Forest Garden Program

How the project works

Trees for the Future (TREES) runs its signature Forest Garden Program across Kenya, partnering with over 1,300 smallholder farm families to transform bare, degraded land into thriving multi-layer forest gardens. The program begins with an intensive training period where farmers learn to design and plant a protective tree border, then systematically develop food-producing and timber layers over a four-year cycle.

Forest gardens are designed as permanent, self-sustaining ecosystems. Indigenous species restore soil fertility and provide canopy cover, while fruit trees, vegetables, and staple crops are planted below - giving families a diversified food supply and multiple income streams that are far more resilient to drought and market shocks than conventional farming.

Beyond food and income, each forest garden becomes a carbon sink and biodiversity corridor. TREES estimates that a mature forest garden sequesters significant amounts of CO₂ annually while restoring habitat for pollinators, birds, and small mammals. The program's impact is multiplied as participating farmers share knowledge with neighbors, creating organic spread of regenerative agriculture across entire regions.