Biodiversity & Agroforestry for our Ecosystem!

John Okoth lives in Western Kenya and has started "Treeinland", a youth led group that evolved out of felt-needs to offer agroforestry training and consultancy services to farmers in Kenya and beyond so as to curb the current ecological and socio economic state which is dire on many fronts.

Climate change, hunger, rising population, reduced farm fertility, deforestation, loss of biodiversity among others-deserve immediate global and practical attention. In regard, reconnecting and re-engaging farmers with the natural world is one of the surest way of building farms that do not only sustain themselves and farmers but also complement and cushion forests and other natural resources from wanton destruction. He has a visionary approach (Participatory Training and Demonstration Approach) that is designed to wholesomely upscale mutually sustaining services that address the needs in food and income security, Farm forestry and climate change adaptation and mitigation, urban forestry and landscaping. 

The reason John has decided to dedicate his life to this noble cause with a passion and as a response to the critical call to address unhealthy competing land uses that are severely and gradually making the earth uninhabitable. In addition he learnt how populations (need more settlement land and additional food) pressure, conventional agriculture and industrialisation can contribute to  ecosystem destruction if not sustainably managed. Moreover, he learnt that collective social actions are worthy if we are to manage and sustain our ecosystem. His passion for sustainable ecosystems made him inquisitive and led him to share experiences with older generations of farmers and engaged the 55 years and above farmers to share their past and current experience.
 
John conducted a Baseline survey, with older farmers who expressed their Past and Current experience with regard to Agriculture and Environment. In the past, farmers could know the months to undertake respective farm activities and most probably the harvestable amounts-which were comparatively high. Remember, by then, there was predictable climate, spacious and fertile land, low population and high forest cover. "The biodiversity was very rich!" Currently, there is erroneous climate change, ever rising population that demands relatively more food and forest products and services yet the land that supports all these is fixed and has become unproductive.

With  limited alternative livelihood opportunities, communities are forced to over-rely on natural resources thereby continue lowering the environmental and agricultural productivity.

John understands many farmers (from Arid and Semi Arid areas) feel that the ecological and socioeconomic state is dire and irreparable. The "impossibility mind set" of farmers and the community has reached a point that we need to take a noble step of making it possible within our demo-farm first before telling our community to do it. The theoretical mode of training is no longer feasible in this case. Many farmers challenge us that we should  have a model farm from which houses demonstrated plots from which they can practically learn and buy the ideas.

John is calling upon you to rise up and help him buy land (2ha) for establishing and developing a Agroforestry demonstration and resource centre at Naya Village in western Kenya as well as a projector and other training materials.

His request has come during a severe pandemic around the world but it is affecting those places like western Kenya even more as they were already vulnerable. 

John requests you consider supporting his cause and donating to this project to create the Model Farm and become a source of learning for generations. You will also be indirectly contributing towards climate change adaption and mitigation and you will help strengthen the work of John and Treeinland for people and the environment.