Br. Tony Dolan
Franciscan Brothers
Kenya
Br. Tony Dolan - originally from County Leitrim - is a Fransiscan brother working at Baraka in Molo, near Nakuru in Kenya. Tony is an agriculturalist by background. He works as principal of Baraka Agricultural college. The college was founded in the 1970s, and originally focused on more conventional agricultural training. Since the mid 1980s it has shifted its focus towards the promotion of sustainable agriculture. The college provides a range of programmes through which it hopes to build the capacity of small holder farmers, through a mix of education, training, outreach and research.
Supporting people's efforts to learn how to manage their lives better.
Br. Tony sees that the college addresses one of the key
challenges facing Africa - 'that is, how to find ways of ensuring
that rural communities can create viable livelihoods. This will
enable the communities to be better able to provide food security.
Building up viable communities is also crucial in creating a
political culture where people can do something effective to respond
to the challenges of corruption and poor governance affecting many
countries in the region.'
Through its Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural
Development (CSARD) up to 80 participants a year - from different
countries of East Africa - are given a chance to train to be
efficient farmers, and also to be skilled in the training of other
farmers. The course combines theoretical work with a strong
practical component whereby students already begin to implement what
they are learning. Other short courses give participants chances to
develop their farm management skills with a view to improving the
efficiency of the farm. The college also runs a course on
beekeeping. This supports the role of beekeeping both in terms of
the bees contribution to pollination, and also in terms of
commercial opportunities with regard to honey production and bees
wax.
The
college - with support from the Irish agency Self Help Development
International - also engages in a very strong area based programme,
which especially targets young people. In this programme the
'participatory action research' approach is increasingly being used
as an effective means of getting young people to be proactive in
addressing the problems of their community, and to identify
practical ways of tackling these problems. For Br. Tony 'the key
challenge is investing in and building the human capital of people.
It's not just about throwing more money at the problems, but about
supporting people's efforts to learn how to manage their lives
better'. Joseph Muthemba - a farmer in the area - provides a vivid
illustration of what can be done. With help from advisors at Baraka
over a number of years, and through his own commitment to learning,
Br. Tony points to somebody like Joseph as an example of what can be
achieved. 'He has managed to develop a mixed farm which gives him a
secure standard of living, and also suffi cient income to send his
three sons all the way to third level education. He shows the impact
that can be made.'