• Chamomile is a herb from the daisy-like flowers of the Asteraceae plant family. It is rich in vitamins A and C, and contains essential oils and antioxidants.
• Once the flowers are dried, they are infused into hot water to make chamomile tea.
Image: AGATHA NGOTHO
Image: AGATHA NGOTHO
Tabitha Wangui, a resident of Ngamini village in Ndaragwa, Nyandarua county, is in her second year growing chamomile.
It is a herb in the daisy-like flowers of the Asteraceae plant family. It is rich in vitamins A and C, and contains essential oils and antioxidants.
Once the flowers are dried, they are infused into hot water to make chamomile tea.
Many people enjoy chamomile tea as a caffeine-free alternative to black or green tea. It has a somewhat sweet taste that helps to relieve stress and promote relaxation.
Wangui says she got to know about the crop after attending a farmers training workshop where they were given seeds.
“I was introduced to chamomile by Saumu Empire, an agribusiness company, who supplied me with the seedlings to try them,"she said.
"Chamomille has no much expenses; it is purely organic and all I need is manure and labour.”
Wangui says they were trained on the importance of the crop and how to grow it.
“I got interested and started planting it immediately. You start harvesting after two weeks from the time of planting though the yields are low at first but the more the crop matures, the more yields you get,” says Wangui.
She is currently harvesting and afterwards, she dries the plants before selling them at Sh1,000 per kilo.
In a good week, Wangui can sell about 10 or more kilos of chamomile. She has ready market where she is paid on delivery.
“I sell my produce weekly.From the quarter acre, I can make about Sh100,000 but 30 per cent of the cost goes towards labour. I have employed a lady on a monthly basis to assist in harvesting and I pay her Sh300 in a day,” she says.
“Initially, I was employing four women. However, since I bought a small manual harvesting machine I have been able to cut on labour costs and I now work with one lady permanently.”
Besides selling her chamomile produce, Wangui and her family also consume the herb by either putting a table spoonful in a cup of hot water or in tea. She says this has improved the health of her family.
Her husband William Gatheca is very supportive and together they have also been able to grow other crops like French beans, beans, peas and cabbages.
“I am engaging in chamomile farming courtesy of a water pan from the National Irrigation Authority,"she says.
"Before 2019, when the water pan was constructed, life was hard. Maize would fail due to the scorching sun while vegetables withered every so often.We depended on rain which is very scarce. We basically survived on relief food,"
“I have so much joy now because I can comfortably feed my family with a balanced diet, pay school fees and take care of other expenses. Without the water pan, I would have stopped farming years ago.” added the mother of six.
According to NIA, construction of small water pans is under the Household Irrigation Water Storage Project and it is now at its fifth phase.
“Its aim is to put forward measures to boost farming activities and changing the narrative of food security under the Big Four Agenda across the country,"the NIA report says.
"Water pans store runoff water during the heavy rains which once full can provide enough water for irrigated agriculture for up to four months until the next rainy season.”
(Edited by Francis Wadegu)