Community Based Agroecology Schools

The project seeks to build the capacity of rural women in Kenya on agroecology – a system of agricultural focused on efficient resource use, conservation of natural ecosystems and community resilience. The project involves the technical and political education on the entire food production process from soil, care for crops, harvest post-harvest and value addition. 

Through the project women–smallholder farmers will be trained on soil testing,  soil fertility, setting up seed banks ,biological pest control and how to increase the shelf life of their produce and value addition.

Through the project, rural women will be trained on how to use technology in marketing their produce and keeping records on their inputs and sales. This will enable rural women to get better access to markets and assure urban communities of safe and healthy food. Through the project, food production will be anchored on e-commerce thus supporting low income households.

The project addresses the unsustainable agricultural methods where farmers use hybrid seeds and synthetic fertilisers which has led to soil degradation, reduced seed diversity and weaken the resilience of food systems, a problem that is exacerbated by increasingly volatile weather pattern induced by climate change.Based on a model of efficient use of land, water, biodiversity and other resources, anchored in nature based solutions that enable traditional family and smallholder farms to achieve higher productivity. This will enhance biodiversity and soil nutrients, while also improving yields.

Women smallholder farmers will have better yields , learn better farming practices, enhanced access to seeds and farming inputs through established seed banks ,access to affordable seeds and enhanced seed biodiversity. 

With appropriate technology, the project will provide skills training on water harvesting and management, soil, care for crops, post-harvest and value. Rural women will also be trained on biological control of pests and diseases to  reduce use of chemical fertilisers on the farm and ensure healthy and nutritious food.Technology will be used in technology  conducting sales and record keeping, using WhatsApp to link producers to buyers and keep farm records ,create awareness on healthy food and meal planning to ensure proper dietary consumption.

Through training on agro-ecology, women smallholder farmers will have better yields and learn better farming practices. The project will enhance access to seeds and farming inputs through establishing community based seed banks. This will enable women have access to seeds that are affordable and enhance diversity of indigenous seeds. 

The project utilises a model of efficient use of land, water, biodiversity and other resources anchored on nature based solutions that enable traditional family and smallholder farms to achieve higher productivity. This is expected to enhance biodiversity, improve yields and enhance soil nutrients. Through appropriate technology skills training on water harvesting and management, soil, care for crops, post-harvest and value.In the project , rural women will also be trained on biological control of pests and diseases .This is to lower the use of chemical fertilisers on farm and ensure farmers produce healthy and nutritious food.

The project will also use technology in conducting sales and record keeping , using whatsapp to link producers to buyers and keep farm records.The project will further use whatsapp in creating consumer awareness on healthy food including food planning to ensure proper dietary consumption.

The project participants are women smallholder farmers aged between 25 -55 years. The beneficiaries are 300 women from Machakos. Machakos and Migori are 57 kms and 381kms from Nairobi city respectively. The project was informed by an inquiry conducted in March 2020 to assess the challenges facing women smallholder farmers and the food production process. The project has been developed as a collaborative process with the active participation of members of Woni wa Uamani Women Group based in Machakos.Members of Woni wa Uamani women group contributed to the project idea formulation, will take part in implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the project.

The project will provide rural women with access to knowledge and skills to produce healthy food. At the same time rural women will have practical skills on how to use technology in the distribution and sale of food. Rural women lack access to information on food production, the project will provide platforms for women to learn and have access to updated information. The project will also utilise WhatsApp for information sharing.

Women form the majority of poor people in Kenya and also the majority of those engaged in agriculture, making rural women key players in agricultural supply chains. Rural women lack information on how to produce healthy and safe food with sustainable and climate resilient practices. It is therefore important that women smallholder farmers are provided with the relevant knowledge that will allow them to engage in these practices, while also improving their yields, connecting them to markets and contributing to biodiversity.Consumers in Kenya lack awareness and access to trusted sources of healthy food.

Although the project idea is a concept, implementers of the project have 4 years’ experience working with smallholder farmers’ networks in Kenya. The project is distinct because it has an educative component, beneficial to project participants beyond implementation period. The project helps build a rural social movement that is women led and also provides women with alternative sources of income and ability to control productive resources.

The project connects buyers with producers directly , reducing alienation of consumers from what they eat.The project recognises the  challenges women face during  marketing their produce. The food production processes in anchored on agroecology that does not use toxic chemicals or chemical fertilisers but is also diverse and aims to use local inputs (bio fertilisers, indigenous seeds, green manure and composting) to balance the agro-ecosystem.

The project is unique because it works with marginalised rural women directly, responding to the economic, health and nutrition needs. The project empowers both consumers and producers with information, knowledge and skills. The project is anchored on solidarity economy , which allows women to organise their production and spending on both food and domestic expenses. The project is also built on collective processes. The project enables women establish control over their access to markets and their incomes. This will be based on collective organising to enhance rural women's sales capacities , the power to negotiate, contribute to diversification of sales revenues and to improved access to information (prices, amounts and sales conditions) enabling women  avoid dependency on middlemen.

The project will utilise computer application packages and mobile technology in implementation. The project will develop short videos on agroecology focusing on consumer awareness on healthy food. The project will also develop online educational materials for rural women on healthy soil, indigenous seeds, care for crops including how to make bio-fertilisers using locally available materials and information on harvest and post-harvest. The educational videos will be uploaded on Haki Nawiri's Youtube Channel. Using WhatsApp, consumers will be provided with information on varieties of available food and their prices .The consumers will be linked directly with the producers and organic food collection points established within city centres.

Technology will also be used to keep records of farm produce and sales trends. The project will also set up an online interactive platform using WhatsApp (Food Justice Community) where information will be shared on nutritional value of various food, how to prepare different food and their medicinal values. The project will organise consumer-producer sessions on Facebook live to enable consumers to share their food production concerns and producers to share information on food production.

The project will develop a catalogue of various types of food and their medicinal values and how to preserve these foods. This will be available to both the consumer and producer parts of the project. On Haki Nawiri's website, a consumer link corner will be developed where consumers and producers will interact with each other one on one.

Mobile technology has penetrated various parts of Kenya. The project will utilise technology in form of mobile phones to link consumers with producers. Kenya’s telecommunications sector grew relatively strongly in 2018, supported mainly by growth in the digital economy, mobile telephony, and internet penetration.[1] Access to the internet is mostly obtained through mobile phones, which have become increasingly available and affordable, and data subscriptions stood at 46.8 million, out of which nearly half were on broadband. Furthermore, Kenya has a wide mobile phone penetration, where 58 percent of the population uses mobile money transfer to make payments an example being Safaricom’s m-pesa service.

Agroecology works, this is evidenced by the work of Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa [1].Economically , agroecology has enabled many African smallholders most of whom are women to lead dignified lives when conventional agricultural inputs have failed to meet the challenges of worsening climate impacts which include droughts and floods. The project also adopts a horizontal learning process where farmers exchange information with each other. Growing indigenous seeds will lead to reduce dependency on agrovets and external inputs, thus more money will be saved for household needs.

[1] https://afsafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/agroecology-the-bold-future-of-farming-in-africa-ebook-2-page-spreads.pdf

The Agricultural sector directly contributes about 26% annually of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and a further 27% through manufacturing, distribution and service sectors. It also accounts for 65% of the total export earnings. The sector employs over 80% of Kenya’s rural work force and provides more than 18% of formal employment. Chapter 4 of the Kenyan Constitution has provisions for the right to food. Sadly, many Kenyans cannot access healthy and nutritious food. There have been incidences where food[1] has been laced with chemicals which are detrimental to health and sold in Kenyan supermarkets. In addition, consumers are not sensitised enough to be aware of the importance of healthy food. 

Food systems[2] are essential to delivering nutritious, safe, affordable, and sustainable diets. What compounds the situation is lack of knowledge and support to rural women working on agriculture to enable access to updated information and skills to produce healthy food. There is also a disconnect between consumers and producers in Kenya. The strategic objective of the project is to enhance the capacities of rural women to produce healthy and safe food and improve sustainable diets.

The impact indicators of the project are sustainable and healthy food systems developed among Kenyan consumers and enhanced uptake of technology among rural women in food distribution and sales. The expected outcomes of the project are that women smallholder farmers will have better yields and learn better farming practices. The project will also utilise technology in linking rural producers with consumers to improve economic situation of rural women.

[1] https://nairobinews.nation.co.ke/life/red-alert-outrage-after-ntv-expose-on-supermarkets-selling-toxic-meat

The project currently works with 50 women .In the first year, the project will work with 100 rural women. Each year the project will work with 100 women.In five years , the project will work with 500 rural women.The women will be trained on marketing and agroecology .With these skills , the rural women will produce healthy food which include maize,cassava beans and fruits among others .The project will then link the women with markets in the urban areas .Technology will be used in advertising the farm produce and at the same time in sales and making payments.For every 1 rural woman reached directly by the project , 5 women will be reached indirectly.

Platforms for diffusing information on the project include village meetings, market places and one on one exchanges .Project participants recipients of practical training on agroecology are expected to sensitise other women within their villages.Indirect 

The project currently works with 50 women. In the first year, the project will work with 100 rural women. Each year the project will work with 100 women. In five years, the project will work with 500 rural women. The women will be trained on marketing and agroecology. With these skills, the rural women will produce healthy food which include maize, cassava beans and fruits among others. The project will then link the women with markets in the urban areas. Technology will be used in advertising the farm produce and at the same time in sales and making payments. As such for every 1 rural woman reached directly by the project, 5 women will be reached indirectly.

Platforms for diffusing information on the project include village meetings, market places and one on one exchanges. Project participant’s recipients of practical training on agroecology are expected to sensitise other women within their villages.

One major barrier is the lack of adequate information among consumers on the benefits of healthy food. When consumers are linked with producers directly,they have access to the right information. Consumers are also disconnected from producers, with many middlemen exploiting both consumers and producers. Through the project rural women will have knowledge on better production methods whereas urban based communities will have access to fresh food at affordable prices.

In Kenya, there are trials for Genetically Modified food  , the first crop being Bt Cotton for commercial purposes[1].This is likely to influence other crops in the country.With the production of Genetically Modified crops, producers are likely to use synthetic fertilisers in food production .The other inherent danger is the likelihood that corporations will use legislations to legally acquire certain  indigenous seeds, improve these seeds then patent them and resell them back to the local community at unaffordable prices. The project recognises the role played by women in food production. Working with women directly and women being the majority of food producers in Kenya, the project is likely to advocate for safe, accessible and healthy food for the citizenry.

Haki Nawiri Afrika  lacks finances to implement the project . Finances are required in form of training materials, local transport and for food during the training and computer purchase for centralised record keeping.Rural women lack technical capacity in producing healthy food. and this is as a result of being bombarded with advertisement of synthetic fertilisers.

The lack of technical capacity to produce healthy food will be addressed through conducting capacity enhancement training for rural women. Finances will be addressed through seeking support from MIT as well as local fundraising. The low uptake of technology tailored for marketing will be addressed through working with a consultant to train the women on technology and how to brand their farm produce. The bombardment of advertising from synthetic fertiliser producers will be countered with educational material and direct contact with women, who can then scrutinise these advertisements.

Community Based Agroecology Schools project is an initiative of Haki Nawiri Afrika which is the main applicant in  this challenge.

The team working on this solution comprises 5 qualified personnel and a team of 10 volunteers .The full time staff are the project coordinator , program officer and administrator .The team of part time staff comprise of 5 university students specialising in business management, finance,  community resource management, social work , gender and rural development and an accountant .The project will utilise the services of an IT consultant in developing online agroecology materials and developing interactive platforms between consumers and producers.

The project has staff well versed in food production, adult training methodologies , gender and development , finance , entrepreneurship , sales and marketing.Each staff will be aligned to a specific component of the project.During implementation, periodic review meetings will be organised with project participants to monitor the project , identifying areas that need to be rectified.

The implementation process will be collective and interconnected.Updates about the project will be shared on weekly basis with the staff.Flexibility during implementation will be allowed.

The project coordinator has over 15 years experience working in Not for Profit making organisations, has successfully implemented a food justice project with rural communities , has practical experience in project management and gender .The project's administrator has  5 years' experience working in corporate sector .University students involved as volunteers during implementation have practical experience of  ranging from between 6 months - 1 year  each carrying out work in sales , marketing , distribution and financial management of projects.Through the project, the students will have an opportunity to utilise the skills learnt in their campuses and link theory to practice.The project also offers an opportunity for nurturing university students in project implementation and responding to real needs of vulnerable groups in Kenya.

Haki Nawiri Afrika  partners with various organisations in Kenya and beyond.Partnering organisations include Support for Women in Agriculture (SWAGEN) based in Uganda , Kenyan Peasant League , World March of Women -Kenya Chapter, Building Eastern Africa Community Network(BEACON), Woni wa Uamani Women group - a women led initiative bringing together 300 rural women and Central Organic Farmers and Consumers Organisation(COFCO) .

The project will enable consumers and producers have access to information on healthy food and nutrition.The project partnerships sought is to enhance consumer acceptability of agroecological food production and increase consumer consciousness on healthy food choices and sustainable food production.

The partners mentioned above constitute of advisors to the organisation.They also include implementation partners and beneficiaries of information and  technical support from Haki Nawiri Afrika.The partners further include consumers who utilise various farm produce at home and in their businesses such as eateries.

The project provided healthy farm produce to consumers and is a source of income to women smallholder farmers.The fresh farm produce will be provided to the consumers through organised collective points .The farm produce are produced in an organic way which is healthy and free from chemicals.The project responds to consumer demands for healthy food and at the same time 

The project aims at addressing  challenges affecting  women in rural Kenya.The project seeks to build the capacity of rural women in Kenya on agroecology – a system of agricultural focused on efficient resource use, conservation of natural ecosystems and community resilience. The project involves the technical and political education on the entire food production process from soil, care for crops, harvest post-harvest and value addition. 

Through the project women–smallholder farmers will be trained on soil testing,  soil fertility, setting up seed banks ,biological pest control and how to increase the shelf life of their produce and value addition.

Through the project, rural women will be trained on how to use technology in marketing their produce and keeping records on their inputs and sales. This will enable rural women to get better access to markets and assure urban communities of safe and healthy food. Through the project, food production will be anchored on e-commerce thus supporting low income households.

Solve provided a platform to pitch the project idea and if selected contribute towards its implementation.Solve also provides a platform that enables other stakeholders to  get information about the project and in so doing help seek additional support and future partnerships in ensuring the project is successfully implemented.

The project seeks funding to enable successful implementation.There are various activities that contribute towards implementation of the project , this can only happen when the project is funded.

Solve members

MIT faculty 

The project works with women , advancing their economic and social rights .The project has an educative component and will enable women to gain knowledge and skills beyond the project's implementation process.The project further enables women to learn more about business and at the same time embrace technology.

The project also links between consumers with producers directly, thus eliminating middlemen.