Need help locating rare seeds

JMJones0424 · February 28, 2009

Background: My sister lives in an extremely remote and primitive area in the Turkana District of Kenya, near Lokichoggio. (NW Kenya near Sudan). She will be visiting the United States this fall, and I have been trying to put together a knowledge package and seeds to help her with her garden. Her primary limitation is irrigation. Average annual rainfall is 300mm, but this is highly variable, with at least half falling on only a few days between March and May, so most of this is lost due to runoff. Some years may see as little as 100mm of total rain. Soil is very thin, sandy, and almost devoid of organic matter. Temperature ranges from warm to extremely hot. She has access to a hand-pump well, but it is shared by the community, and she is limited practically to about 20 gallons a day for a household of three. She has had success growing sweet potatoes, okra, and cow peas in a compost pile, and is nursing along a few papaya trees. In (relatively) cooler weather, she grows chard, and other rapidly growing leafy greens for fresh vegetables.

I have been doing a lot of research for the past six months or so, and would like to locate some seeds of the marama bean Tylosema esculentum which is native to southern Africa. It seems to be a highly drought resistant and useful plant, but I can not find any sources for seed. Here is a chapter from Lost Crops of Africa: Volume II describing the plant.

She is already aware of the need for organic material, shade, and mulch. I plan on giving her the information I have gathered on biochar and swales. Any other out of the ordinary advice or areas to look at for rare plants that can deal with extended periods of drought or grow rapidly enough to produce food in a small area during the rainy months would be appreciated. She is the only one in the community that even bothers to try having a garden, and if she could be successful, it may convince others to give it a shot as well. Her limitations are extreme, but with the proper capture and use of rainwater, I think they can be overcome.