How a Group in Mandera is Protecting the Environment by Utilizing an Invasive Plant Species

 

Mandera County is one of the driest regions in Kenya characterized by days of harsh and intense sunlight. But along the Daua River, water puns, and some of the arable lands a lush green shrub has dominated the landscape giving a false impression of the actual situation on the ground.

Considered one of the most aggressive invasive plant species Prosopis Juliflora – locally referred to as Mathenge – has thrived in this dry and hot region as it requires very little water. According to the Kenya Ministry of Environment, the plant – Which is native to South America – was introduced to the Arid and Semi-Arid Land counties in Kenya like Mandera in the 1970s for honey production, shade, windbreak, firewood, building poles among other uses.

 

Ali Faril holds dried Prosopis pods as Mohamed Osman places some pods into the grinder where they are crushed making them digestible for cattle at Neboi location. If consumed uncrushed, the Prosopis pods are deadly to livestock and can cause death. (CARE/David Mutua)

The thorny shrub soon invaded the landscape and with it came unintended consequences. “The thorns affect cattle and donkeys by pricking their hooves this making their movement hard. When the green pods are eaten raw, it can cause the animals to die. It has also taken over farming lands,” Mohamed Sheikh Hosman says. A community elder in Neboi Location, Mandera, Mohamed remembers first encountering the shrubs in the 1980s and the issues of cattle death have not only affected the community but also, he has lost livestock to the plant. In a region that experiences severe drought with a community where the County government estimates 72% of the people survive on animal husbandry, any loss of cattle has a big impact on the livelihood of the people. As a result, the people detested the plant as it continued to bloom and take over. 

The Plant Species Juliflora - Mathenge - (CARE/David Mutua)

 

In 2018, the Building Opportunities for Resilience in the Horn of Africa (BORESHA) – A program implemented in consortium by CARE International in Kenya, World Vision, and Danish Refugee Council –initiated a project that sought to manage the invasive species spread by utilizing it in various ways. Groups of 40 members were started, trained, and equipped to harness different by-products from the Mathenge shrub.

 

The final product of the livestock feed. (CARE/David Mutua)

“From the Prosopis shrub, we would collect the pods then dry and grind the pods together with grass on the livestock grinder and then proceed to make livestock feed. Since the Mathenge shrub survives even during drought, this became a source of feed for our cattle ensuring that they do not have to travel long distances to graze. We have noticed that the cattle do fatten when they consume the crushed Mathenge pods,” Mohammed says.

 

Neboi Prosopis Charcoal making group making charcoal from
the Prosopis shrub. (CARE/David Mutua)

The shrub not only serves as a source of feed but also can be used as an energy source. “We chop down the Prosopis shrub and then make charcoal out of it. The charcoal is then ground into a powder and mixed with water. The final mix is then passed through a charcoal briquette machine. The briquette is then dried and used in cooking. The briquettes burn slow with less smoke and unlike normal charcoal, they cook many meals,” Abdullah Hussein says. Abdullah, who is a member of the Neboi Prosopis Charcoal making group, prefers using the briquettes because now her children’s children – whose responsibility it was to go fetch firewood – and can now focus more on their studies because they have a supply of the briquette.

 

The charcoal briquette machine producing the wet briquette. CARE/David Mutua

With the knowledge gained, group members have now begun a quest to change the community's negative perception of the Mathenge shrub. “We have gone ahead and promoted the alternative ways of using the Mathenge plant to the community and how it can help especially during the drought season when there is little pasture. People along the river [Daua] have been receptive, started collecting the pods and passing them to us to use in the livestock creation feed, says Mohamed who is also the Chairperson of Neboi Prosopis Charcoal making group.

 

 “The Prosopis pods have high protein and mineral content that is good for the livestock. The charcoal briquettes have higher cooking efficiency than normal charcoal. We promote the use of the Prosopis shrub to make the briquette as it will spare the indigenous trees from extinction and at the same time it leads to the management of the spread of the Prosopis shrub,” says Salim Abdi, CARE International in Kenya, BORESHA Program Coordinator.

A cow eating the livestock feed made from the prosopis shrub. CARE/David Mutua

In Mandera, 160 group members have directly benefited  from the learning and mechanization of livestock feed production as well as charcoal briquette making. There are plans to upscale the production of the feed and briquette to a commercial level so that the members can now start earning an income.

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Funded by the European Union Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), the Building Opportunities for Resilience in the Horn of Africa (BORESHA) project is a 3-year 9 Months cross-border project (December 2017- November 2020) and March-November 2021. Whose overall objective is to promote economic development and greater resilience, particularly among vulnerable groups in the Mandera Triangle (area between Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia). The project adopts a community-driven approach to address the shared nature of the risks and opportunities in this border area. It is part of the EU's Programme for Collaboration in the Cross-Border areas of the Horn of Africa, providing over 60 million Euros of investment to prevent and mitigate the impact of local conflict and to promote economic development and greater resilience in the different cross-border regions. The consortium is led by Danish Refugee Council in partnership with World Vision and CARE International.