Age
10
Country of Residence
Nigeria
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
Sometimes when I help my mum to wash tomatoes and peppers at home, the spoilt ones break apart in the water, and their seeds get thrown away. It is the same when we pick stones out of beans and corn. We also take out some seeds that don't look okay. The first time I saw this, I did not want them thrown out because wasting seeds is the same as wasting food. So I collected the seeds and told my mum, “When I plant it, and it grows, I will share it with you and the whole neighbourhood so we can all eat Sunday stew every week till next year.” I planted them right away, and they grew. I was so happy! I checked on them every morning before school and as soon as I got home. Now, I plant in plastic bottles that people throw away, and my brothers also grow seeds with me. To us, every plant that grows up is a second life for something that was going to be trash. At this point, I realised that the seeds nobody wanted can still feed people who don't have enough. I do not want anyone to go hungry. I want to grow as much food as I can and share it with my friends and an orphanage. I cannot do this alone, so I am starting Grow-It-Yourself Kids. My friends will join me, and I will teach them how to grow food too. The more of us who grow, the more food we can save and share with other people.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
Some kids I talked to only eat once or twice a day. That is why I ask my friends about helping kids who don't have enough so they can eat. I told one friend, and she said she feels sad when she sees kids go without food, so she wants to help. I also told my classmates and my teacher. My teacher said it was a good idea and told the whole class about it. For now, 7 friends have said yes to joining my brothers and me, making us 10. Then, I asked everyone to begin saving plastic bottles at home instead of throwing them away. Five of them are so excited that they already asked when the club starts! We have not yet started growing but when we do, I will teach them how to sow and care for a plant. Then they can teach their own friends and families, so more people learn how to grow food. In the future, I plan to invite my neighbours to come see our greenhouse so they can learn about food waste and how to give seeds a second life too.
How many people are on your team?
10
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
So far, my brothers and I have plants growing in 50 recycled bottles, and 48 bottles have sprouted plants. Last season we also grew and harvested corn. I have learnt from mistakes too, and now I know how to fix them. My club is just starting, so my numbers are still small. This is the impact I hope to make by next year: 10 kids, me included, who know how to grow food 300 plants, about 30 for each kid Food shared with our families and with an orphanage Fewer seeds and bottles thrown away I believe it will work because I have done it, and it is easy to copy. You only need a bottle, soil and seeds. Kids learn well from other kids, and every kid who learns can teach someone else, so it can keep growing. We will keep an exercise book to count our seeds, plants and shared food, so we can see what is working and do better each season.
Project Category
My project is a brand new / emerging idea
Project Stage
Idea (We’re hoping to get started in the future)
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
I am starting Grow-It-Yourself Kids, a club where my friends and I rescue seeds from tomatoes, peppers, beans and corn that would be thrown away, plant them in recycled plastic bottles, and share the food we grow so that less food is wasted and fewer people go hungry.
Project title
Grow-It-Yourself Kids
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Food is being wasted while people go hungry. At home, I see seeds thrown away with spoilt tomatoes and peppers, beans and corn. To me, wasting seeds is the same as wasting food. Plastic bottles get thrown away too, even though they can hold soil and grow a plant. At the same time, many people do not have enough to eat. Some kids I have talked to only eat once or twice a day. I asked my mum if that was true, and she said yes. The United Nations says almost 35 million people in Nigeria were expected to face serious hunger in 2026. I want to share food with people who do not have enough. I want every kid to have enough to eat, in my neighbourhood and everywhere. I cannot fix all of it, but kids can do something. We do not need a big farm. A few recycled bottles, some soil and seeds that would have been thrown away are enough to grow food we can share with people who don't have enough.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
My next step is to start my club! I will ask more friends to join until we are 10 kids, and everyone will get a job. We will meet on weekends, and three times a week in the holidays. My mum will be there to help us. First, I will teach my friends how to collect seeds, get bottles ready and plant. Some people will look for bottles around their neighbourhood and ask their family to keep bottles for us. Then we will grow more plants. A parent said we can use a greenhouse, so we will grow in there together. I want us to have 300 plants by next year, about 30 for each kid. If we win, we will buy fertiliser, neem oil and cake, compost and garden soil. When the plants are ready, every kid will take food home. We will also share some with an orphanage, because they can use the food. By next year, I want every kid in my club to know how to grow food and teach it to someone else. I hope they will teach their friends and families too, so more kids can grow food from seeds that were going to be thrown away.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
Other people grow food in bottles too. What is different about my club is where our seeds and bottles come from. Most people plant seeds they buy. We plant seeds that people throw away. When tomatoes and peppers break in the water while we wash them, I take the seeds. I also take the seeds from beans and corn that don’t look okay. I plant them, and they grow into food! Our pots are trash too. We use plastic bottles that people throw away. We don’t need to buy pots. So the seeds and the bottles both get a second life. Another thing that is different is that kids are teaching kids. I am 10, and I learned by trying and making mistakes. Now I will teach my friends the same steps. It is so easy that any kid can do it and teach someone else. We will also write everything down: the seeds we save, the plants we grow and the food we share. Then we can see what works and do better next time. Growing food this way costs very little, so any kid can start. With a little help for soil, compost and neem, my friends and I can grow much more food and share it with more people
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
My solution is Grow-It-Yourself Kids. It has four steps: Rescue, Plant, Grow, Share. RESCUE: We collect seeds from tomatoes, peppers, beans and corn that would be thrown away. We also collect plastic bottles. My friends and I pick them up around our neighbourhoods and ask family members to keep theirs for us. I cut off the top, wash the bottle, poke holes in the bottom and fill it with soil and compost. PLANT: I wash the tomato and pepper seeds and plant them straight away. I make a small hole in the soil, put in two seeds, water deeply and cover them. Then I do not touch it until it sprouts. If I have extra seeds, I dry them and keep them for later. GROW: After they sprout, I water once a day and give more water as the plants grow. Neem oil mixed with water and a little soap keeps insects away. Compost and fertiliser feed the plants, and neem cake protects the roots from infection. At first I did not make holes in my bottles, and my seeds did not grow well. My mum told me the extra water needs a way out and the soil needs to breathe. Now I make holes, and I am good at it. SHARE: Every kid takes their harvest home, and we will give some to an orphanage that can accept food. I already have about plants growing in 50 recycled botles with my brothers, and about 48 of them have sprouted. Last season we grew corn in the soil and harvested it, and now we are growing in bottles. I want to teach my friends. We will meet on weekends in school time and three times a week in the holidays, with my mum there to help. By next year we want 10 kids, me included, growing 300 plants, about 30 each, in a greenhouse a parent has agreed we can use. I will keep a book to count the seeds we rescue, the plants we grow and the food we share.
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
I lead Grow-It-Yourself Kids, and my mum helps us. I want 10 kids in the club and everyone has a job so we can lead together. Two friends will look after our compost and seeds, one friend will help me teach, one will take attendance, and one will make sure the plants are watered properly. The others help collect bottles from the neighbourhood. I ask everyone before we decide things, we share news from our last meeting. If one of us is away or forgets, my helper or I step in, and we talk
