The above pictured person is James Karugu, Former Attorney General of Kenya who many years ago retired/quit to do farming in Kiambu County. (Courtesy of Daily Nation)

As we all know, farm life is not everybody's cup of tea, so this message is dedicated to those who have the intention of retiring to a farm somewhere, but are not convinced that it's the right thing to do. Well, Oxfarm Ag is here to help you make it happen!

Lets talk about women first.  Women either love or hate farming. The few in the middle are forced into the life of frugal and healthy living because of circumstances -which is unfortunate, but we can always hope that they will come to love farm life.

Most women who enjoy farm life despite the hardships are caregivers - they care for and devote their entire existence to the family

With men it's a bit more complicated. First there's the ego issue. Then there's the dilemma - should it be the town house or the farm house?

This message is meant for wage earners who hopefully have saved enough of their after-tax take home pay or their pension money, whatever the case may be, for retirement.

Retirement doesn't have to be when you are 55 or 60 or whatever the 'official' retirement age is in your company. Retirement is when you are ready to lift up and take your nose away from the grindstone, look up at life and begin living it. And I say go ahead, get yourself a farm or an orchard and spend your retirement there.

http://oxfarm.co.ke/livestock-farming/bee-keeping/commercial-bee-keeping-in-kenya/

Retirement In a Farm? Things to Consider !

  • If you are retiring away on your own, you will appreciate the space (literally and figuratively)
  • After the initial euphoria of the long-awaited retirement, which lasts about two weeks, you will find it tough going to get through the twelve hours daylight sitting around the house, and another twelve to get you through the night. There's only so much sleeping you can do. So it would be a great relief that you could be away from the house, not just for a few hours, but a few days, weeks or even months
  • Consider this: you will be walking around in a vast open space with a pruner instead of a five iron in your hand
  • You get more exercise, fresher air and the same sunshine you get on a golf course minus the stress and frustration.
  • As you walk you get to talk to your animals and your trees which don't talk back to you
  • You can still go fishing, in fact the river running beside your farm may be teeming with fish
  • You can stop and smell the flowers, as often as you like
  • If you have been working in the city, thirty years of inhaling polluted air is enough, isn't it?
  • Instead of walking your grandchildren in shopping malls, walk them around your orchard where they can feed the animals and climb the fruit trees. It's good for them, good for you too.

But you need to be ready and be committed. Don't say one day I will do it, instead say I will have enough money by the time I retire, to retire to my desired place. That's called a plan, not a dream

If you already have a land somewhere, start planning early, plant trees, build a house, so that by the time you retire, you will have an already functioning farm.