27/10/2025
From the Ground Up: How Kasenga's Women and Youth are Building a Climate-Resilient Future
There was a real buzz in Kasenga this past week. On Tuesday and Wednesday , you could feel a sense of excitement and shared purpose. For the women and youth of the community, all roads led to a two-day training that felt less like a lesson and more like the start of a movement.
This was the launch of "Agroecology for Climate Resilience at Household Level," phase 2 and thanks to funding from the Global Green Grants Fund, this is just the beginning of a year-long journey for them.
The heart of this project is clear: to give the women and youth the hands-on skills to grow healthy food, earn an income from their own homes, and protect their land from a changing climate.
Getting Their Hands Dirty
They didn’t just sit and listen. They got their hands dirty, and that’s how they really learned. The trainers knew that if they could make something themselves, they’d remember it forever.
One of the best moments was when the Tiyende pasogolo club members learned to make Bokashi fertilizer. They call it "magic from trash" because it turns things they already have like maize bran, old manure, dry leaves, and even charcoal dust into a powerful food for the soil. No more expensive shop chemicals. Seeing how simple it was to make gave everyone the confidence to try it at home.
The women and youth also learned to brew tea manure, a simple but effective way to give their plants a nutrient boost. It’s all about using what they have to grow strong, organic plants.
Working with Nature, Not Against It
The training was built on a simple truth for them: healthy soil means healthy food, and healthy food means healthy families. They learned three golden rules:
1. Keep the soil covered with mulch (like dry grass).
2. Mix and rotate crops to keep the soil lively.
3. Disturb the soil as little as possible.
They also built a simple tool called an A-frame from just three sticks, some rope, and a stone. This clever device helps them map contours on their land to catch rainwater, letting it sink into the earth instead of washing their precious soil away.
More Than a Project but A Pathway to Empowerment
This isn't just a one-off training. This is a year-long project that aims to equip these women and youth with lifetime skills. It’s about putting the power back into their hands—the power to grow their own food, to sell the surplus, and to become self-reliant.
The hope is that they won't just be farmers; they'll become advocates. They'll be the ones their neighbours turn to for advice on natural pest control or making their own fertilizer. They are becoming the champions their community needs for a sustainable and healthy future.
The seeds have been sown. Now, the women and youth of Kasenga are ready to make them grow.
Global Greengrants Fund
Caritas ZambiaZambia Alliance for Agroecology and Biodiversity Kafue Youth FederationZambia Youth Environmental NetworkGREEN for Africa.Green Nature
