THE CHALLENGE
Women in Nairobi’s slums struggle with the lack of opportunity to achieve food security and economic autonomy.
OUR SOLUTION
Create a nutritional and economic ecosystem through a social enterprise: Safe Spaces Awesome Blossoms Urban Farm
Safe Spaces Urban Farms
to serve as a model and to sell organic crops to fund Safe Spaces programs
Community Farm Co-Ops
owned by groups of women micro-entrepreneurs in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya
School Farms
that provide vegetables for school lunches and a learning environment for primary school students
Supported by
Safe Spaces Urban Farm
to serve as a model and to sell organic crops to fund Safe Spaces programs
A Centre of Expertise
that provides training and support for Safe Spaces Peer Educators and the women micro-entrepreneurs
A Centre of Expertise
that provides training and support for Safe Spaces Peer Educators and the women micro-entrepreneurs
HOW IT WORKS
Safe Spaces Urban Farms
– Produces fresh and affordable organic food in Nairobi’s under-served communities.
– Provides continuous refinement of low-cost hydroponic systems and methods for use in community projects.
– Generates revenue to fund Safe Spaces programs and pre-fund community farm co-ops and gardens.
– Funds and installs School Farms.
Community Farm Co-Ops
(Matopeni, Vision Ladies, Super Life)
– Household women trained in financial literacy, urban farming, and entrepreneurship putting their knowledge into practice.
– Community farms and gardens that are pre-funded and supported by Safe Spaces.
– Organic produce grown and sold locally, providing income for women and households.
School Farms
- Provide fresh vegetables and income for school lunch programs in exchange for use of school land to host farms.
- Are inspirational green oases for the children.
- Safe Spaces Peer Educators teach the next generation organic farming, nutrition and environmental awareness.
Centre of Expertise
– Organizes land for gardens and farms. Provides urban farm solutions and market development.
– Offers Peer Educator apprenticeships and business mentoring to spread knowledge and support into and among communities.
– Acts as a centre for entrepreneurship and community farming and education networks. Collects and shares best-practices toward the scaling up of urban farming in Nairobi.
OUTCOMES
2019-2022 – Pilot Project: Proved the Concept
– Created the Vision, Project team, and Project plan
– Young Safe Spaces women trained as Peer Educators
– Community women micro-entrepreneurs and Peer Educators trained on financial skills for small business by Trinity Credit
– Micro-entrepreneurs and Peer Educators trained in agronomic practices by Hydroponics Africa Limited
– Increased access to water through assistance from Climate Circle
– Partnership with St Brigit primary school to host the SS Urban Farm in exchange for crops to be used in their lunch program
– Development of 3 community co-op farms, led and operated by women micro-entrepreneurs at St Brigit primary school
– Sales promotion, customer acquisition and final sales carried out by Peer Educators and micro-entrepreneurs
– Provided a lifeline of nutrition in the community during the Covid crisis
Learnings
– New farms should use vertical systems: Tested different models of hydroponics systems and concluded that vertical systems
produce more vegetables, use less water, and have less pests than circular system
– Some training content and support for community women needed to be adjusted
– Decided to develop a school curriculum to pass organic farming, nutrition and environmental awareness to the next generation
– The extra food, money and knowledge increased community women’s ability to provide for their families
– The program was accepted in the community
– The business case was tested and a plan developed for a Safe Spaces, Community and School farm at each of 3 more locations
– This model could be duplicatable. SS plans to develop tools and templates in the Center of Expertise to help spread this solution to other farms and urban communities
2023
– Safe Spaces’ Awesome Blossoms Hydroponic Urban Farm project for 3 more locations was accepted as the Target Project for FAWCO funding
– A total of 75 women micro-entrepreneurs and 45 Peer Educators actively participated in the training sessions
– A comprehensive training program was initiated for 10 teachers from Our Lady of Mercy primary school
– Farm 1 was installed with 500 gardens; spinach, kales and lettuce were planted and harvested
– Farm 2 was installed with 500 gardens
– Students participated in planting and harvesting
IMPACT
Awesome Blossoms is the culmination of Safe Spaces’ vision to build a hopeful future for marginalized people as they adapt to climate change and food deserts, and deal with poverty.
– Safe Spaces’ Hydroponics Urban Farm Social Enterprise project has been able to provide income opportunities for Micro-entrepreneurs who plant crops and them sell to hotels, schools, and neighbors in Mathare slums
– The Safe Spaces Urban Farm provides revenue that helps Safe Spaces Support its other programs that keep girls healthy and in school.
– Provided income generating opportunity for women to become successful small business owners
– Gave an opportunity for women micro-entrepreneurs to independently own a business
– Generated employment opportunity for two women ensuring crop maintenance
– Peer Educators become leaders in their community through their coaching and support activities
– Construction of 300 circular gardens which can hold from 150-200 crops per circular has increased availability of nutritious vegetables among household in Mathare slum and access to food
– Improved diet for the school feeding programs at Kiboro Primary, Destiny and St. Bridget primary schools
– Growing of safe organic foods from the Farms has reduced consumption of contaminated vegetables from unknown sources improving health from intake of nutritious crop
– Safe Spaces urban farming social business project has been able to provide income opportunities for Micro-entrepreneurs who plant and for them sell to hotels and schools, and neighbors in Mathare slums
– Increased access to clean water and better sanitation for 72 households in Mathare
New access to 100L water tanks and 20L Jerri cans
Increased access to water storage equipment
– Improved diet in 72 households in Mathare
– Disease and pregnancy prevention
SS Urban Farm revenues will help fund Safe Spaces’ Reproductive Health program
SS Peer Educators are conducting COVID-19 informational outreach in the community
– Women are able to own their agribusiness ventures
– Women in Mathare are able to contribute to household expenses through their agribusiness enterprise easing the burden on their husbands and even going to the extent of being breadwinners
– The Safe Spaces Hydroponics Urban Farm social enterprise provides vocational training and certificates to marginalized women that can lead to paying jobs and the ability to run their own businesses
– Financial literacy training
– Hydroponics training – technical systems and agronomic practices
– Entrepreneurship training
– Coaching training
– SS Urban Farm revenues will help fund Safe Spaces’ Afterschool and Education programs
NEXT STEPS
Install Awesome Blossom’s Farm 3
Train teachers at schools for Farms 2 and 3
Implement Learning curriculum on nutrition, organic farming, and environmental awareness at all three schools
Formalize the Centre of Expertise Apprenticeship Program for Safe Spaces Peer Educators (Young women in the Eastlands slums who have gone through Safe Spaces’ Programs):
1. Advanced financial literacy training
of Peer Educators to understand and be trainers on budgeting, smart saving habits, debt management, understanding loans and repayment options to enable them manage finances for their own business and coach micro-entrepreneurs more easily.
2. Hydroponics training
for Peer Educators to understand and be trainers on hydroponic System installations, System management, crop management, harvesting and post harvest and value addition to enable them efficiently handle Safe Spaces farm crop production activities, improve yields and better coach micro-entrepreneurs on smart modern farming practices.
3. Marketing and sales training
for peer educators to understand specifically agricultural markets, competitors and substitutes, entry and exit barriers training on marketing strategy including communication strategy, acquisition strategy, distribution channel and retention strategy to better understand how to approach their customers they are targeting.
4. Entrepreneurship training
for Peer Educators on business development skills including defining business purpose, customers, markets, revenue streams, business activities and operations, key resources and financial planning.
5. Coaching training
for Peer educators to become great trainers and coaches in financial, hydroponic, marketing and entrepreneurship. Incorporate COVID-19 prevention outreach.
6. Field work
Peer Educators acquire practical experience and apply knowledge from training
– Refine farm production and expand customer base and customer service
– Make adjustments to deal with COVID-19. Conduct community outreach about coronavirus in conjunction with coaching and sales activities.
"I am able to teach other girls on how to start an agribusiness and am able to use the trainings to start my own business."
Emily, Peer Educator
Ultimate Goal
Create a duplicatable model that can help marginalized urban people cope with hunger, poverty and climate change
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Meet our Board Directors in Nairobi, Kenya
SUSAN OBONYO
Chairperson
ABDUL AGUKOH
Treasurer
PENINAH MUSYIMI
Secretary
GEORGE NDIRITU
Networking
DAVID IKOTHYA
Mentorship
PATRICIA MUTHEU
Mentorship