Project Summary: Describe your contribution in one sentence

Our agenda is to grow over 10 million fruit trees in Public Schools and Hospitals as a climate change mitigation measure as well as a food and nutrition security strategy.

What are the additional countries or territories of impact?

N/A

Challenge Focus: What topic does your project most directly relate to?

Creating inclusive pathways for people to contribute towards building a sustainable worldCreating structures of support for regenerative solutions to today's climate challenges

Website URL(s) or social media handles

https://www.fruityschoolsafrica.org/

The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve?

Fruity Schools Africa was created in response to the many existing climate change-related calamities specifically food and nutrition insecurity among the school-going population from marginalized households in Kenya.

Over 5 million children attending public schools as well as those visiting public hospitals come from poor households living below a dollar per day.

Fruits are expensive yet our human body especially young learners and the elderly require regular intake of fruits to complement and boost their existing low nutrient-rich diets.

Generally, no school or health centre has the financial muscle to purchase fruits for the learners/patients. On the other hand, Kenya has over 35,000 public schools with an estimated 300,000 Hectares of land permanently owned in trust by the schools through the Ministry of Education that are very suitable for growing millions of fruit trees.

We aim to use these spaces to grow over 10 million fruit trees as a climate change mitigation measure and food and nutrition security strategy. Each year, the average Kenyan consumer adds 0.33 tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. 

It takes about 6 trees to offset one ton of CO2, with each tree absorbing about 0.16 tons of carbon dioxide each year. This means every Kenyan need to plant between 3 to 10 trees annually to offset their annual carbon footprint and we exist to make it easy for them to do that. 

Your connection and commitment: How close are you to the problem and/or the community impacted?

The Ministry of Education has authorized us to work with all Public-School Administrations and Learners to grow 10 million Fruit Trees under the 4K Clubs to support School Feeding and Nutrition as well as Environment Conservation Programs.

Kenya is my home, I went to these public schools and know first-hand how it feels to grow up in this part of the world. I grew up in a rural community where we had to walk for about 3 kilometres daily to get to school and without breakfast and no hope for lunch.

I still wish they had planted fruity trees in our schools, it would have been a great relief for many of us and a great number of learners would have rushed to school just at the thought of tasting the sweet Mangoes or apples.

It still baffles me to date why our teachers would talk of alien stuff like an Apple A Day Keeps the Doctor Away knowing so well that all of us had no clue what an apple is even though it was obvious that apples could grow in our school.

I had to wait for 16 years until when I was in high school to taste my very first Apple. This is the story of so many learners across Kenya today. This is about to change. Fruity Schools Africa is on a mission to grow fruit trees for and with children in all schools in Kenya to ensure that learners have access to fresh fruits within their school compound every season.

Our grafted fruit tree seedlings will mature in about 3 years and will produce between 300 and 500 Fruits per tree each season. Our agenda is to establish Fruity Orchards in schools that will be known as Gardens of Eden and will be planted and cared for by our Fruity Rangers in all schools across Kenya.

Your approach: How are you enabling other people to identify as green changemakers? How are you influencing them to get involved in your initiative or care about the issue you are addressing?

Through our Fruity Rangers Initiative, we reward and celebrate everyone who grows a fruit tree with us. We recognize them as Fruity Rangers and create opportunities for them to grow Ranks and opportunities based on the number of Fruity Trees they Grow.

 

The more Fruity Trees you grow the higher you progress in Rank and the more opportunities you get from Fruity and Partners. We identify, inspire, recruit, train, and then involve the little ones in growing fruity trees as our partners through our Fruity Rangers Initiative.

 

Each recruited Fruity Ranger is issued with two fruity trees that they are supported to grow with the help of the environmental club Teachers who are the Fruity Patrons in the participating schools. In return for their commitment to adopt and grow fruity trees, we provide them with one grafted fruit tree to plant in their rural home.

 

Over and above giving them the seedling, we also recognize their effort by issuing a Rangers Certificate and Badge at the end of the 2nd year once we confirm that all the trees are doing well. At this point, we increase the number from two trees to 4 and then also issue them with 2 more fruit trees for their rural home and more goodies at the end of the year including tickets to attend the Fruity Rangers Annual Gala and Fun Day.

 

The Fruity Patrons work with the Fruity Rangers to ensure that the fruity tree seedlings are cared for and maintained. The Patrons and the Rangers receive certificates and badges every two years and recognition during the annual Fruity Gala Awards and Fun Days.

 

The Fruity Patrons are required to submit a progress report every month that includes photos on WhatsApp that clearly shows the progress of the seedlings and the orchard. We make it simple for people to become Fruity Rangers. You too can!!

Community involvement: How is your approach involving community participation, especially the historically marginalized groups?

Our project is designed to contribute to the ongoing effort by the Government to achieve the goal of growing 15 billion trees by 2032, Vision 2030, SDGs 2, 13 and 15 while at the same time ensuring sustainable food and nutrition security, environmental and land protection as well as production of safe and socially acceptable foods in Kenya.

Our strategy is to grow grafted fruit trees that mature within three short years. We work with reputable government agencies and several like-minded stakeholders to identify and grow fruit tree varieties suitable for different climate zones and resilient to harsh weather, diseases and pests.

To achieve this, we work with several local and international organizations that fund growing fruit trees in schools. We also sell our seedlings to County Governments, Companies, NGOs, and local Farmers to raise more funds to support and sustain our activities.

We identify, recruit, train and support selected Parents of our Fruity Rangers mostly women who live below a dollar a day by issuing them with 100 high-value Fruity Trees including grafted Apple Mangoes, Hass Avocados, Apples and Pixie Oranges. 

The idea is to empower these families by introducing and supporting them to grow these high-value Fruity Trees as a  sustainable source of food security, income and a viable road map out of extreme poverty. 

Your Innovation: What is different about your initiative compared to other solutions already out there? How is your approach original and innovative? We are particularly interested in solutions that use regenerative approaches.

While climate change cannot be stopped, it can be slowed. To avoid the worsening consequences of climate change, we'll need to reach “net-zero” carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner.

A growing human population and expansion of agricultural activities have depleted natural tree sources. Tree and tree products including fresh fruits demand to support livelihoods and environmental restoration is on the increase.

Seedlings are the foundation for many terrestrial ecosystems and are a critical consideration and investment for implementing global forest and landscape restoration programs. Our Fruit Tree Nursery specializes in grafted and propagated Fruit Tree Seedlings.

Grafted fruit tree seedlings mature quickly, for example, an avocado grown from seed may take 6 to 10 years or more to fruit, while a grafted tree will produce fruit in 2 to 3 years. Grafted fruit trees produce more, the quality is consistent so they fetch higher income, they are resilient to climatic conditions and pests, and they are easy to maintain on this hot planet.

We have established a certified speciality Nursery to support our needs and the needs of the communities where we work, we not only develop and sell certified grafted fruit tree seedlings, but we also run a Model Fruity Orchard where we conduct demonstrations and also provide training and technical support to our customers and partners.

We are unique and innovative. We strictly develop, plant and grow certified fruit trees in selected public spaces to support food production and climate action in Kenya.

We work with reputable government agencies and selected professionals and organizations as our technical advisers to ensure that we meet the required local and international quality standards that will eventually improve product price and demand.

Founding Story: Share a story about the "Aha!" moment that led the founder(s) to get started or the story of how you saw the potential for this to succeed.

I grew up in a rural community where we had to walk about 3 kilometres to get to school. I read somewhere back then that an Apple A Day Keeps the Doctor Away.

Unfortunately for me and many others in my school back then and even today is that we had never seen an Apple fruit as it didn’t grow in our locality.

I had to wait for 16 years until when I was in high school to taste my very first Apple. This is the story of so many learners across Kenya.

We realized after college that actually our rural home was a great location to grow apples and so we started growing them to prove that nothing is impossible where there is a will.

With the current economic situation and especially in poor households, Fruits are considered a luxury and many children will get to high school without tasting a fruit that can be easily grown within the school compound.

I want to grow fruit trees for and with children in all schools in Kenya to ensure that all learners have access to fresh fruits within their school compound every season.

I will work with like-minded stakeholders to ensure that our schools are not only green but FRUITY. Learners will be engaged and they will not be allowed to wait for 16 years to have their first bite of apple fruits as we did. We must help them and work with them to change the story.

 

Impact: How has your project made a difference so far? How is it contributing to a zero-carbon world- where every person thrives, and nobody gets left behind?

Trees play a huge role in the carbon cycle. They convert the CO2 in the air to oxygen, and through the process of photosynthesis, they can be looked at as a natural regulator of carbon dioxide.

The more trees, the less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the more oxygen. Our plan is to grow more fruit trees to support nutrition and food security, conserve the environment and contribute to oxygen production.

So far we have planted over 54,000 Fruit Tree Seedlings in over 500 Schools within Nairobi, Kiambu, Nakuru and Machakos Counties: These Fruity trees will offset about 1,800 tons of carbon and produce about 16 million fruits annually that will feed our hundreds of thousands of our Fruity Rangers. 

1. USA Embassy in Nairobi - 6,000

2. Embassy of Slovakia – 5,000 Fruity seedlings planted in 100 Kiambu Schools

3.Oshwa Education and Relief Fund - 6,760 Seedlings planted in 74 Hospitals

4.Jubilee Life Insurance – 3,500 Seedlings planted in 62 Machakos Schools

5.Base Titanium Limited – 2,500 Seedlings planted in 50 Schools in Kwale

6.KEPHIS – 1,000 Seedlings donated to 50 farmers in Migori County

7.APHRC – 2,000 Fruity Seedlings planted in Korogocho and Viwandani

8.Takaful Insurance – 200 Seedlings planted in Umma and Garissa Universities 

9.Guardian Bank – 200 Seedlings planted in 10 Schools in Nakuru County

10. Ashut Engineers Limited - 13,480 Seedlings planted in 337 Nairobi Schools

What’s Next: What are your ideas for taking your project to the next level?

In pursuit of our objectives, in our daily lives, and in the middle of this dynamic and ever-changing world, we all need regular reminders of our connection with nature and our planet. The health of our planet is essential to our health, well-being, and future.

It will take discipline, innovation, sacrifices, positive attitudes and a concerted effort from all stakeholders including the Business Community, Companies, Governments, NGOs, Churches, Schools, Professionals and Individuals to slow down global warming and slowly but steadily help our planet to heal so that it can support our life on earth and feed all human and wildlife.

The planet is getting hotter and our food and water sources are drying up. Whatever we do and say, we must all help our planet, we must inform, involve and inspire this and the next generation.

Until we all recognize that to feed all humans and wildlife, we must help our planet to recover first and fast. That is why we use these words….LET THERE BEE FRUITS.

Our ultimate goal is to grow at least 100 million fruit trees in selected public spaces in Kenya and across Africa specifically in schools, hospitals and road reserves to ensure that there is an abundance of fruits and habitat for our wildlife.

This enormous target sounds impractical but very manageable if we all become Fruity Rangers and an army committed to protecting and conserving our biodiversity. 

Your team: What is the current composition of your team (types of roles, qualifications, full-time vs. part-time, board members, etc.), and how do you plan to evolve the team’s composition as the project grows?

We work with several groups of young, energetic, aggressive, ambitious, innovative and digitally alert change makers who believe that a better tomorrow is possible if we all wake up and contribute in our small ways to making our planet habitable and sustainable through growing of fruit trees to feed and support the recovery of our planet.

We are barely two years old but we have accomplished a lot. Out Team is Led by its founder and supported by our dedicated team of young visionary leaders who believe that a Garden of Eden is possible and we have the power to create it here on earth.

Kennedy Odoyo - Team Leader and Founder - University of Nairobi (Commerce) Marketing

Joseph Okoth - Finance Director - University of Nairobi (Finance)

Bob Andrew Maina - Administration and special projects - University of Nairobi (Finance)

Cynthia Adie - Public Relations Manager - Kenyatta University - (Finance)

Brenda Murage - Community Development Manager - Daystar University - (Commerce) Computer Science

Operational Sustainability Plan: What is this solution’s plan to ensure operational sustainability.

Most fruit trees are evergreen and can live for over 30 years producing between 100 to 1000 fruits per tree per season depending on age. Mango and Avocado trees produce more and more as they age.

Most fruit trees will continue to feed both humans and wildlife for years while at the same time offsetting carbon and providing habitat to wildlife thereby sustaining biodiversity.

To guarantee project sustainability beyond the project life, we have initiated several activities to raise awareness and funds for the expansion and replication of the project in Kenya and across Africa.

Below are just a few of the activities we intend to undertake to raise awareness and raise funds for the implementation and sustenance of the program in Kenya and across Africa. 

1. Fruitypro Orchards Nursery

1. We have established a 500,000 fruit tree nursery on our farm in Migori County. 

2. Our idea is to develop over 2 million certified fruit tree seedlings annually.

3. We will sell some of the seedlings to county governments, corporates and farmers to support our activities.

1. Tunda Tunda TV Show

A weekly TV Show dubbed Tunda Tunda will air every Thursday at 7:50 pm on KTN Home and Farmers TV.  Revenue generated from adverts and sponsorships will go towards project funding.

(b)        Fruity Rangers

We will reward and celebrate all partners who grow fruit trees with us by giving them Honorary Titles.

VIDEO: Please share the link to a 1-minute YouTube video that answers the following “I identify as a Green Changemaker because...”. Ensure that your video does not exceed 60 seconds

https://youtube.com/shorts/_TyAnNyIOBU?feature=share

Impact Model: While reviewing applications, we identified a need to better understand the impact models for the innovations that applied. How would you describe the activities you engage in and what outcomes and long-term impact do they lead to?

Fruits are not new in Kenya or the world, but growing the grafted variety is unique and most rural communities in Kenya can't afford them.

 

Public schools control and own over 350,000 Hectares of land that is suitable for growing fruit trees that can feed millions of children yet over 5 million children in these schools stay for 8 hours every school day without having anything to eat as they come from humble families that live on less than a dollar a day.

 

Our ultimate goal is to work with schools and hospitals to establish Gardens of Eden where each school and hospital has a thriving fruity orchard with a minimum of 100 fruity trees that supports food and nutrition within their compounds.

 

This will translate to about 3,500,000 fruit trees planted and grown. These will produce an average of 350,000,000 million fruits, giving millions of learners a chance to enjoy fresh fruits every season. The excess fruits will be sold to the local markets and even abroad and the funds raised will support other feeding and development projects within the facilities.

 

We also intend to support selected and deserving families living around the schools by providing them with 100 grafted Hass Avocado Seedlings to ensure that the homes where the learners come from also have fruits for consumption at home and for sale to support nutrition and livelihood at home.

 

This will mean the schools will be fruity and the homes where the children come from will be fruity as well. An orchard of 100 Hass Avocado Trees will fetch between 300,000 and 500,000 Shillings annually if sold locally and between 900,000 and 1,500,000 Shillings if exported.

 

These trees will continue to produce year in and year out for over 50 years as they tend to produce more and more as they age.

Audience: Who are you most directly impacting through your work? Who is the target beneficiary? Please specify if the population you are reaching is underserved due to any of the following characteristics?

Age - Youth Age - ElderSocio-Economic Class Geography

If you chose the "Other" option, please specify

 

How are you activating green changemakers?

Engaging emotions: Communicating climate change in a way that resonates with individuals’ specific situations to trigger an emotional engagement Making progress visible: identifying tangible metrics that help people understand how their contribution is part of a bigger whole Building Understanding: communicating complex science, data and / or systems theory surrounding climate change in an accessible way, tailored to the specific audience and context Imagining new possibilities: leading group processes to help people see the possibilities and consequences of acting; innovating new products, business models, or ways of organising Walking alongside individuals: offering one-on-one coaching, mentoring and troubleshooting; providing sustained energy to shift the inertia of the system Helping make the case: helping people to show the business case for emission reduction, find profitable products, innovating new business models Creating a community: bringing together peers to share learnings, reinforce behaviours, and develop positive social norms; hosting gatherings where people see their work as part of a bigger whole Addressing competing demands: helping people meet other needs and priorities to give them the capacity to attend to climate action Creating accountability mechanisms: developing climate pledges and other means of holding individuals, organizations, and collectives accountable Building enabling structures: using contracts, financial mechanisms, and other tools to facilitate and encourage action

If you chose the "Other" option, please specify

 

Organization Type: Which organization type best describes how your work or initiative has been organized or registered?

Nonprofit/NGO

Tell us briefly about how you have and/ or would like to engage partners or other changemakers to enhance your approach:

We are however working with the Kenya Forest Research Institute to ensure that we provide all schools with the best information and planting timetables to ensure that planting is done during the long rainy periods and that a scientific approach is employed during growing phases to ensure that water is prudently harvested, stored, and used during the dry seasons to support the seedlings growth.

 

Our project is working with different sectors of the community. We are dealing with schools, community-organized groups (COGs) and individual households within a community.

 

For schools, we have involved headteachers, agriculture and environment teachers as well as students in this noble course.

 

The project shall be implemented by selected community members including Women and Youth groups per County that will be identified, trained, and engaged in the development and supply of quality grafted and high-yield fruit seedlings to selected participating schools in phase two of the project.

 

This will create employment and income for the members as well as a ready market for the seedlings within the schools and around the community where they operate in phase two.

 

We will endeavour to identify, contact and engage with all relevant stakeholders within the project area including the local administration, youth and women groups as well as the County Government during the life of the project.

Annual budget: Hint: What is the cost for your current operations every year (or most recent year)? This is expenditure for your project or organization. The reference currency is the U.S. dollar.

$50k - $100k

Winning Impact Potential: How would winning the Green Changemakers Challenge impact and leverage your work?

Our agenda is to make every school and hospital in Kenya a Garden of Eden where there is an abundance of Fruit Trees and food.

 

Winning the Green Change Makers Challenge will greatly impact our work in several ways as briefly indicated below:

 

1. Expansion of Fruity Tree Nursery - We plan to expand our production capacity from the current 500,000 seedlings to 2 million by 2025.

2. Growing more - We will have the capacity to grow more fruit trees in more schools and hospitals across Kenya.

3. Fruity Rangers - We will have resources to recruit, train and engage more Fruity Rangers in selected Schools in Kenya.

We plan to work with Fruity Rangers to grow a minimum of 100 fruit tree seedlings in the selected schools and hospitals and support the selected smallholder farmers within the project location with 100 fruit tree seedlings.

 

The plan is to work with the local community members specifically youth and women groups who will be identified and trained and then engaged to support our activities in the schools, hospitals and within the community.

 

We will use our existing model of making every land restoration champion a Fruity Ranger to guarantee commitment and project success. 

 

Winning the Green Change Makers Challenge is a big deal for our organization. It will not only recognize our work but will also create linkages and networking opportunities for our growth and expansion.

Skills Matching: If you win, you may have the opportunity to be matched with HSBC employees for skill-based mentorship. If matched, which of the following skills would you be most interested in receiving?

Board Development