On Tuesday, February 6, 2007, the mission team had lunch and a tour at the nearby MCK Bio-Intensive Agricultural Training Centre which is a Methodist church project designed to enhance the capacity of small holder farmers while conserving and restoring the environment. This center was established in 1992 on the site of a former Methodist complex. The largest building, where we had lunch, served as a school for girls. Built in the early 1900’s, it served to give girls an education as they had not previously been provided for. The long row building served as a girls dorm. A small nearby house served as the minister’s home. Now the previous school is a ding room, kitchen and bath. The former dorms have been divided into four-beds, one bath suites, with a larger end section serving as a meeting room for seminars and short courses. It’s good that 25 farmers can be boarded here while taking short courses in bio-intensive agriculture, soil fertility, composting, beekeeping, zero-grazing of livestock, poultry and rabbits, pest management, various technologies of vetiver systems, charcoal ovens, water pups and drip irrigation and HIV/AIDS awareness. John Mwalimu, a former Methodist missionary to the Philippines and government agriculture extension worker, is coordinator for the center. He graciously gave us a tour showing how animals could be healthily housed in small quarters and fed on fast growing grasses. The latter are also helpful in controlling soil erosion. The double-digging of soil two feet deep supports intensive planting while retaining moisture.
