Leonard Oselu revels in the time he can spend in his Forest Garden – a half-acre piece of land where he practices regenerative agriculture and agroforestry techniques. The 46-year-old father of five is growing a variety of food crops for his family. He says his farm is like a supermarket, each corner has a different crop, and food is available all year round.
Leonard Oselu’s Forest Garden is like a supermarket. Photo: Catona Climate
“I am growing grafted fruits such as mangoes, papaya, avocados, and other crops, traditional vegetables, spinach, kale.”
Farmers grow a variety of trees, as well as food and resource crops, in their Forest Gardens. Leonard is growing Croton megalocarpus, a native tree that helps protect the land and crops while also providing medicinal benefits. Photo: Catona Climate
The list of crops goes on and on. But it hasn’t always been like this.
He used to grow maize and beans, alternating each season or leaving the land bare after harvesting. This is a common technique practiced around the world. It requires expensive and harmful chemical fertilizers and pesticides. And if the crop fails, farmers like Leonard have nothing to fall back on.
Enter the Forest Garden Approach.
Farmers who join TREES’ Forest Garden Training Program learn to work with the land instead of against it. Photo: Catona Climate
Trees for the Future (TREES) trains smallholder farmers across sub-Saharan Africa in this sustainable farming technique. Farmers are taught to work with the land, instead of against it. Thousands of trees and dozens of species work in harmony to support the natural processes of the land and ecosystem. As a result, crops thrive, and farmers have a diverse portfolio of food and income opportunities growing on their land month after month.
Leonard joined the TREES Forest Garden Training Program in 2020 in hopes of restoring his degraded land and building a promising future for his kids.
Leonard joined the training program to provide a better life for his family. Photo: Catona Climate
“I wanted to be self-sufficient,” he says.
Growing a Successful Forest Garden Business
Today, he is a graduate of the program and his farm is virtually unrecognizable.
At the start of the program, Leonard identified a piece of his land to transform into a Forest Garden. At the time, there were six trees there. There are 4,211 trees growing there now.
Leonard is earning a steady income from more than two dozen marketable products growing in his Forest Garden. He partners with local schools, supplying them with beans and vegetables from his farm.
TREES staff regularly visit farmers to check on their progress and assist with any challenges. Photo: Catona Climate
A Healthy, Happy Family
He says the family is eating better and his steady income gives him the ability to send his kids to school. At the same time, the Forest Garden is serving as a classroom itself.
“My children are so proud of the farm that my youngest daughter brings her classmates from school to learn about the forest garden.”
The Forest Garden has become a special place for Leonard and his family. His eldest daughter even sources fresh produce from her dad’s farm for her business in town. Photo: Catona Climate
Sustainable farming is truly becoming a family enterprise. Leonard’s eldest daughter recently graduated from university and started a business in town selling food. She sources fresh produce from her father’s farm.
Leonard was one of 1,300 Kenyan farmers to graduate from TREES’ training program in 2024. The cohort was the first to graduate from the Lake Victoria Watershed Carbon Project, a first-of-its-kind project made possible by TREES’ partner Catona Climate. Learn more about Forest Gardens and make them a reality for more families like Leonard’s with a donation today.