Damaged Land Can Feed Families Again
Green Leaf Kenya works with community groups in Kabondo, Rachuonyo East, to turn abandoned sand-mining sites into community-owned farms that grow food, skills, and income.
Read the Concept NoteWhy the land stopped feeding families
The sand in Kabondo lies under the valley floors. The trees go first, then the sand is dug out and sold, season after season. What is left are wide gullies with walls of bare earth and floors of loose sand where nothing grows. Families still farm right up to the rim, and every rainy season the gullies widen.
None of this mining was licensed. Between 2019 and 2023, Rachuonyo East had no licensed sand-harvesting sites, yet uncontrolled sand harvesting was one of the most reported environmental crimes in Homa Bay County (Homa Bay County Statistical Abstract, 2024). We believe this land can be useful again: with growing systems that do not depend on soil, these sites can produce food and income for the families who own them.
Who We Are
Green Leaf Kenya is a community-based organization registered in Homa Bay County in October 2024. We were founded by people from the affected community, and we plan every step with the groups who live here.
The farms we help set up belong to the community groups that run them. Green Leaf Kenya does not buy or own land.
More About Us-
Listen First.
Every site starts with a community baseline. The groups shape the plan.
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Assess every site.
Professional environmental and geological checks come before any construction.
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Build above the soil.
Vertical towers and hydroponic systems grow food without depending on the damaged ground.
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Train the groups.
Community groups learn to run the farms themselves, from planting to sales.
The REALI Pilot
REALI (Resilient Ecosystems and Agricultural Livelihoods Initiative) is our first pilot project. It is designed for 10 community groups and 10 demonstration farm sites in Kabondo, Rachuonyo East, over six months.
We are raising funds to launch. The design is being finalized, sites have been visited, and talks with community members and local leaders are underway. The first sites will start as soon as funding allows.
More about the Pilot
Be Part of the Solution
Ways to Support
The REALI pilot is close to ready: the design is being finalized and the first community conversations have happened. What we need now is support to get the first farms started. Here are four ways you can help.
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Donate
Fund the launch directly: the community baseline, professional site checks, and the first growing systems.
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Give in kind
Share tools, building materials, equipment, or services that the pilot needs to set up and run.
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Partner with us
Work with us as a business, funder, or technical partner as the first sites take shape.
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Volunteer
Give your time and skills. We will match you to work that fits what you offer.
Questions people ask
These are the questions we hear most often. If yours is not here, please ask us directly through our contact form.
1. What does Green Leaf Kenya do?
We work with community groups in Kabondo, Rachuonyo East, to turn abandoned sand-mining sites into community-owned farms. Our first pilot is called REALI.
2. Where does my money go before the pilot starts?
Into launch preparation: the community baseline assessment, professional site assessments, and the first demonstration systems. Our software and communication tools are covered by technology grants, so donations go to the field work.
3. Who owns the land and the farms?
The community groups. Green Leaf Kenya does not buy or own land. Every site we help set up is the property of the group that runs it.
4. Why will farming work on mined land?
Because the crops do not grow in the damaged soil. Vertical towers and hydroponic systems grow food in water and clean growing media, and every site is professionally checked for safety first.
5. Has Green Leaf Kenya done this before?
We are a young organization preparing our first pilot. We are building the foundations first: community relationships, professional assessments, and a realistic plan.
Where things stand
What we're working on now
We publish no launch dates until they are real.
This is what is happening right now.
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Finalizing the REALI pilot design
The REALI pilot design is in its final stage: the sites, the growing systems, and how the community groups will run them.
Read More -
Preparing the community baseline
We are preparing a baseline assessment with the community, recording how things stand before work begins so progress can be measured honestly.
Read More -
Raising funds for the first sites
The first sites start as soon as funding allows. Early gifts fund the baseline, the site checks, and the first growing systems.
Read More
Backed by Generosity
Technology companies support our work through their nonprofit programs.
Green Leaf Kenya is a participant in the Google for Nonprofits program, and we also take part in nonprofit programs from Microsoft 365, Slack, Monday.com, Twilio, Hotjar, Splunk, New Relic, Crunchbase, and YouTube.
Our brand, our website, and the strategy behind both were donated in full by Oak Nation, a brand consultancy, who continues to provide design and development support at no cost.
With these, more of every donation reaches the field.