Several people working in a greenhouse, tending to small plants in trays.

Seeing resilience grow: A field visit to RAIN projects in Kenya and Tanzania

Field trip report

December 2025, Renate Bleich

In December, a small delegation of Munich Re Foundation and Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) set out to witness firsthand how innovative, locally driven agricultural solutions are taking root in East Africa. The journey led to communities across Kenya – and briefly to partners working in Tanzania – where four initiatives supported by the Munich Re Foundation through the Regenerative Agriculture Innovation for Nature (RAIN) Challenge are helping smallholder farmers and pastoralists build resilience in the face of climate change.

Over the past three years, the RAIN Challenge has supported East African innovators in transforming early-stage, nature-positive agricultural ideas into viable, scalable solutions. The field visit offered a rare opportunity to move beyond reports and presentations – to walk through agricultural landscapes, sit with farmers, and hear directly from those whose lives are being shaped by these projects.

Restoring landscapes and livelihoods in West Pokot – Inclusive Small Firms Africa

In the arid landscapes of West Pokot County in Kenya, drought has long strained communities. Overgrazing, declining soil fertility, biodiversity loss, and deforestation have left many pastoralist families vulnerable to food and income insecurity, often exacerbating local conflicts over scarce resources. Inclusive Small Firms Africa (ISFA), together with the local partner Boma Ikolojia, is working with two community groups to reverse this trajectory through an integrated approach that combines planting and management of indigenous trees, pasture production, and beekeeping.

Field impressions from West Pokot, Kenya – Inclusive Small Firms Africa

A group of people gathers around a beekeeping setup in a banana grove, discussing and observing equipment. — Demonstration of the communal honey processing equipment

Two beehives are suspended in a tree, surrounded by green foliage and rocky terrain. — Beehives are key for protecting trees from being cut down to make charcoal

A woman in an orange dress stands speaking to a group seated outdoors among trees and greenery. — Women of the community group explained about the changes implemented through the RAIN project

A group of five people stands outdoors in a grassy area with trees and a wooden fence in the background. — Vegetable garden with local vegetables and fruit improve food security and nutrition. Still, water is the main issue, as they rely purely on rain

A thatched hut with wooden walls, surrounded by greenery and several people in traditional clothing nearby. — Harvesting and preserving pasture provides animal feed during dry season

On the ground, the impact was visible. Women proudly showed their flourishing vegetable gardens, filled with pumpkins, beans, kale, paw-paw, and mango trees. They spoke of how the project had reduced their worries about feeding their families and improved their understanding of soil and water management. Meanwhile, the men demonstrated newly installed beehives and shared how communal honey-processing equipment had opened up new income opportunities. They also displayed how pasture production provides animal feed during droughts.

The project is already creating scalable pathways for greater impact: expanding women’s gardens to strengthen nutrition and income, building farmer capacity in beekeeping and forest conservation, and deepening training on sustainable land management. The strong participation of both women and men in these activities signals a promising step toward more inclusive rural development. By diversifying their livelihoods, people can more easily respond to the changing conditions caused by climate change.

A new model for conservation – Equal Right and Il Ngwesi Conservancy

The next stop took the team near Mount Kenya, where Equal Right is pioneering Africa’s first cash-for-conservation pilot through its Climate Commons Fund in Laikipia County. Unlike traditional conservation programs, this model provides unconditional “climate dividends” to communities in exchange for measurable ecological improvements. The fund supports regenerative agriculture, rotational grazing, and other nature-positive practices, while strengthening local governance and land rights. Stable and healthy ecosystems are key for increasing resilience to climatic natural hazards. Environmental protection and climate protection therefore go hand in hand.

Field impressions from Laikipia County, Kenya – Equal Right

A large group of people in colorful clothing gathered under trees in a grassy area, with hills in the background. — Il Ngwesi community at the conservancy

A group of people sitting under trees, with one person standing holding a stick, and a dog lying on the grass. — Maasai elder addressing members in community engagement

A group of people seated in a room, listening to a speaker at the front, with colorful walls and tables. — Matu Mureithi of Equal Right introducing the Climate Commons Fund to opinion leaders of Il Ngwesi

A group of people sitting under trees, some raising their hands, with a tent visible in the background. — Members of Ngare Sirikon Village agree on Climate Commons Fund project

A group of people sitting on the ground under a tree in a grassy area, wearing colorful traditional clothing. — Women members at community engagement in Leparua Village

Equal Right plans to pilot the initiative with Il Ngwesi Conservancy, a community-owned Maasai conservancy that has been at the forefront of sustainable conservation and eco-tourism since the 1990s. Discussions with conservancy leaders revealed both their pride in past achievements and their hopes that the Climate Commons Fund could provide a stable, locally governed funding model for future conservation work.

Bees as a pathway to regeneration – Chyulu Development Foundation

In Makueni County, Kenya, Chyulu Development Foundation has placed beekeeping at the heart of its regenerative agriculture model. As part of the RAIN Challenge, the foundation helped establish Chyulu Honey Processors, a community-based social enterprise that supports farmers in producing, processing, and marketing honey.

Visiting a model farm, the delegation saw modern beehives in action and met with a beekeeping expert who trains farmers in sustainable practices. At a community forum that included farmers, local leaders, clergy, and government officials, lively discussions revealed both progress and remaining challenges – particularly around scaling honey processing capacity and securing reliable market access.

Field impressions from Makueni County, Kenya – Chyulu Development Foundation

A person in a yellow shirt holds a wooden beehive near a tree in a green, natural setting. — Community member explaining the beehive on the model farm of the project

A wooden cylindrical structure hangs from a tree among dense green foliage. — Beehives are put up in the trees at different heights, making them accessible for both men and women

A group of people seated in a room, listening to a speaker, with banners about organic honey in the background. — Community gathering in Nthongoni, Chyulu, Makueni County, to meet with farmers, experts, local leaders and government officials

A pyramid of jars filled with organic honey, labeled with yellow lids and a floral design, on a textured background. — Newly produced Chyulu Organic Honey, ready for marketing and distribution

A person stands in front of banners promoting Chyulu Organic Honey and related projects in a community setting. — Mr. Harrison Mwololo, CEO of Chyulu Development Foundation, explains about Chyulu Honey Processors social enterprise

The project has already achieved significant milestones:

Training 400 farmers in modern, sustainable beekeeping and integrated agriculture
Strengthening a farmer cooperative to coordinate production and marketing
Securing official business registration and certification for Chyulu Organic Honey
Aggregating, processing, and packaging over 450 kilograms of honey in just three months

Beyond income generation, the initiative highlights the broader ecological importance of bees – as pollinators, indicators of ecosystem health, and guardians of biodiversity.

Climate-smart coffee in Tanzania – Solidaridad

Solidaridad Eastern and Central Africa is implementing its project “Pathways to Resilience in Coffee Agroforestry” in the Songwe/Mbeya region of Tanzania. Although political unrest prevented a site visit, the team in Nairobi shared compelling insights into their work.

Their approach centers on regenerative, climate-smart farming, improved access to green finance, and innovative carbon market linkages for smallholder farmers. Agroforestry – integrating shade trees into coffee systems – has emerged as a transformative practice, improving productivity while enhancing ecosystem health.

Field impressions from Songwe/Mbeya region, Tanzania – Solidaridad

A group of six people stands together in a room with wall art and shelves displaying items. — Meeting with the team of Solidaridad Eastern and Central Africa in Nairobi

A group of people gathers in a field, discussing while one person holds a document near coffee plants. — Training on agroforestry with farmers in Ipyana

A group of people holding young plants in a greenhouse with greenery around them. — Bahanko cooperative owns and runs one of the tree nurseries. Youths are trained to operate the nurseries

Rows of green seedlings in black bags on a dirt path, with signs in the background. — Growing shade trees at Ipyana nursery

Two people stand in a coffee plantation, discussing amidst rows of coffee plants and banana trees under a blue sky. — Farmer sensitization and agroforestry layout planning in the project area

Key achievements of the project to date include:

Training ~1,300 coffee farmers on climate adaptation and nature-based solutions
Bringing 1,217 hectares under sustainable land management
Connecting ~840 farmers to financial institutions and agricultural service providers
Supporting four youth-run shade tree nurseries that have produced nearly 16,500 seedlings
Profiling ~1,000 farmers for participation in the ACORN carbon platform

These efforts are not only improving farm resilience but also opening new economic pathways for smallholders in a climate-stressed sector.

Reflections from the field

Meeting with innovators, community leaders, and smallholder farmers left a lasting impression. Their creativity, resilience, and commitment to learning stood out as much as the tangible results of their work. The visit reinforced a powerful lesson: sustainable, equitable climate solutions are most effective when they are locally led, culturally grounded, and built around the real needs of farmers and pastoralists. These projects are more than pilot initiatives – they are living examples of how nature-positive agriculture can strengthen communities, restore ecosystems, and build long-term climate resilience across East Africa.

20 January 2025

RAIN Challenge partners

Project partner

Global Resilience Partnership

Project partner

Munich Re Foundation