At 82, Mzee Mika Mukoko has transformed his modest two-acre farm in Vihiga County, Kenya, into an inspiring example of farmer-led agroecological innovation. A former wildlife conservationist trained in organic farming at the Rodale Institute (US), Mukoko blends traditional wisdom with modern science to create a lighthouse for regenerative agriculture. His farm demonstrates how smallholder farmers can achieve ecological resilience, economic viability, and community empowerment on limited land.
The foundation of his system is soil restoration. Mukoko produces biochar from crop residues and animal bones, crafts nutrient-rich Terra Preta compost, and applies fermented liquid fertilizers to revive degraded soils. For pest management, he deploys plant-based biopesticides, raised planting mounds for mole control and drainage, and diversified polycultures to maintain ecosystem balance. Space-efficient designs, including floating gardens, vertical cropping, and integrated multi-story systems, maximize yields while conserving biodiversity. These innovations have attracted over 25 bird species, boosted pollinator populations, and improved soil resilience to climate extremes.
Mukoko applies circular bioeconomy principles, turning farm outputs into value-added products for local markets, reducing waste, and extending shelf life. His mentorship of women, youth, and fellow farmers ensures the transfer of agroecological skills, building local capacity for sustainable food systems. By connecting grassroots ingenuity with science, policy, and investment, Mzee Mukoko’s work offers a compelling model for climate-resilient, inclusive, and regenerative food systems, safeguarding agroecological heritage for future generations.
Tag: community development
Gender dynamics of tropical wildmeat systems: A systematic map of women’s roles and influence
Wildmeat is a vital natural resource globally, which must be managed sustainably to avoid livelihood insecurity, species decline and biodiversity loss. Women have a pivotal role in harvesting, processing and distributing wildmeat, yet their contributions are often overlooked. Engaging women is essential for sustainable wildmeat management and equitable conservation, which requires an understanding of their roles and influence—an area that remains under-researched. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic map exploring gender dynamics in wildmeat systems. We searched six academic and grey literature directories using key terms in five languages and extracted data on women’s presence and absence in wildmeat systems from relevant publications. Our analysis of 334 publications across 54 countries identified 935 records of women’s presence and absence in 36 roles within tropical wildmeat systems. Women were most commonly consumers, traders and harvesters. Their presence and absence were strongly linked to their gender, such as domestic responsibilities assigned to women, or taboos against hunting and consuming wildmeat linked often with pregnancy and fertility. Women occupy vital roles in tropical wildmeat systems, from household consumption to commercial trade, influencing food security, community cohesion and market demand. Their contributions could support sustainable management, balancing conservation with livelihoods, but their participation in governance is poorly documented, risking their exclusion from decision-making. More research is also needed on gendered power dynamics and intersecting factors like age and ethnicity. We provide robust evidence linking gender and wildmeat and call for more gender-sensitive interventions that recognise women’s contributions, address their challenges and ensure their meaningful role in wildmeat governance. Women’s active participation in decision-making is essential for inclusive, equitable policies and interventions that promote both conservation outcomes and sustainable resource use.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) for the Financial Matching Grants under the Zambia for Agroforestry, Biodiversity and Climate (Z4ABC) project
The Zambia for Agroforestry, Biodiversity and Climate (Z4ABC) project, co-funded by the European Union, offers financial matching grants to support private sector entities engaged in sustainable value chains. This FAQ document clarifies eligibility criteria, financial and organizational requirements, and the application process. Grants range from £5,000 to £60,000 and are available exclusively to Zambian-owned entities with at least two years of operational history. Applicants must demonstrate financial accountability through audited statements and meet compliance documentation standards. While core value chains include mushrooms and caterpillars, the initiative encourages innovation across non-timber forest products. Activities must align with pilot sites in Eastern, Lusaka, and Muchinga provinces. Only one proposal per applicant is permitted, and informal groups must formalize their status to qualify. The document emphasizes transparency, accountability, and strategic alignment with Z4ABC’s restoration and climate resilience goals.
Integrating multiple environmental regimes: Land and forest policies under broader democratic reforms in the Bolivian tropical lowlands
The paper uses a policy integration (PI) approach to analyse forest sector reforms in tropical countries, using the case of reforms that affected the northern Bolivia forest economy. The paper provides a brief overview of PI and then analyses the various reforms that all contributed to reshaping Bolivia’s forest sector. The major related reforms are not only forestland tenure reforms, a new forestry law, but also important public administrative and democratic reforms. The case of democratic reforms linked with land and forestry reforms in northern Bolivia makes it possible to discuss environmental PI in a tropical context, and thus to review some of the key postulates that have been formulated on the topic, but which are to date largely based on empirical experiences from the northern hemisphere.
Laikipia County Environment Action Plan (CEAP) 2025-2029 [Abridged Version]
The development of this plan is anchored on participato ry approaches, incorporating insights from communities, NGOs, technical experts, private sector, and policymakers. It aligns with frameworks such as the Environmental Management and Coordination Act, (EMCA) 1999 (Revised 2015), Kenya’s Vision 2030, the County National Climate Change Action Plans. Through this integrated approach, we reaffirm our resolve to build a resilient and prosperous Laikipia that balances economic growth with environmental stewardship.
Marketing of edible insects in Lake Victoria basin: the case of Uganda and Burundi
Rethinking the effectiveness of public protected areas in Southwestern China
It is internationally recognized that conservation policies should respect indigenous cultures and consider the livelihoods of people affected by conservation restrictions. Countering this are concerns that human occupation and use of natural reserves is incompatible with conservation aims. But in China today the continued use and management of natural areas by local communities is likely to deliver better conservation outcomes than the current drive to establish public protected areas. The effectiveness of many protected areas in China is compromised by institutional conflicts, lack of ongoing financial and technical support, confusion between the objectives of generating revenue and conservation, dubious scientific definitions, lack of community trust in policies, and obscure user rights and land tenures. Southwestern China-one of the most biologically and ethnologically diverse areas on Earth-is a good illustration of a place where culture and biological diversity are closely linked. The indigenous people in this area have shown that local livelihood practices can be advantageous for the long-term maintenance of conservation goals. Rather than creating new protected areas, we argue that China is better advised to support ongoing sustainable use of natural areas by the people who have lived and nurtured these environments for generations.
Assessing nature-based solutions for transformative change
Global sustainability targets demand transformative changes. Nature-based solutions (NbS) are gaining traction in science and policy, but their potential for transformative change remains unexplored. We provide a framework to evaluate how NbS contribute to transformative change and apply it to 93 NbS from mountain social-ecological systems (SES). The framework serves to assess what elements may catalyze transformative change, how transformative change occurs, and what its outcomes are. Our results show that NbS are as much “people based” as “nature based.” Most NbS are based on four elements with transformation potential: nature’s values, knowledge types, community engagement, and nature management practices. Our results confirm the potential of NbS for transformative change, observed through changes in non-sustainable trajectories of SES. We illustrate the components of our framework through a novel classification of NbS. The framework provides key components for assessing the effectiveness of NbS and allows tracking long-term transformative change processes.