Like many other farmers in the region, Fabian and Nyina faced hardships producing crops year round – farmers can only rely on rain for one or two harvests a year, and less than a tenth of the farmland is irrigated. But the two saw an opportunity in the well on their small plot of land, and discovered a KickStart irrigation pump at their local shop. KickStart designs and promotes low-cost irrigation pumps for the poorest farmers to provide water to their crops year-round.

Six years after attending a KickStart training, the couple purchased a pump and got to work. The pump allowed them to easily access the ground water in their well and deliver it directly to their field.

Without a pump, Fabian says that he would not have been able to access water from the well on his land, or start a farming business. Now his field is lush with almost 15 types of fruits and vegetables, including kale, avocados, melons, spinach, and mangos. From the sale of their crops, the couple has expanded their business to include chickens and goats.

They even passed their entrepreneurial spirit on to their daughter, Anne, and helped her start a fishery. Anne uses it to cycle water through the fish pond she built, fertilizing her parents’ surrounding fields in the process. Anne now has additional money to support herself and her own six-year-old-daughter.

Fabian and Nyina have expressed how proud they are to support their family, neighbors, and the rest of their local community. When market prices for crops go up during the dry seasons, theirs remain the same.

“We do not sell at a premium even when food is scarce to ensure that the community members continue to get healthy food and still we have grown our business,” Fabian shared. “I have helped the community to better understand and appreciate the need to do conservation farming and also to eat healthy natural foods.”