Specialized ‘Mukau Tree” Facility Set to Change Kenya’s Dry-land Landscape
climate change mitigation by promoting tree planting through agro-forestry. He said the facility will enhance capacity building and exchange of academic knowledge between project partners to enable the establishment highly valuable commercial trees in dry lands.
The project will be developed in two phases, starting with a laboratory, a trial farm for framers, offices, a green-house and nursery, and an educational exchange program.
The second phase will involve the development of a log yard, a saw mill, workshops and fuel stations, a timber processing industry and warehouses. This will be geared towards processing timber bought from households engaged in Melia Volkensii plantations.
Known as the ‘mahogany’ of the dry land, the Mukau tree, botanically known as melia volkensii takes between 15 to 20 years to mature and produces first class hard wood timber. Its propagation among rural households in ASAL areas will bring development of profitable and sustainable agro-forestry and commercial forestry enterprises in these areas.
The Managing Director of Better Globe Forestry Limited Mr. Jean-Paul Deprins said the multiplication facility and planned timber processing industry will enhance participation of rural households in commercial forestry, as a complementary income generation activity.
“We are excited to see the start of this project which has a high commercial value for thousands of households in dry rural areas who never dreamed of growing a commercially viable tree in their land”, said Mr. Deprins
The Melia Volkensii in-vitro multiplication facility is a project run by Better Globe Forestry in collaboration with the University of Ghent in Belgium, the University of Nairobi, and the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI). The project is funded by the Belgian Flemish Government and the Foundation will hold the Company’s interests in its operations.
Already the Better Globe Forestry is working with KenGen Foundation to champion environment conservation in the semi-arid counties of Kitui, Embu and Machakos through the Green Initiative Challenge project which targets schools in a 10-year afforestation competition.
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–Ernest Nyamasyo, Communication Officer
