I have a colleague.  For the purpose of this story, we shall name her Brianna. Her husband is named Oscar (also fictitious). They have two lovely children, both under the age of five.  A while back, when the younger one was born, we got together as her colleagues, put together a late baby shower “basket” and off we went to visit her.  Since she had been talking about her garden and the work she had done on it, I decided to arrive early to give myself time to poke around her garden.

Allow me to set some context here.  Brianna is a city girl! Born and raised in Nairobi with no prior experience on matters-farming.  Oscar’s case is even worse.  He is a “city boy” from Accra, Ghana, who has no relationship whatsoever with soil, and worse still disdained all matters soil.  Hold that thought as I proceed with this story.

When I got to their place, after getting a little lost, I walked into an oasis.  Their home is set on a quarter of an acre in a county adjacent to Nairobi.  It is as rural as it gets while still being close enough to Nairobi to pass itself off as peri-urban living.  Oscar welcomed me, and he looked nothing like the city boy I remembered from their wedding day. He was flip flopped and looked completely at ease and at peace in his sub-urban home.  As I drove in, I knew I had made the right call to arrive early. 

Once we had exchanged the usual pleasantries and I had gulped down my refreshing cold drink, it was time to do the walk-about.  Oscar and Brianna are magicians!

As mentioned, their property sits on a quarter of an acre.  They designed their home and had it built to their specification.  The home sits on about half the available land.  What amazed me is what they have done with the remaining half.  They keep chicken for eggs and meat in a shelter that allows the chicken to roam a little, get a lot of fresh air and sunlight, and get fed and watered as they patter around and cluck about chicken matters.  The poop from the chicken is used to run a mini bio-gas plant that powers the outdoor cooking space as well as the farm hands kitchen.  The waste water from the bio-gas is used as manure in their garden. 

The garden plays host to kale and spinach, planted in a stacked tower that is four to five layers high.  Onions abound in the garden, accompanied by tomatoes.  Sweet potato and pumpkin vines creep on the land, hiding their bounty beneath their lush leaves.  At one corner where the biogas sits are banana circles that serve to further filter the biogas refuse water, that then passes on to the maize and beans plants.  The banana plants were in full-on fruit.  This little garden serves to feed Brianna’s family with fresh vegetables, fruits and eggs.

Back to the main home compound, she has planted citruses and avocado as part of the fence line.  On the kitchen side of the house, she has created shelves on the wall and planted herbs in containers.  I was in awe.  She has oregano, thyme, mint, rosemary, chilies and bell peppers in containers.  Opposite that wall are flowers and shrubs that add so much color to the home that your eyes dart around trying to fixate on one thing but get pulled to another and another attraction.  The outdoor cooking area that is powered by biogas serves as a cooking station for boiling soups and broths and for barbecues.

Though the space is small, they left a path round their home that serves as their son’s football practice field.  He is after all half Ghanaian; he has no choice but to be a star footballer in his future!

At the far back of the house, next to the dog kennel is a little gazebo that sits two. It is quaint and cozy and offers a gorgeous view of a little garden that is a riot of flowers and plants.  On the right side of the main entrance, they created a home office.  It was genius.  You leave the house and go to a separate building that is the office.  I have learnt that these transitions help to mentally set the stage for the next thing one purposes to do, whether it be to “go” to the office or “come” home in the evening.

As I sat on their front patio enjoying the sun and the noise of the birds, I realized something.  Space is in one’s head.  You can create the most desirable and functional spaces without ever having the acreage. I had just spent more than an hour walking around a quarter of an acre, with all my senses engaged and with so much to see and take in.  All because Brianna and Oscar did not allow the size of their lot to dictate their passion. 

When our other colleagues eventually arrived and lunch was served, it was mostly from the garden. Fresh vegetables and the most sumptuous chicken, all freshly obtained from the garden. Food tastes different when you can intimately connect with its source.

The city girl and boy have become avid homesteaders who share plants and speak of how they are feeding their budding family of fresh food.  What have you done with your space lately?