Welcome to Sarova Maiyan, where nature, modernisation and organic farming blend in harmony

By Mwangi Ndirangu

The sprawling manicured grounds that blend well with whistling trees and serene canopies welcome you to Sarova Maiyan Nanyuki, a resort in Laikipia County.

This award-winning luxury resort, set in one of Kenya’s finest destinations and located 21Km from Nanyuki town, has 10 exquisite villas comprising a total of 60 rooms.

Sitting on 113 acres of natural lush landscape with a backdrop of Mt Kenya and Lolldaiga Hills, the setting provides a breath-taking view of the Aberdare Ranges from the rooftop pool lounge of the villas.

It is a holiday destination that combines relaxation with nature’s adventure exploits and a variety of sporting facilities that spice up team building activities or any other social gatherings.

But the icing on the cake in this beautiful experience of a home away from home is the rich cuisine that makes the establishment stand out in its own class by actualising the “from farm to table” mantra.

At a section of the alluring resort lies a 30-acre farm dotted with blossoming crops. They range from herbs and spices to fruit trees. There is also a section reserved for livestock rearing.

The organically grown crops form the bulk of the food supply to the hotel’s kitchen, a step towards promoting traceability, and an integral part of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) approach.

Traceability involves keeping documented records of all the moving items involved, which ensures overall quality and safety, helping in maintaining industry-required quality standards and regulations.

With health-conscious consumers now preferring chemical-free diets, Sarova Maiyan Resort prides itself as one of the hospitality establishments in the region that can confidently point to the source of its kitchen supplies and provide a detailed account on a particular product.

This comes at a time when there is a rising global concern over consumption of foods that exceeds Maximum Residue Level (MRL) – the maximum concentration of chemical residue on food products that is legally tolerated, and which can only be fulfilled through good agricultural practices.

Emergence of new resistant diseases and pests are pushing some horticulturalists to use excessive chemicals to save their investments. Such non-adherence to food safety protocols has caught the attention of Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), a government regulatory agency, which has recently announced a new code of practice for food producers.

Consumers of bulk horticultural produce such as learning institutions or hotel establishments bear the responsibility of ensuring that the produce they use meet necessary safety and quality standards.

But long before AFA published the new food safety protocols, Sarova Maiyan Nanyuki had invested in its own organic farm as a strategy to adequately fulfil traceability, and which has come with other socio-economic benefits.

“Traceability is taken very seriously in the food industry. Establishing our own farm for hotel supplies comes with loads of benefits for our clients, the business establishment and the local community members who now work at the farm,” says Sarova Maiyan’s Head of Marketing Precious Muthee.

Apart from practising climate-smart agriculture, the resort has gone a step ahead to invest in climate change adaptation initiatives such as planting more than 200,000 indigenous trees, use of clean energy, and applying modern technologies of water conservation.

“We have set aside days for tree planting, and if you look around, you notice that buildings take a mere 25 percent of the land, while trees and fruits occupy the other 75 percent. Besides leading in tree planting as a climate change mitigation measure, we have installed a 150kw solar power production firm that provides about 30 percent of the power requirements,” adds Ms Precious.

Another climate change adaptation measure is recycling waste water used in the hotel, and which is used in greening the compound.

At the thriving farm, more than 100 species of crops, herbs and fruits are being grown. Some of them are exotic and are under experimentation in two greenhouses before they are introduced to the open field’s. The crops are watered through a drip irrigation system from a nearby dam that collects storm water.

“We are experimenting on every known herb and fruit tree using modern agricultural practices, and surprisingly, most of them are doing very well. To achieve this goal, we go for the right soil type and then introduce organic fertilizer,” explains Anthony Mutuma, the assistant farm manager, as he shows a healthy Chinese cabbage and baby spinach, both growing inside the greenhouse.

A short distance from the two greenhouses is a hutch with a variety of rabbit breeds. Their urine is used to make organic foliar fertilizer as well as pesticides.

“We make fertilizers and pesticides locally using animal and crop products such as chili and neem tree leaves, among other ingredients. Besides the rabbits, we have a variety of other domestic animals, including dairy cattle, pigs, dorper sheep, improved indigenous chicken and a stable where we keep horses, all which provide manure for the farm,” adds Anthony.

Livestock and poultry are also reared organically and are occasionally slaughtered for consumption at the hotel.

“We rear our broilers and improved kienyeji (free-range) chicken from one-day-old chicks. Through observation of high level hygiene, we are able to keep our poultry free of vaccination. In case of sickness, we immediately isolate the sick one and treat it using recommended herbal remedies,” explains the in-house agronomist.

Next time you feel like taking a well-deserved holiday in an ambience of tranquillity, ready to experience nature at its finest and a cuisine that has no equal in the region, look no further than Sarova Maiyan Nanyuki, where harmony blends with excellence.

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