The YMA has an experimental Waqf Project in its farm in Garissa.

The reason it is experimental is that new things are always being tried and those which show promise will be adopted.

Currently, the farm has:

1. Cattle for milk production – this is the longest running of the experiments and is quite productive and generates US$5,000 per year. This is with a modest 20 cows.

2. Firewood – wild trees can be harvested for firewood, which is a necessity among the poor as affordable fuel for cooking and heating. This is not an income generating project, but is freely distributed amongst the poor and also needy institutions.

3. Vegetables – this is a ‘work in progress’ as we are still in the process of seeing which vegetables produce the best yields and are the most marketable. Our last crops were tomatoes, but they weren’t as productive as we had hoped.

4. Mangoes & Avocados – this project is still in its developmental stage. However, recently we have planted more than 150 trees as a Sadaqah Jariya. This area has also been fenced-off to avoid animal and human encroachment. We still require sponsorship for more tress before it can become profitable. For further details see: Fruit Tree Project

Once our research stage is completed, we will look into the development of the farm on a larger scale to try to create jobs, reduce food costs at the orphanage, reduce food costs for food aid and generate income.

Further to the farm, other development projects are also being looked into i.e. brick-making, house construction, recycling, processing etc. However, these are only in the research stage.

Currently the most promising is a brick-making and house construction initiative. This is through an innovative new technology called Hydraform. More information on this is under the Self-Sufficiency & Empowerment section.