{"id":2660,"date":"2017-03-09T16:37:47","date_gmt":"2017-03-09T13:37:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kengenfoundation.co.ke\/?p=2660"},"modified":"2017-03-09T16:45:11","modified_gmt":"2017-03-09T13:45:11","slug":"specialized-mukau-tree-facility-set-to-change-kenyas-dry-land-landscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kengenfoundation.co.ke\/specialized-mukau-tree-facility-set-to-change-kenyas-dry-land-landscape\/","title":{"rendered":"Specialized ‘Mukau Tree\u201d Facility Set to Change Kenya’s Dry-land Landscape"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kenya\u2019s arid and semi-arid areas are set to benefit in agro-forestry resources once an In-Vitro multiplication laboratory for Mukau tree is set up at Kamburu area in Machakos County. The project is set to kick off following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between KenGen, KenGen Foundation, and Better Globe Forestry who are the executors of the facility.<\/p>\n

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KenGen MD & CEO Eng. Albert Mugo and Jean-Paul Deprins the Managing Director of Better Globe Forestry during the signing of the MoU at KenGen Pension Plaza 2.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

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The in-vitro laboratory will be set-up on KenGen\u2019s 40 hectares of land near Kamburu power station which will be leased to Better Globe Forestry through the company\u2019s corporate social responsibility wing, KenGen Foundation. The facility will enable scientific propagation of thousands of Mukau seedlings which will be distributed to farmers in ASAL areas for agro-foresty and forestry plantations.<\/p>\n

Read more:\u00a0KenGen Foundation Launches 120 Million Ten-year Schools Greening Project<\/a><\/p>\n

Speaking during the signing the MoU on March 8, 2016, KenGen MD and CEO Eng. Albert Mugo said through the project, the company aims \u00a0at contributing towards 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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<\/em> plantations.<\/p>\n

Known as the \u2018mahogany\u2019 of the dry land, the Mukau tree, botanically known as melia volkensii<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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\u201d, said Mr. Deprins<\/p>\n

The Melia Volkensii<\/em> 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\u2019s interests in its operations.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Follow us on Twitter through\u00a0<\/i>@KenGen_Foundatn<\/i><\/a>\u00a0and like our\u00a0<\/i>Facebook page<\/i><\/a>\u00a0for more updates.<\/i><\/p>\n

–<\/i>Ernest Nyamasyo<\/i><\/a>, Communication Officer<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kenya\u2019s arid and semi-arid areas are set to benefit in agro-forestry resources once an In-Vitro multiplication laboratory for Mukau tree is set up at Kamburu area in Machakos County. The project is set to kick off following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between KenGen, KenGen Foundation, and Better Globe Forestry who are the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":2661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,4,53,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kengenfoundation.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2660"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kengenfoundation.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kengenfoundation.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kengenfoundation.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kengenfoundation.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2660"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.kengenfoundation.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2660\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2665,"href":"https:\/\/www.kengenfoundation.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2660\/revisions\/2665"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kengenfoundation.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kengenfoundation.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kengenfoundation.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kengenfoundation.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}