Agripreneurs - Kenya

This project is tackling climate change by effectively increasing “green cover” in the community and establishing a new supply chain for women micro vendors in the community.

Key facts:

So far, 30 girls have been educated on new farming methodologies and six women are earning a living selling tomatoes and vegetables from the farm;
In December 2014, the six women vendors sold a total of 90 kilograms of tomatoes in the community market;
A community of 300 people associated with Wangu primary have participated and benefited from this activity in terms of attending the activity’s health seminars.

The problem

Kibera is experiencing high surface temperatures due to a lack of green cover. If the community were to remove 10 percent of the green cover, they would experience high surface temperatures.

The solution

Research indicates that having a 10 percent “green cover” could help lower surface temperatures in low-income residential areas like Kibera. This activity engages young girls in nurturing fruit trees and tending to vegetable gardens in partnership with primary schools situated in low income communities in Nairobi. The pilot farm is a tomato garden in Wangu Primary School involving 30 girls. This activity is also giving control to the local micro vendors. They grow their crops and sell them in the community market.

Helping the planet

An increase in fruit and vegetable gardens can help urban areas adapt to the impacts of climate change by increasing their self-sufficiency and decreasing the need to truck in fruit and vegetables over long distances, which causes carbon emissions.

Helping people

This activity is teaching children about the source of their food, local agriculture and healthy diets. Fresh tomatoes in the school are positively improving student behavior and eating habits eating habits.

Scaling Up

Agripreneurs will be conducting activities at a second site in Kibera and hopes to increase their impact. They hope to remain sustainable and encourage others to replicate the activity in other areas. Agripreneurs has the potential to grow in size, reach more beneficiaries and increase demand for local produce within the local communities.