PILOT PROJECT
KAKAMEGA, KENYA
In 2016, we launched our first pilot project in Kenya. The social enterprise, the Toothpick Company Limited, was registered in 2018 and works in partnership with the German NGO, Welhungerhilfe, and the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO). In 2019-2020 we had over 1000 demonstration plots in four counties in western Kenya to show farmers our technology and its impact.
In March 2021, the Kenya Pest Control Products Board granted our provisional product registration! While working through current COVID restrictions on gathering and travel, we have distributed manufacturing kits to our 42 trained Village Inoculum Producers (VIPs) just in time for the long rains.
On March 12, 2021, the Director General of KALRO, Dr. Eliud Kireger, hosted a press conference to announce the commercial release of KichawiKillTM. Here is a video from some of the event's presenters (1st Dr. Kireger; 2nd Newton Kisala, Toothpick Company Limited General Manager; 3rd Ann Nyangasi, a farmer who has hosted demo plots on her farm.)
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Currently, we are in Kakamega, Siaya, Kisumu, Vihiga, Bungoma, Busia, Homa Bay, and Migori counties in Kenya. All of these counties are in Western Kenya, where Striga infestation is widespread and common.
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Long Rains 2022
Do you want to be a part of the Toothpick Company Limited's product launch in western Kenya?
Contact us for more information on how you can access our product as either a Village Inoculum Producer (VIP) or a farmer.
