Green Gates Ecofarm

Kitale, Kenya

An Overview Of Our Solution

Restoration & preservation of wetlands and their environs by reforestation, promotion of agroforestry & non wood forest products enterprises to alleviate poverty. We enhance tree growth & retain watershed quality while restoring native habitats. We are an environmental conservation site that lets the community experience & appreciate how nature connects education, spirituality, recreation, employment, fuel & food security. We do aqua farming, apiculture, mushroom farming & agroforestry. We donate, sell seedlings and train on environment restoration & preservation. By offering free nature tours on our 65 acres farm for education and recreation, we groom conservation ambassadors. We are on the Cherangany Hills the most degraded water catchment in Kenya prompting the urgent conservation need through income generation for sustainability.

Who is this solution impacting?

Community Type

Suburban

Rural

Organization type

Nonprofit

Ecosystem (select all that apply)

Freshwater

Population impacted

1,500 people

Size of agricultural area

26 ha

Production quantity

1,500kg fish, 1,200 kg rose coco beans, 4,000kg mushrooms, 5,100 blue gum trees all per annum.

People employed

5 permanent and 80 temporary people

Describe your solution

The problem we are facing is rapid degradation of the environment for its produce due to poverty. Our incentive is income generation through Non Timber Forest Products enterprises promotion i.e. apiculture, agroforestry, fish & mushroom farming. To sustainably conserve the environment, address food security and income generate we: - Reclaimed 5 acres wetland that flows into the Saiwa Swamp National Park allowing the rare Sitatunga aquatic antelope & grey crested crane to thrive with a wildlife corridor. - Donate to the community indigenous tree seedlings to encourage tree planting and conserve water flow into the park and for community use. - Demonstrate fish and mushroom farming to provide income & nutritious food options. - Afforested 20 acres that homes wildlife including birds, butterflies, dragonflies and monkeys. - Plant planned woodlots to supply the community with timber and fuel to reduce deforestation.  Demonstrate agroforestry providing e.g. beans and vegetables for food security year through. - Practice conservation tilling and bench terracing to improve soil quality. - Create jobs for over 100 people. - Facilitate outdoor environmental education via guided nature walks, positively altering behavior towards the environment.

Describe your implementation

By researching, consulting the community & integrating their local knowledge & needs, we were able to decide on the activities. Cost, time, impact, climate & terrain were considered. We collaborate with professionals for training & adherence to national guidelines.Through participatory demonstration & promotion of agroforestry, afforestation, fish & mushroom farming, the community gains hands on learning to enable them buy in, gain skills & replicate our success competently. The projects’ direct results are income generation, rain regulation, timber, fuel, food & water security. We have indigenous tree seedlings sales offers & donations as these are expensive. They are then able to restore their wetlands & other landscapes. By affordable leasing to the able but landless offers them alternative farming ground saving wetlands. Women grow crops within our agroforestry site for food security & income from surplus produce. Our facilitation of demonstration and capacity building via professionals has empowered them into confidence. Free nature trail tours & our sites’ recreation use has created appreciation of natures’ contribution towards food, water, timber, education, culture & health. These way ambassadors of responsible behavior are created. Capacity build has empowered the community with vital skills. Training on financial literacy teaches them to save & raise capital from income from jobs we create. The shaded environment allows albinos to work. There is food available year round as women use our agroforestry to generate income & food. We have achieved the required 10% tree cover reclaiming biodiversity as seen by the thriving wildlife like butterflies, birds, monkeys & dragon flies. Our serenity & nature trail attracts groups to use our venue for meetings. We hired security due to theft of fish, fencing poles & seedling bags. We harvest rain water via roof catchment to ensure supply year round as well as recycle the green house fish farms’ water for agroforestry.

External connections

1. Empower Women UN Women – Capacity building. 2. Total – Tree planting advisory. 3. NETFUND – Funds, monitoring & evaluation. 4. Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forestry Services and Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries – Training, livestock & monitoring. 5. Imbako Public Health – Public health training. 6. Local community – Labor, market & replication. Having consulted and done a community survey on ideal enterprises, they are a major stakeholder ensuring sustainability. The local administration & foresters are key in mobilization & guidance in tree planting drives. NETFUND green innovations award granted us 2,475 USD (2016-207) to enable continuity of our project and get registered. Our efforts are complimented by field workers from the Kenya Forestry Services, Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries and Kenya Wildlife Service by giving us guidance in relevant skills as well as on government policies. They are instrumental in seedlings/ livestock recommendation, farming & marketing. As a model farm, demonstrations are occasionally carried out on our site. Together we are pursuing afforestation of 10% land that we have achieved and conservation through Non timber forest products enterprises promotion. With Imbako Public Health, we give talks on Sanitation with regards to environmental pollution reduction. Financial & digital savvy Empower Women Champions for Change, an organization I am part of, will carry out training to enlighten the community on business skills.

What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?

We are located on the Cherangany hills water tower which is at now the most degraded in Kenya. As a national concern, the EU is funding the government for this ecosystems rehabilitation. Our reclaimed wetland is 2km from, and tributes into the Park. Most of the surrounding wetland is on non government protected areas and has been drained for farming by individuals and communities. The Park habits the rare Sitatunga aquatic antelope and grey crested crane, both hunted by man as a delicacy. Cherangany Hills is also home to the rare and endangered De Brazza Monkey. Destruction of these wildlife corridors needs reversing. Forests have also been depleted in search of fuel, grazing land and timber. Occasionally forest fires have been started by honey gatherers. Introduction of alternative livelihoods through promotion of Non Timber Forest Products enterprises will reverse the dependency on natural resources.

Describe the context in which you are operating

80 % of the community are subsistence farmers on less than 2 acres of land. The county is Kenya’s food basket, producing most of the staple food - maize. Land is mainly owned by men who are more educated and find jobs in urban areas. Women fend for families via farming, fetching water and raising kids. Low crop and work income (2 USD per day) leads to poverty, hunger and malnutrition. Climate change has led to dry spells hence farmers are encroaching onto and near wetlands for survival, leading to scarcity of water. Water is mainly for sanitation, drinking & agriculture. Females spend time looking for water and contract waterborne diseases limiting their productivity.Forests are depleted for fuel & timber reducing biodiversity. Population growth has but stress on natural resources increasing poverty. Sustainable economic development is doable via promotion of Non timber forest products enterprises which can be practiced on minimal space and require less water. Women groups (in 10s) are funded by the government at low rates. Via capacity building they can collectively access better markets. Income is the surest incentive towards sustainable environmental conservation.

How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?

Forest cover We have planted hundreds of thousands of trees on 20 acres and have a 1.3km nature trail in our forest. We educate locals on conservation leading to positive behavior change. From woodlots, we supply the community of about 1,500 with firewood & timber, reducing deforestation. This contributes to the rain cycle and clean air. Wildlife thrives here. Water catchment We have reclaimed & preserved 5 acres of wetland that tributes into the Saiwa Swamp National Park, 2km away. The Park is a biodiversity hotspot that inhabits the rare Sitatunga aquatic antelope, threatened grey crested crane and De Brazza's monkey. All flora planted here help protect the water catchment. Around our fish pond we see dragon flies that are an indicator of a healthy ecosystem. Soil Most land here is prone to soil erosion, leaving the soil depleted of quantity & quality. To curb this, we have protected 5 acres of gulleys by bench terracing. Indigenous vegetation here includes livestock fodder which we offer to the community reducing overgrazing of public grasslands and forests. We conservation till allowing decaying of fallen leaves, twigs and fruits to improved the soil nutrient quality.

Water

The control levees we erected on our wetland regulate water flow & curb soil erosion that may cause pollution downstream. Wildlife in the neighboring Saiwa Swamp National Park thrives, growing tourism. Our ponds are habitat for plants, aquatic & terrestrial animals. The wetland improves water quality by filtration and absorption. It gradually recharges groundwater supplies hence the community taps clean water through aquifers. Various groups use our water body as an outdoor class.

Food Security/Nutrition

We conservation till & use organic waste manure to improve soil quality & water retention for better crop yields. Recycling waste e.g. cow dung as fertilizer and maize residue as a mushroom growing substrate, we produce nutritious foods sustainably. Aqua farming of tilapia & cat fish provides the community with high protein food. Our forest trees & indigenous shrubs provide fodder for livestock. Agroforestry gives year through food as the soil here is rich in nutrients & water content.

Economic/Sustainable Development

We create jobs with income improving livelihoods for sustainable development. Employees can provide for their families food, health & education. Direct jobs include cleaners, security guards, fish & bee caretakers, mushroom, crops and tree planters, land preparers, trainers, field workers, transporters & sales persons. Indirect jobs are through middlemen and bigger organizations for honey, wax, timber, fish, maize, mushrooms and vegetables processors for value addition.

Climate

Through afforestation we contribute to the control of Carbon Dioxide in the air as trees absorb it and release Oxygen. This curbs climate change and loss of air quality. Other pollutants that trees remove from the air are Sulfur Dioxide, Nitrogen Oxide and Ozone. Trees regulate evaporation and energy, regulating temperature and rain. Our wetland and ponds contribute to the rain cycle by evaporation. All these work to mitigate climate change improving food security, the economy and health.

Sustainability

We link environmental conservation to income as an incentive for sustainability. This enables the community to meet their financial obligations and nurture the environment.

Our practices use minimal, recycled & easy access inputs hence economic.

We recycle waste water from green-house fish farming for agroforestry and afforest using natural regenerated seedlings.

Waste farm produce is recycled into mushroom substrate.

Income from agroforestry & woodlots is reinvested. Replication even partly, is hence economically sustainable.

Our project meets the community’s social, economic & environmental needs hence it is economically sustainable as these are all dependent.

We do not rely on funding or market- based revenue.

Return on investment

The cost of implementation in the last 4 years is $7,485 with funding from NETFUND Green Innovations award being $1,584 in 2016. The rest has been 90% self funded and 10% from well wishers. Our income in this period is cumulatively $23,673. Year 1 -$3,515 – previous income not tallied Year 2 -$5,960 – 69% growth Year 3 -$7,020 – 17% growth Year 4 -$7,178 – 2% growth We have seen an annual income growth. Once we set up systems (2013-2014), our income doubled. Last year our fish and woodlot were immature for harvest and there was shortage of rains. Mushroom houses were built as capital expenditure (2016). Overall we see a steady growth as all our goods and services have a steadily growing market and there is social stability.

How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?

Successful replication of our integration farming model can & is being done within the Cherangany villages in Kenya by small scale farmers having land from as little as less than an acre. They replicate in part by implementing agroforestry, apiculture, mushroom or aqua farming. We could successfully replicate to the wider Trans Nzoia County through participatory demonstration, to ensure evidence for buy in and share relevant skills. Local trainers are effective as they relate well and work as field workers. Capacity building by professionals from Kenya Forestry Services and The Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries is incorporated. Promoting the use of recycled materials e.g. cow dung & chicken mash for fertilizer as well as wheat straw & maize residue as mushrooms growing substrate, minimizes costs hence achievable. Our replication method has been successful, improving livelihoods while conserving the environment to combat climate change. Funding of this project will be $8,455

Overview