• LOCATION:

• MAKUENI COUNTY, KENYA

• ENVIRONMENT:

• FRUIT PLANTATIONS

• CHALLENGES:

• SCARCE WATER IN DRY SEASONS, HIGH TEMPERATURES 

For generations, families in the Makueni and Narok regions have been living off the land and experimenting with planting techniques to increase the survival and yield of their fruit trees.

In Kenya, avocado and mango exports bring essential employment opportunities and income to the economy. Farmers are always looking for innovative ways to improve and expand their business and mitigate the hot climates and often arid conditions. Manually watering young plants costs money and is also inefficient, with temperatures so high that most of the water disappears before it reaches a tree’s root system. Local farmers confirmed that the Cocoon is a game changer for them, lowering their water dependence, ensuring high survival rates, faster growth, and increased yield, while also freeing time to take on other jobs on the farm.

During this project, we discovered that farming in Kenya is truly a family affair. The youngest children tend to the goats and walk to get water; everyone pitches in to harvest crops, and the women sell produce at the local markets. Higher survival rates of the seedlings in these areas can have an immediate and trickle-down effect on the livelihoods of an entire village.