At the moment we are still in the stages of fundraising for the infrastructure of Sadhana Forest Kenya.
Toyota Hiace 4×4 Van
In July 2013 a small team from Sadhana Forest traveled to Kenya to finalize the land purchase for Sadhana Forest Kenya’s demonstration site and campus. A few weeks before the trip a volunteer of Sadhana Forest India asked if there was anything in need to help with the trip. Finances were low and transportation costs were expected to be high. After discussing this with a relative, the volunteer’s relative decided to donate a van to help Sadhana Forest Kenya with transportation means. We highly appreciate this generous contribution.
This van will hopefully serve us and the community for many years to come.
Roads In Samburu County
At the moment there are no paved (tarmac) roads near the area where Sadhana Forest Kenya is located in Samburu County. This means that it is very difficult, or close to impossible to get around without a four-wheel drive. Even after light rains the roads leading to Samburu Central can become impassable. When this happens even four-wheel drive vehicles cannot pass. Even when it does not rain road conditions are still tough as the dirt roads are not well maintained. Vehicles need constant maintenance as they get pushed to their limits on these roads. .A substantial part of the Samburu County budget for 2013-2014 is dedicated to road maintenance and paving a tarmac road that will reach Maralal (the capital of Samburu County, located 40 minutes from Sadhana Forest Kenya campus).
Where Will We Go?
We plan to use our Toyota Hiace van for:
- Transporting trees – trees will be transported from Sadhana Forest Kenya’s nursery to individual’s homes in Samburu County. Houses are very spread out, usually at least 1km apart.
- Transporting people – Sadhana Forest Kenya plans to offer trainings in many different fields to the local community. We understand that because of the remote locations of some of the houses in Samburu County we may need to arrange transportation so people can participate.
- Transporting Volunteers – Sadhana Forest Kenya is located in a remote area where public transport rarely stops. The small town of Kisima is located 9 km (5.6 mi) from Sadhana Forest Kenya; all buses and Matatus (minibuses) to Maralal pass through Kisima. We expect volunteers to arrive in Kisima and from there Sadhana Forest Kenya will pick them up.
- Traveling training centre – Sadhana Forest Kenya has equipped the van with wireless internet, 220v outlets, and basically has a traveling office. We plan to use our van as a mobile training center to reach remote areas in Samburu County. Many areas in Samburu County have limited to no access to power and it is important for us to have the capability to give presentations and use equipment on the ground. Using GPS and access to our computers is an important part of documenting our tree planting activities, especially when working on such a large scale and in a remote area. Computers will also be used to give visual presentations of our activities; we believe that this is much more productive in the learning process.
