Roots of Resilience

How 50 Kenyan Pupils Are Growing Food, Skills and Hope

Half-year update from our partners at Positive Life Kenya

Students learning in the classroom

Six months ago, a group of school pupils in Kenya picked up hoes and watering cans and began learning skills that could change the course of their lives. Today, that same school has an active garden, ten trained peer leaders, and a growing appetite in the wider community for sustainable farming.

This is the story of the Roots of Resilience project — a partnership with Positive Life Kenya (PLK), an organisation that supports vulnerable communities through holistic work in health, education, gender justice and livelihoods.

From Classroom to Garden

The project set out with a simple but powerful idea: teach young people practical, sustainable agriculture — composting, soil management, water conservation — and let them discover that farming can be a genuine pathway to self-reliance and entrepreneurship, not just a chore.

Sixty pupils began the training. What followed was a blend of theory and hands-on graft: turning compost, preparing ground, and watering seedlings by hand under the Kenyan sun.

Composting in progress, ready to feed the school garden

Older students doing the hard yards preparing the ground

What’s Been Achieved So Far

The numbers tell part of the story:

• 10 Youth Champions trained through Train-the-Trainer sessions, now mentoring younger pupils
• 50 pupils engaged in structured, hands-on agricultural training
• A school garden transformed into a genuine outdoor classroom for climate-smart farming
• Home and group gardens — including space-saving “pyramid gardens” — extending the learning into families’ own back yards

But the real story is the shift in mindset. Pupils have grown in confidence, teamwork and leadership. Access to fresh vegetables has begun to support better nutrition and food security at home. And despite a punishing drought, participants have kept going, adapting their methods rather than giving up.

Much of that momentum is down to the drive of the project’s manager on the ground, Tetty, whose dedication has anchored the project through a genuinely difficult first phase.

Students having fun planting

Getting seedlings into the ground

Growing Against the Odds

It hasn’t been easy. The project has had to navigate:

• Water scarcity and drought hitting crop production
• Land insecurity, with access needing constant negotiation
• Youth Champions pulled away by exam commitments
• Patchy teacher engagement and limited technical support
• Theft of equipment and ongoing site security concerns
• The challenge of coordinating remotely with limited local staffing

None of these have stopped the project — but they’ve shaped it, and they’re shaping what comes next.

Doing the hard task of watering

Watering brings the whole family in — even the youngest members

Lessons From the First Six Months

A few things have become clear:

• Leadership matters. Strong, resilient leadership on the ground has been the single biggest factor in keeping the project moving.
• Peer learning works. The Youth Champion model — pupils mentoring pupils — is proving an effective way to spread skills and confidence.
• Hands matter more than textbooks. Practical, in-the-soil learning is landing far more powerfully than classroom teaching alone.
• Teachers need to be part of it. Their involvement is essential if the gains are going to last.
• Water and land need planning, not luck. Seasonal water management and flexible approaches to land constraints are now recognised as priorities, not afterthoughts.

What’s Next: The Road to October 2026

With the foundations laid, the next phase is about consolidation and staying power. Priorities include:

• Strengthening the school gardens and expanding practical learning
• Mentoring the current Youth Champions while preparing a new cohort
• Supporting home and shared gardens with seeds and guidance
• Deepening teacher engagement and integrating the project into the curriculum
• Widening community participation and outreach
• Investing in sustainable water solutions
• Strengthening local coordination and PLK’s presence on the ground

Pyramid planting to save space

Looking Ahead

By October 2026, the goal is for pupils, Youth Champions, the school and local families to have the skills and confidence to practise — and pass on — permaculture for the long term. It’s a vision built on knowledge transfer, community ownership, and roots that run deep enough to survive the next drought.

It’s early days, but the seeds — quite literally — have been planted. We’ll bring you the next update as the project moves toward completion later this year.

Roots of Resilience is delivered by Positive Life Kenya. If you’d like to find out more or support this work, get in touch with us.