

Follow Emmanuel Karisa Baya
A regenerative farmer in Kenya
Emmanuel Karisa Baya was an orphan in rural Kenya by the time he was nine years old. His mother had taught him to farm, and after going into another profession, he was called to return to the land. He found himself helping other orphans and poor children, and founding the Magarini Children Centre and Organic Demonstration Farm, where he practices and teaches organic and regenerative food production as well as conflict resolution.
Show notes:
1’58 how did you become a farmer
2’32 you were orphaned young
3’08 went from farming to being an accountant
4’21 found children who were supposed to be in school
5’53 supported fifteen children on the farm
7’31 what do you grow on the farm
9’22 teaching children to take care of the soil
9’42 raising pigs, loving and eating them
10’27 holistic education
10’59 sustainable farming includes many methods including traditional
11’33 what are the different farming techniques they use
12’05 got a scholarship to study farming in Japan
12’33 combined all methods appropriate to his community
13’13 pest control
13’30 crop rotation to control pests
13’45 rotation for healthy soil
14’16 the involvement of the community
15’07 extension agents try to teach them conventional farming, which is too expensive
15’44 combining traditional and organic gives higher yields
16’34 learning to work with and listen to the soil
17’25 medicine trees
18’20 mulching
19’00 controlling weeds
19’26 keeping bees
20’39 learning conflict resolution
22’46 conflict between nomadic cattle herders and farmers
23’51 falsely portrayed as a religious conflict when it was a food conflict
27’22 learned each others’ music and sang and danced together
29’51 the outcome of the conflict resolution song
30’51 connections of soil, heart, and humanity
32’01 what happens to the kids when they get older
33’23 compassionate animal agriculture
More Episodes
Episode 133 – Healing Grounds: The enduring cultures of regenerative agriculture
The land and its creatures looked very different when the first people arrived on this continent. Dan Flores‘ book Wild New World traces human impact up to the present––and the choices we’re looking at now.
Episode 132 – Innovative approaches to regeneration on a California ranch
The land and its creatures looked very different when the first people arrived on this continent. Dan Flores‘ book Wild New World traces human impact up to the present––and the choices we’re looking at now.
Episode 131 – Giant bison, mammoths, and eagles: a deep history of the American continent
The land and its creatures looked very different when the first people arrived on this continent. Dan Flores‘ book Wild New World traces human impact up to the present––and the choices we’re looking at now.
Episode 130 – Sustainable development, climate mitigation, and biochar
For decades Brando Crespi has been working in communities damaged by extractive industries. He makes the case that biochar can and should be part of a global strategy do reverse climate change and grow more food with less water.
Episode 129 – Bringing dead land back to life: a filmmaker’s perspective
In 1995 John Liu began documenting the Loess Plateau in China, a landscape ruined by poor agriculture practices. Over decades he documented its return to vibrant life, and filmed many other restoration projects worldwide.
Episode 128 – Sustaining Southwest Agriculture
Gary Paul Nabhan knows how to grow food that’s healthy and profitable––even during times of drought and climate disruption.
Episode 127 – A vibrant pecan oasis in the desert
Coley Burgess didn’t intend to do regenerative agriculture, but a series of happy accidents led him down a path toward healthier trees, a herd of animals, virtually no chemical or tractor use––and a more enjoyable life for himself and his family.
Episode 126 – The food-housing nexus
Professor Phil Warsaw noticed that in urban Black and Latino neighborhoods the price of housing near grocery stores was higher––but the same wasn’t true in more affluent White neighborhoods. Why? And how can planners balance food access and gentrification?
Episode 125 – Leveling the growing field: promoting a fair farm system
Both big ag and small family farms have their problems…but what’s the alternative? We talk with agricultural journalist Sarah Mock about the some possible models.
Episode 124 – Big Team Farms––a new economic model?
Both big ag and small family farms have their problems…but what’s the alternative? We talk with agricultural journalist Sarah Mock about the some possible models.
Episode 123 – The USDA goes after a small sheep farm
Linda and Larry Faillace imported milk sheep following USDA guidelines and started a cheese making business in Vermont––only to have their animals confiscated and killed by the USDA under the pretext of a disease that sheep don’t get. Listen to find out why.
Episode 122 – Making your tax dollars work after fires and floods
New Mexico Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez is working not only to help the people and businesses affected by fires and floods, but also to build back land that is more resilient. All of which is easier said than done.
Episode 121 – Place, Power, And Purpose: Pollinators On Western Landscapes
Bees and other pollinators are facing threats from industrialization and habitat fragmentation. Beekeeper, scientist, and indigenous teacher Melanie Kirby knows that bees are vital to the food we eat—and is showing the way forward.
Episode 120 – What’s good for the farm is good for the planet
Carol Ekarius has worked in both large- and small-scale farming, and has written many books for hobby farmers. And she’s led organizations devoted to watershed restoration and sustainable agriculture. She talks about the daunting challenges ahead—and gives us some reasons for hope.
Episode 119 – What is Your Foodprint?
You’ve heard of a carbon “footprint.” The idea of the “foodprint” broadens the vision from the single variable of carbon emissions to the full impact that your food has on the planet––animals, community, soil, water––and helps you to make better choices as a consumer and a citizen.
Episode 118 – Kiss the Ground: A project born of devotion to the earth
When Ryland Engelhart learned that restoring soil health was a key to reversing climate change, he became an advocate for regeneration –– resulting in a film that has been seen by over six million people in 26 languages.