Beyond Workshops: Hands-on Restoration Training for Farmers in Mbooni Community Forest Association, Kenya
Story and photos by: Clemence Mnyika, Community Facilitator from Taita Taveta County, Kenya, with CIFOR-ICRAF and CA4SH #Youth4Soil Mentee
Over the past 2 years, CIFOR-ICRAF has been conducting a series of trainings on Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) in forest and landscape restoration for Community Forest Associations (CFAs) in Makueni County, Kenya. This initiative is part of the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) UK PACT-funded project, “Delivering nature-based solution outcomes through strengthened policy implementation, institutional capacity, and enhanced monitoring and reporting of forest and landscape restoration in Kenya,” implemented in partnership by CIFOR-ICRAF, the African Wildlife Foundation, and FAO.
To date, the trainings have reached more than 600 individuals with a focus on equal inclusion of men, women, youth and people living with disabilities in restoration initiatives. The trainings use community dialogue activities to emphasize the importance of gender equity in achieving sustainable restoration outcomes. One of the activities, called the ‘Vision Journey’, encourages participants to brainstorm restoration activities that they would like to pursue, and predict the potential challenges and opportunities that may arise in practice. Through this activity, some common themes have emerged, highlighting that many CFA members feel held back by their current level of skill in agroforestry practices and soil conservation techniques.
In response, CIFOR-ICRAF followed up with technical, on-farm training in sustainable agroforestry practices and composting for soil conservation. The training was led by the team of CIFOR-ICRAF community facilitators, who themselves participated in a hands-on course on regenerative farming and syntropic agroforestry at ForestFoods in Limuru, Kenya, in February 2025. The course integrated various elements of sustainable agroforestry, such as crop diversity, soil health, water management, and biodiversity, aiming to create systems that are not only efficient but also capable of withstanding and recovering from disruptions.
Mirroring the approach used in the GESI training, the agroforestry training for CFA members included facilitated discussions where farmers were encouraged to share their practices, insights and challenges on their quest for restoration. Local knowledge is central to landscape restoration initiatives, as farmers hold intimate information on their farms in terms of soil, biodiversity, seasonality, and climate. The trainings focused on two major topics of interest to the farmers, namely sustainable agroforestry and compost-making.
One of the CFs facilitating a session on agroforestry in the homestead of the host farmer
Bringing Trees to the Farm
In this session, farmers shared their knowledge on the importance of trees on farms and how they typically manage them. Some of the benefits of trees listed included being a source for timber and wood for domestic and commercial use, protecting soil, and providing shade and a source of fruit. For members of the CFA, sustainable agroforestry presents an opportunity to reduce over-extraction of forest products, especially timber,, allow the forest to sustain its natural processes, and provide other essential ecosystem services to the adjacent communities.
Key insights from the discussion included the following:
Sourcing planting materials: Most farmers shared that they don’t put enough effort into where they source their seeds and seedlings from. The quality of the seed is an important aspect of successful tree growing. Superior quality seeds grow well and ensure good yields.
Tree nurseries: One of the challenges identified by the CFA during GESI training was in sourcing seedlings. Farmers received training in nursery establishment and management to ensure that they have a sustained supply for their use at any given time. This gives farmers the freedom to have the species they want at hand and to raise their trees from the initial stages through to harvesting, giving them more control over their growth.
Different planting niches and agroforestry practices: Farmers shared where they prefer planting trees on their farms, listing the most common areas as terraces, external boundaries, woodlots and around their homesteads. The trees on the terraces act as windbreaks and hold the soil together, controlling erosion. The woodlots provide a dedicated space for timber products.
Establishment by planting: Different species require different planting techniques, varying from the size of the planting hole, watering frequency, niches, and management practices. Site selection is key when planting to ensure site matching is done perfectly. Management practices may include pruning, thinning, weeding and coppicing.
Establishment by FMNR: Farmer managed natural regeneration is an agroforestry practice that does not rely on tree planting, but on intentional management of the naturally regenerated trees for different uses such as medicines, fuel, timber products and even enhancing soil fertility.
Tree management practices: Management practices such as pruning, thinning, weeding and coppicing are done depending on the species and needs of the farmer. Pruning can improve trunk quality especially for timber purposes, while thinning reduces competition and helps trees grow larger. Coppicing encourages regeneration of the trees from the stump to give more products after the initial harvest such as poles.
Soil Conservation Techniques
One observation the community facilitators made from several interactions is that most farmers rely heavily on synthetic fertilizers to increase their production, especially for commercial farming. Their interest was higher yields, not on how healthy the soil was, more like ‘the end justifies the means’.
In the CIFOR-ICRAF trainings, however, participants explored some of the causes of soil degradation on local farms, citing climate change, overuse of synthetic fertilizers, erosion, sloped land and minimum vegetation cover as examples. Next, the facilitators elicited farmer understandings of healthy soil and how to restore soil health to support food and nutrition security, ecosystem restoration, climate resilience, and biodiversity conservation. The discussion was illuminating for all present, with one farmer sharing that he thought the presence of soil organisms was ‘bad’ for agriculture. “I thought good soil was one which had no soil organisms because they affect the plants,’ he reflected.
“We need to see soil as a living system and understanding its dynamics is key in ensuring we can keep it healthy,” shared community facilitator, Mercy Musyoki. “Conservation techniques such as terracing, increasing vegetation cover, adding compost and animal manure to the soil is a good start for our farmers. Organic fertilizers such as animal manure and compost enhance soil fertility which in turn increases the yields while utilizing locally available resources/materials.”
Learning this, the farmers requested practical training in compost making, and brought their own materials needed for the session. In one of the groups, host farmer and CFA member, Bernard Mulinge requested to lead the discussion since he already was composting on his farm, presenting an excellent opportunity for farmer-to-farmer learning. Through his hands-on guidance, fellow farmers expressed more confidence in replicating these practices on their own farms, strengthening the spirit of knowledge-sharing within the community.
“I decided to try making compost and use it on my farm,” shared Bernard of his experience. “My maize is doing so well and I just used compost with no synthetic fertilizer and they are doing almost as well as the ones that I applied. I have only tried it once and I can see my soil has already improved. It looks healthier. I'm planning to adopt organic fertilizer fully.”
Bernard flattening an area for a demonstration on composting.
These training sessions are inspiring a shift from looking at agricultural production in isolation to approaching it from a holistic perspective as an entire ecosystem; from soil health to productivity to prosperity. Looking at all parts of the puzzle and putting them together, each fueling the other like a system, is an exciting key to enhancing the environmental and livelihood outcomes for the people of Makueni County. The fact that this process is farmer-led makes it stronger and more sustainable.
