Send a Cow
Improve family nutrition with tree planting, Kenya
7,734 families in rural Kenya will improve their nutrition and income by growing tree varieties for food, building materials and livestock fodder. Training in natural resource management will improve soil quality and boost food production and community tree planting will regenerate wasteland.
It ran from 12:00 PM, 30 November 2021 to 12:00 PM, 7 December 2021
Registered Charity in England and Wales (299717)
Match funded Campaign target
£75,000
Amount raised
£75,387
Donations
314
Championed by The Reed Foundation
Location
Kenya
Campaign overview
Aims
Where's the money going?
Impact & reporting
Situation
In rural Kenya, families depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Deforestation and climate crisis have left soils vulnerable to drought and intense rainfall and eroded or waterlogged land is abandoned as unsuitable for farming. A lack of access to appropriate farming techniques means families are hungry and can’t earn a living. Without an income, families can’t eat nutritious food, pay for essentials like education and medicine or save, leaving them vulnerable to shocks such as COVID-19.
Solution
We know when the land thrives, so do the people who rely on it. Supported by community tree nurseries and volunteer peer farmer trainers, families will plant trees to reduce erosion, improve the soil and grow plentiful crops. Fruit trees improve nutrition, fodder trees keep livestock healthy and trees such as Grevillea provide sustainable building materials. Regenerating the land with composting, water management and trees will result in higher yields and more variety to eat and sell for income.
The soils are depleted and not fertile anymore. There is little hope of getting an adequate harvest.
— Grace, Kenya.
When there are heavy rains [the land] retains a lot of water, making it difficult to grow crops. During the dry period, the soils become completely parched.
— Grace, Kenya.
My hope is that my life will change for the better and I believe that this journey that I have started with Send a Cow will enable me to use my farm in a way that I get yields so that we no longer go hungry.
— Grace, Kenya.