The Trust Charity
The aims of the charity are:
(1) The prevention or relief of poverty by promoting the use of the precision planting tool known as the Barney Planter, in particular for use by small scale farmers in developing countries.
(2) The advancement of environmental protection and improvement by promoting the practise of Conservation Agriculture and sustainable development
Both of the above are with the intention of providing financial, health and environmental benefits by increased yield and soil conservation.
Conservation Agriculture is a method of farming that eliminates the need of ploughing. This simple change brings many advantages to the farmer.
The Barney Planter can be made cheaply with locally available materials and skills. The use of the planter reduces fertiliser requirements while increasing yields. The planter is designed to be used by women.
Barney Planter Trust trains local metal workers how to make the Barney Planter. This involves providing a clear understanding of the purpose of the planter, plans, costings and jig-making.
Barney Planter Trust teaches women how to use the planter. This is done in the field by practical demonstration to women's groups. After training, the participants are given a planter, seed and fertilizer to help them make a start at conservation agriculture.
The Trustees
The Barney Planter Trust is run by 3 Trustees based in UK, supported by Stanley Muriuki Samson in Kenya.
Stanley Muriuki Samson
Stanley is a small scale farmer who lives near Muramati, Laikipia, Kenya. He thinks deeply about all the activities he undertakes. Stanley's main interest is increasing food production.
He hopes to achieve this by the application of conservation agriculture at an affordable cost. He has expertise in evaluating technologies and indicating their potential value and where modification may be needed. He and his wife are experts in the use of work animals donkeys and oxen, while Stanely also handles camels.
Stanley has undertaken a variety of projects such as donkey weeding to reduce chemicals on Lord Deremare's Soysambu estate and the use of a camel scoop to increase capacity of water pans in arid areas.
Due to his religious background he is very confident and capable when addressing groups of people in a variety of local languages as well as English. He has a passport and has been a member of Government delegations.
Stanley is a great supporter of the Barney Planter and has organised several training sessions with women's groups around the Timau area, as well facilitating the training of local artisans in the planters construction. He provides demonstrations of the planter at agricultural events, most recently at Kisima Farm Conservation Agriculture Day.
Simon Taylor
Simon met Barney’s son Martin when they both attended Harper Adams Agricultural College over 30 years ago. They travelled to Kenya together, staying at Barney’s small holding in the north of the country.
Simon was brought up on a dairy farm in Cheshire, UK, and has always been involved in either agriculture or horticulture. He has a passion for permaculture and sustainable agricultural practices. He travelled across the USA working with local farmers and growers and he sailed around Belize and landed in Honduras where he initiated various local tree planting projects .
Simon currently looks after a large property and smallholding in West Sussex where he has plans to plant a small vineyard next year.
Richard Hoblyn
Richard Hoblyn is a financier with over 45 years experience in international banking, money broking, bullion trading & private stockbroking. He has been a founder Fellow of the Chartered Securities & Investment Institute, London, a Member of iFs School of Finance (Institute of Bankers) and a Council Member of the International Equity Dealers Association. He has worked for Chartered Bank, MW Marshall & Co, Derby & Co (Engelhard Industries) and many securities firms where he managed around £100M+ of private assets & advised various UK listed companies. Mr. Hoblyn specialised in 90s in TMT and more recently in resources. He has been involved in a number of London listed ‘shells’, notably BCE into Rage Software, AH Ball into medi@invest>, IPSO Ventures into Plutus PowerGen and has co-founded Black Bear Energy Resources (o&g in Michigan) as well as Selection Mines in 2020 & LonGuy Gold Limited in 2024. Mr. Hoblyn has interests in agri having advised large Estates on sustainability & commercial enterprises
Martin Muckle
As the son of Barney, Martin has also spent a great deal of time in Africa. From travelling to Sierra Leone at 18 months old to teaching in Nairobi, to running a business for 6 years all over Kenya, Martin has developed a passion for appropriate technology in an African environment. The multi-faceted requirement of designing and building effective appropriate technology has fascinated Martin for decades. He himself designed and built solar-powered computer labs for rural Kenyan primary schools.
After His involvement in a small project to evaluate the Barney Planter by the University of Essex, Martin discovered that the women in the project had continued to use the Barney Planter even after the end of the project. This local acceptance is what prompted Martin to create a charity to further the use of the Barney Planter.
Martin currently lives with his family in Northern Scotland where he provides young people with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Needs (SEBN) support.
