KickStart - The Tools to End Poverty

Are you working in an area of Kenya that relies on subsistence farming or agriculture? If so, this Kenyan company can help you to help others. During our summer 2008 trip to Kenya we made a visit to KickStart in Nairobi. KickStart makes three tools that can help to end poverty. As Wongonyi Village is agricultural based, The Ronnie Fund, thanks to donations from the churches of the parish of St. Stephen's in Muskoka, was able to purchase two Money Maker Irrigation pumps and a brickmaker.

The irrigation pumps are foot-powered and work like a stepmaster exerciser, and both young children and those more advanced in age found the pumps easy to work. A length of hose in put in the water source and the second hose is attached to the pump and then taken out in the field to water the crops. The area of water distribution was amazing. Already one of our farming groups has increased their kale production by 5 times and is selling the kale to the secondary school for their meal programs.

We also purchased a brickmaker. The 'Action Pak' Block Press can be used to make a much stronger brick. The block press has already been used to make bricks for the new western-style pit latrine the youth built at Wongonyi Primary School. Working together the youth can make 400-500 bricks a day. The youth in Wongonyi have received training on the block press and already have orders for bricks for two homes.

Another item we saw demonstrated was the 'Mafuta Mali' Oil Press. The press will produce cooking oils and high protein seedcakes from sunflowers and sesame seed.

If you are looking for business opportunities for your villages or simply tools to increase food production or provide better housing, check out these tools at http://www.kickstart.org/.