A section of farmers in three Sub Counties of Kinango, Lunga Lunga and Shimba in Kwale County have started embracing forest cover restoration with eyes on carbon credit funds.
Through the Restore Africa program that is implemented by several stakeholders including the Kwale County government and World Vision, more than 20,000 families have already been enjoined, with the target being 50,000 families and 70,000 acres of land in five years.
So far, 250,000 tree seedlings distributed by World Vision Kenya, partners in the program have been planted by farmers in the County with the program targeting only private farmers who are encouraged to plant trees on their farms alongside other crops.
Farmers in the area are busy tending to their farms taking advantage of the ongoing rains to plant trees and also prune tree stumps left to dry by charcoal burners with a focus on restoring the past glories of a green village.
Said Ndaro, 70,and wife Fatuma Ndaro 48, decried how charcoal burning depleted a once forested land scape leaving behind drying tree stumps of indigenous trees that they said used to attract rain.
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“When I was a child, this area used to be fertile and with reliable rainfall, but all that was disrupted by uncontrolled logging and charcoal burning that left the land bare and exposed to erosion,” said Ndaro.
Fatuma said she convinced his husband to accept that the negative effects of climate change had caught up with them and that it was time to emulate restorative strategies to survive.
“I embraced this program especially when I was taken through training and sensitization and I started by pruning the stumps in what the organizers called ‘visiki hai’ and watering them hence they started sprouting again. It was a wonderful experience to see indigenous trees growing again and my husband was elated,” she said.
She added that the visiki hai initiative under the Restore Africa program, she was taught about Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR), a technique that revives trees naturally without replanting them and this enabled her reverse environmental degradation with more than 100 tree stumps on her farm coming to life in an agroforestry style of farming.
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“I was given 48 tree seedlings of different species including Mango and Cyprus and we revived more than 100 tree stumps of indigenous trees that are now doing well and according to the sensitization programs, we were taught how they are the best in requesting carbon from the air. We are now waiting for the right time so that we can also taste the carbon credit money when we sell the carbon,” she said.
Among the indigenous tree species, she has revived on her farm are Mikone, Mipalanda, and Mwarobaini.
“Initially I thought the tree stumps were some drying waste on my farm and I had started uprooting them to clear land for cultivation, and it was during the same period that the Restore Africa program came and I stopped,” she added.
The story is no different to Maurice Bati, the neighbor to the Ndaro’s who said that he was now expecting to reap big from the carbon credit market in 2029.
“Framers in this village are working hard to restore the ecosystem after the boost from the program and they are eagerly waiting for that time when the carbon credit markets will reach us,” he said.
Dismus Nyaga, Restore Africa Manager in Kwale County said that they were encouraging more farmers to join the program for sustainable livelihoods since the program does not interfere with their normal farming activities.
“In Kwale we are targeting 50,000 families and 70,000 acres of land and this time, everyone is talking about climate change hence this restoration program is going to be a game changer. The developers will come and weigh for every five years and they will be benefitting every five years for the next 30 years and the more they plant, the more they will earn,” he said.
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His sentiments were echoed by Vivian Kiprotich, the technical specialist for natural resource management at Restore Africa who emphasized that planting trees was the most effective way to restore degraded lands and stabilize changing climate.
“Our goal is to reclaim infertile lands and make them productive and beneficial for our communities. By planting trees and preserving their bases even after they are cut, we enable regrowth and long-term sustainability,” she said.
The Restore Africa initiative, spearheaded by the Global Evergreening Alliance, operates in Kenya, Uganda, and Malawi and in Kenya, World Vision leads a consortium of partners, including JUSTDIGGIT, Self Help Africa, Green Belt Movement, ICRAF, and Africa Harvest, focusing on tree growing to restore degraded land and support climate-smart agriculture in at least five counties that include Kwale, Kilifi, Narok, Migori, and Elgeyo Marakwet.
The final phase of the tree-planting exercise is set to take place during the long rains of 2026, marking a crucial milestone in Kwale’s quest to restore degraded land and improve local livelihoods.
BY NEHEMIAH OKWEMBAH
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