We have worked with a group of 15 widows and single mothers on education and sustainable livelihoods: business training and life skills, innovative vegetable farming, solarized poultry keeping, and a business savings scheme. This group has been formally registered in Kenya as the Remba Women’s Group.
The Remba Women’s Group successfully doubled its flock size to 250 using the solar-powered incubator installed this year. The poultry business has had an overwhelmingly positive reception from the community with high demand for eggs and birds. Despite initial teething problems, in the first month alone their total revenue reached 15,000 KES and they have collectively saved over 30,000 KES through their savings and investments scheme.
The vegetable farm project has also been successful in making nutritious, fresh vegetables available to the island community. Many women have learned from RWG’s sack farming initiative and started their own shambas to feed their households. RWG is negotiating a larger site near the school so that they can grow more produce and have easier access to water.
We have also invested in Remba Primary School, improving security for 1000 children by fencing the school perimeter and providing solar electricity, building a football pitch and a vegetable garden, and improving discipline and attendance through a sporting program.