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Baraka Agricultural College
In response to the needs of the newly settled people
in Rift Valley Province of the new independent Kenya, the Catholic
Diocese of Nakuru established Baraka Farmers Training Centre in
1974. This was a collaborative effort with the Government, thus
establishing partnership and collaboration as basic principles from
the very beginning.
In the early years curricula reflected was that of
conventional agricultural training centres with an emphasis on high
external input/high output agriculture. With changing demographic,
social and economic conditions it became increasingly obvious that
this development approach was not responding to the needs of small-holder
farmers.
A watershed in the development of the College was
a three-week international workshop - initiated and funded by MISEREOR
, longtime, loyal partner of Baraka - on sustainable agriculture
held at the college in August 1986. Subsequently Baraka developed
curricula and courses to promote the concept sustainable agriculture.
In the early nineties the name of the institution was changed to
Baraka Agricultural College (BAC) and the development concept was
extended to include rural development.
Today, all of Baraka's five programmes aim at empowering
rural communities of Eastern Africa by promoting sustainable agriculture
and rural development ( SARD ). The work of the College is underpinned
by the following principles:
Guiding Philosophy - Core Values
The Philosophy of BAC is based in the reality that every human person
is a unique individual and that she/he has a right to an environment
in which she/he can live with dignity. It is founded on the gospel
of Jesus Christ and the desire to bring this "good news"
in a practical way to all people, especially the poor. Based on
the social teaching of the Catholic Church the College endeavours
to serve all people irrespective of their religion or ethnicity.
All College programmes focus on recognizing human potential, natural
resources and the environment as the foundation of economic and
social activity.
From the above guiding philosophy the core values of BAC are:
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Equality of all: BAC believes that God made
all people equal and is committed to a development that promotes
that equality
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Rights and dignity of all: BAC believes in
and strives to uphold the rights and dignity of all people
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Stewardship: BAC believes that all human beings
are co-responsible with God to protect the dignity of everybody
and everything
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Respect for the physical earth: BAC believes
that the physical earth has rights and needs to be respected
in and of itself and not just as a stage for human activity.
Currently Baraka runs five programmes in striving
to fulfill its mission:
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Certificate in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural
Development (CSARD)
Short Courses
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Short courses
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Beekeeping Development Unit
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Area Based Extension Outreach to Kamara Division
in Nakuru District and Tenges Division in Baringo District
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Day Release Courses for schools, colleges,
development workers and the general public
In addition to above programmes Baraka plans to start
a diploma course in sustainable agriculture and rural development
in September 2006.
For more information Contact:
The Principal
BARAKA AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE
P.O. Box 52, Molo 20106, Kenya
Tel: 051 - 721091
Fax: 051 - 721310
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