Towards Prosperity, One Step at a Time
Conversation* with JOHNSON NDUATI KIMUHU, Vipani Farmer, 24 August 2006

Johnson Nduati Kimuhu likes to plan more than one day at a time. His greatest frustration in farming is the market - price fluctuations of his farm produce made planning difficult. Most of the time he got only low prices for his produce, and thus, he could not afford to invest in his farm.

Born to peasant parents, farming was the only thing Johnson knew. He quit school after 8th grade when his parents couldn't afford to pay his school fees. For 10 years, he worked as a casual laborer in a farm until the farmer who employed him got bankrupt and quit farming. With nothing else to do, Johnson decided to try farming on his own on a rented piece of land. Since then, farming has been his occupation for over 5 years now.

May 2005 was a turning point for 33-year old Johnson. It was then that he joined Vipani which gave him what he needed most - fair prices for his produce and access to credit.

"I used to water my crops using a bucket. Three years ago, a friend offered me his Super MoneyMaker pump which he wasn't using, in return for my farm leftovers for his animals. The pump did not have a hose to go with it and I struggled to save enough money to buy a short piece of hose. When I joined Vipani, I was able to get my own Super Moneymaker pump on credit, but I still used this short hose to avoid borrowing too much. Owning my own pump really motivated me and drew my attention into farming much more than it ever did before".

"I used to grow kales, tomatoes and eggplants for the local market, which barely made me money. The prices kept fluctuating that I could not plan beyond one day. I also grew some French beans but the market, too, was not promising. Life was tough but I had obligations to meet so I just kept on going", Johnson narrates.

"When Vipani came to my community, it got us a reliable market and my produce got good prices. I could now plan what to plant and what to invest in. In September, I got my first earnings from a Vipani-facilitated sale. It was Ksh 4,000 (US$ 55) after partial payment of my loan. I decided to build a vegetable kiosk and bought timber to start. In October, I bought iron bars, and in November, I bought nails and paid for the construction labor."

"My sales totaled Ksh 11,480 in December 2005 and Ksh 15,000 in January 2006. I bought a mobile phone with Ksh 5,000 and I kept Ksh 10,000 in my savings account which Vipani helped me to open at a local bank."

To make my long story short, my subsequent earnings have all been re-invested in my growing farming business. I now have one regular worker and 3 - 6 casual workers depending on the day's labor demand. I have bought a longer hose and two watering cans for my expanding farm. I now have two goats; they take care of my farm leftovers that I used to pay for the borrowed pump. My wife, Lucy, also earns a regular income from our small eatery which we expanded and restocked with our proceeds from Vipani. Her eatery, which we started when we got married six years ago, is now doing particularly well. It seems people have money to spend for tea and snacks these days." Lucy concurs, "Our life has changed greatly for the better since we started farming with Vipani. I am confident that our children will able to get far; hopefully, even get a college education."

"I now have more than Ksh 50,000 saved towards my dream to buy a piece of land", says Johnson. Buying a piece of land is Johnson's dream. With two brothers and four sisters, what his parents had was too little to be shared. Now with two children of his own, he hopes that he will be able to settle his family in their own land.

When asked if he still needs Vipani credit facilitation, Johnson replied, "Credit has costs and I will only go for it when very necessary. Otherwise, I have planned my production so that proceeds from one crop take care of the next. Further, I have always planted some kales along side my main crops for the local market to take care of our household's expenses. To conclude, I urge my fellow farmers to follow my footsteps and they will not go wrong".