Introduction

KINONDO FARM Natural Farming, Healthy Products! Kinondo Farm is a multi-produce farm located in the Upper Eastern County of Embu. Established in 2002, it continues to add to its diverse range of produce while enhancing its operation towards total organic farming and green energy practice. Our main farming activities are:- Coffee We have 60 acres under coffee cultivation. The bushes are of various sizes with some planted very recently. Ripe berries are picked and pulped, fermented and dried on the farm under strict controls and hygiene standards to ensure best quality coffee beans. Macadamia The Macadamia is intercropped with coffee in some the coffee blocks. The trees on our farm are of the Muranga 20 variety of Macadamia integrifolia. It is known for high yields of top quality nuts. Pawpaw The pawpaw is intercropped with coffee in the blocks where the coffee bushes are still young and short. They are mainly of the very sweet Red Royale and Sunrise varieties. Passion Fruit This is a newly introduced crop. It is said to bear very sweet fruits when grown in a warm climate under irrigation. Mango The mango trees are very mature and are mainly of Apple Mango and--- variety. Arrow Roots A new crop introduced recently in a marsh on the farm, it is expected to do very well due to the clean underground water that is available to the crop all year round. Sweet Potatoes We have yellow fleshed and purple skinned Kenspot 1 variety cultivated near the marsh. Dairy Cattle The farm has over thirty Friesian cows and heifers. Dung from the cattle is used to feed a – cubic meters biogas bio-digester. The biogas powers the farms electricity generator and supplies all the cooking requirements on the farm in addition to the warmers in the chicken brooders Beef Cattle A small herd of free range boran cattle is kept mainly for the production of high quality manure. Chicken The farm keeps traditional free-range chicken and Sasso meat chicken. Our chicken are raised from eggs laid on the farm. We have several incubators and brooding nests for this purpose. Fed on feeds produced on the farm, the semi free range management system produces very hardy birds well known for their sweet meat. Due to the controlled scavenging area they do not feed on contaminated or diseased material that would be transmitted on to the consumer. Other Poultry Other poultry to be found on the farm are:- Geese Turkey Muscovy and Pekin ducks There are plans to incorporate ornamental birds in the near future. Goats There are free range Galla goats that are mainly for meat. Bee Keeping There are over 50 Langstroth beehives placed in strategic places on the farm. In addition to honey harvesting, the bees are a crucial factor in cross pollination resulting in optimum production especially for the coffee and macadamia. Feeds Feeds for all the livestock is produced on the farm. There is a feedmill for the poultry feeds and Rhodes Grass and sorghum for cattle.