when no movement was possible.

Why are you a farmer and do you like your job? If yes why do you like your profession?

I am a passionate farmer, for decades I work on this land. Land that offers us, our family, a good life. I grow organic macadamia, coffee, avocados, fruits like dragon fruit and even grapes. I grow on 6.5 hectares and my brother, who is adjacent to my farm, also has 6.5 hectares. Our macadamia trees overlap, but we know how to clearly separate which trees are mine and which are his. We keep it clear and support each other.

What are the advantages of working for Pakka partner "Ten Senses"?

By working directly with Ten Senses, we bypass the middlemen who are very cunning and only benefit themselves. At Ten Senses, we get better prices, are treated fairly, and even receive training on good agricultural practices and organic farming.

With the income from Ten Senses, I was able to build my own house and also had enough money to grow coffee. Besides, my children all went to school. By the way, I can earn more money with macadamia than with coffee, but I also like to grow coffee because the best coffee in Kenya comes from this area.

How long have you been working / producing for Pakka Partner "Ten Senses"?

Since 2015

What has improved in your life in general since you started working for Pakka Partner Ten Senses?

My boys went to school and I also bought cows.

What has improved (worsened) for you/your family during the past year??

Low prices for macadamia. It has never been so low...

What improvements do you hope/wish for in the coming year?

I have my own de-sheller, which I use to de-shell the outer layer, the green part of the shell. This is much easier for me to handle, because otherwise I spend a lot of time and hard work removing these outer green shells. I am proud to have my own desheller and I take good care of it because it saves me time.

Better prices for macadamia.

Mary Zablon

First and last name:: Mary Zablon

Residence:  Meru

Family status :  married. Together we have 7 children who are already adults.

Age: I am already a proud 70 years old

How do you describe your current life situation in general (what is going well at the moment / what is going less well)?

It is a good life. I am very happy with my life.

Why are you a farmer and do you like your job? If yes why do you like your profession?

I grow coffee, tea, bananas, pineapple, corn, macadamia and arrowroot. I love organic farming, but I don't yet see the benefits in terms of additional profits for organic farming, but people tell me that macadamia prices are as low as they've ever been right now, so we can only pray that prices go up. I grow on 5 acres of land and have 100 organic macadamia trees. I love growing macadamia trees because they are beautiful and very adaptable to people my age, (laughs) to older people, like you want. I don't need to climb the trees, I can just wait for the nuts to fall. Then my family and I picked them up from the ground.

What are the advantages of working for Pakka partner "Ten Senses"?

They are professional people and I can always rely on them for payment on harvest day or for advice on organic farming. I like having them around.

How long have you been working / producing for Pakka Partner "Ten Senses"?

Since  2015

What has improved in your life in general since you started working for Pakka Partner Ten Senses?

I can buy food, pay school fees for my children and now my grandchildren and I have even bought cows. Macadamia has been very good to me and my family.

What has improved (worsened) for you/your family during the past year??

Low prices for macadamia. And I don't really see the organic status translating into higher profits flowing back to me.

What improvements do you hope/wish for in the coming year?

I am a happy farmer. But I would like to see better prices for organic macadamia.

 

TEN SENSES AFRICA (TSA), Kenia

Ten Senses Africa Ltd (TSA) was founded in 2006 with the aim of ensuring that smallholder macadamia farmers in Kenya receive a fair price for their produce and that the middleman is eliminated. Today, Ten Senses Africa works with around 5,000 smallholder farmers (3,000 of them organic) in the Taita Hills and Meru regions around Mount Kenya.


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