Agíkúyú indigenous cultural foods; Preventive and curative medicine.

"... I had the idea that you want to reach more people, somehow is gonna be easier for you because maybe people are going to help you up on the way,...But, its not like this. I realize you go higher you go even more alone..." Master Shi Heng Yi

"A founder is someone who sees a problem no one sees and has a solution no one sees " Patricia Wanjiru Kariuki Henry, Founder Patricia Farm Fresh.

My journey to restoring the Agíkúyú indigenous cultural foods started in July 2024. The concept was born in 2022. I battled with a lot of questions. One of them was, why am I the best person to solve this problem, and must I do it? 

For two years I battled with this. I often wondered if anyone cares about the Agíkúyú indigenous cultural foods. I am a Múgíkúyú from Kirínyaga. I grew up on a farm. I enjoyed seeing all the types of indigenous fruits, tubers, legumes, indigenous animals, cereals and vegetables. They have a distinct taste because of their unique biochemistry-chemistry. They are preventive and curative medicine.

With time, these foods faded from the farms and subsequently from the granaries and the table. Around the same time, Type two diabetes and cancer diseases started to take root around the Mt. Kenya region. As a Nutritionist, panic set in.  It bothered me every day. 

In the past, I had a lot of ideas and proposals rejected even though they were clearly solving the very problem an organization/individual" stands for". I soon realized the policy and the implementation gap was a well-intended system to make sure solutions don't get implemented. Someone/ people/institutions is/are benefiting from the chaos. Sad! But True! Chilling as well! 

Fast-forward to July 2024, I took the bold step and started the journey to bringing the Agíkúyú indigenous cultural foods back to the farms, in the granary and on the table! Boy! What a lovely sight when I look at what we have achieved!

We have restored vegetables, legumes, Millet, Maize, tubers, fruit trees, indigenous trees, cooking artifacts and the dignity and pride of farming the Agíkúyú indigenous cultural foods.

I am grateful for the lessons learnt. Among them is that doing good requires an understanding of the problem you are solving and a clear mindset. 

We have achieved so much with very limited resources and logistics and, for this, I'm grateful to the handful of people who have supported the journey of restoring the Agíkúyú indigenous cultural foods in the farm, granary and on the table.

Ni wega múno! Asante sana! Thank you!

Watch the Agíkúyú small-scale farmers showcasing our achievements here: https://youtu.be/1qlsSTxJEFU?si=fT6Zdu2U1qUX4Wr0

Listen to the food security systems podcast here:https://open.spotify.com/show/0VYSAzCDcFvn7T6niSyAtl?si=0c2badb5c5f8469a

Patricia Kariuki Henry,

Expert in Food, Nutrition and Dietetics.