環(huán)球英語 — 564：Kenya’s Clean Food Farms

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Voice 1

Hello, and welcome to Spotlight. I'm Mike Procter.

Voice 2

And I'm Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1

Kibera slum, Nairobi. This part of Kenya's capital city is home to thousands of people. Experts estimate that around one million people will live there by the year 2010 - in an area only four kilometres wide and four kilometres long! Kibera is extremely poor. There are few public health resources such as clean water and toilets. But this does not mean that people in Kibera are hopeless. Many of them are working hard to improve the life of the Kibera community.

Voice 2

You may have heard about Kibera on a recent Spotlight programme. This programme talked about a local radio station in Kibera. People from the community manage the station for the community. The station is called, "Pamoja FM". "Pamoja" is the Swahili word for "together." Workers at Pamoja FM come from different ethnic and religious groups. But they all want what is best for the community.

Voice 1

Pamoja FM is just one group working in Kibera. The Kibera Youth Reform Self-Help Group is also bringing positive change. But they started in a surprising way.

In early 2008, conflict started in Kenya. Many people were not happy with the results of a national election. The country had voted in December 2007. When the results were announced, many people were angry. They claimed that the government had fixed the situation so that it would win power once again. Ethnic groups fought one another. Many people lost all they possessed - even their homes. Some people saw family members killed. Others received terrible injuries. It was a dark time for Kenya.

Voice 2

Fighting was fierce around the Kibera area. But the conflict gave an opportunity to a group of young criminals. You might think that these people would have little to offer their community. But for the members of this group, the conflict increased their desire to leave their lives of crime - and to make a fresh start. They started the Kibera Youth Reform Self-Help group.

The members of the group made a plan to help improve the lives of people in their community. They wanted to start a farm in Kibera! The farm would have two goals: to produce food that the young people could eat. And to produce food that they could sell to local people.

Voice 1

Kibera did not seem to be a good place to grow food. There was no clean water supply. There was not much empty land. But the Kibera youth group did not lose courage. They found a place that no one was using. People had thrown unwanted things there - broken bottles, animal bones, plastic bags filled with human waste. They did not know very much about how to start a farm. But someone in the group had a friend who knew a lot about farming methods. Su Kahumbu is the manager of an organic farming company in Kenya. And the group believed that she would be the perfect person to work with the Kibera youth group!

Voice 2

Su Kahumbu saw some pictures of the proposed land. After seeing them she said:

Voice 3

"There was so much waste material there. I thought, ‘This must be a joke!'"

Voice 2

However, the Youth group managed to persuade Su that their idea was possible to achieve. And finally, she agreed to help!

Voice 1

The first step was to clear the ground of all the waste material. It took the young men and women three and a half months to do this. Then, Su Kahumbu sent away some of the soil from the land to a laboratory. She wanted the scientists to test and see if there were any poisonous substances left from the waste material. If so, these substances would affect the growth of seeds placed in it. The news was not good. Results showed that the soil contained a high level of zinc metal. Su was afraid that they would have to replace the soil with new earth.

Voice 2

However, another farmer told Su about a method to remove zinc from the soil - planting sunflowers! She learned that these large bright yellow flowers are very good at ‘cleaning' soil. They can take up zinc in the soil through their roots. This makes the sunflower seeds bad for eating. But, it is a natural way of cleaning the soil - without using chemicals. This pleased Su Kahumbu. She wanted to show the youth group how to farm in an organic way - by not using chemicals in the soil. She said:

Voice 3

"The levels of poison in the soil in Kibera were already high. And I did not think it was fair to add to them."

Voice 1

The Kibera farmers needed substances to make the soil fertile. So, they used organic material from old vegetables. And, they started an earthworm farm! They kept these long, thin creatures in a container of soil. From time to time, they added water. The water flowed through the soil, collecting waste matter from the earthworms. The farmers then spread this liquid on the soil - and this made the ground very fertile!

Voice 2

The farmers also had to deal with the problem of water supply. They put water pipes on top of the soil. Then they filled them with water. The pipes contained small holes that permitted drops of water to fall onto the soil from time to time. This system did not cost much to care for. And it avoided wasting water!

Voice 1

Six weeks after planting, the farmers harvested their first vegetables. There was enough food for thirty families - with some left over to sell. But what did the people of Kibera think of their local farm's organic produce? Joyce was one of the customers. She said:

Voice 4

"The vegetables are clean. They are pure and fresh. That is why we like them! We earn almost twelve dollars a week. And we are spending almost eleven dollars on food. We are willing to pay more for clean food."

Voice 1

The Kibera Youth group are sure that the farm will make enough money for them to continue - and maybe start other farms in the Kibera area! Their life of crime is in the past. They have learnt many new skills through this experience. And they are using them to improve their own lives - and the lives of the Kibera community!