Beyond Policy Reform: NbS From the Ground Up
This policy brief highlights the key successes, structural challenges, and opportunities for locally- and youth-led NbS projects that we learned through the INUKA Pilot.
Get to know the INUKA Pilot and the impact we have been making together with youth leaders on the ground! 🌱👇🏿
INVESTING IN AFRIkAN YOUTH LEADING on NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS
INUKA - the Swahili word for “rise up” - is Y4N’s for-youth by-youth Nature-based Solutions (|NbS) accelerator pilot project in Kenya. It supports youth working in tangible restoration projects with knowledge, skills, networks, and funding to effectively implement and scale their projects. INUKA leverages experiential learning to foster restoration stewardship among youth across key landscapes and ecosystems in Kenya, including mangroves, inland-wetlands, ASALs, Agroforestry, and forested ecosystems.
Through in-person and virtual training, field visits, mentorship and networking, community building and peer-to-peer learning, a storytelling campaign, and micro-granting, INUKA is working with select youth projects across Kenya to:
🌱 build social entrepreneurship skills amongst youth to address poverty and create sustainable livelihoods,
🌱 scale up NbS projects on the ground that meet the highest biodiversity standards, and
🌱 launch compelling communications campaigns that inspire and mobilise other youth leaders across the Global South.
INUKA is more than youth or restoration; it's about building communities, thriving ecosystems, and improving livelihoods. It is a testimony of what power youth have to achieve action and impact.
Fresh on The Blog
Learn more about what INUKA got up to at the Accelerating NbS Conference in Zambia!
INUKA Pilot Milestones
📣 INUKA Pilot Launch
In March 2022, we welcomed the youth project teams, partners, and friends to Nairobi to share more about our vision for INUKA. Together, we marked the start of an ambitious journey toward youth restoration stewardship in Kenya & the Global South!
🎤 Field Study #3
This time, all our participants headed to Marsabit, to visit an arid and semi-arid landscape ecosystem. We dove into workshops on the powers of storytelling and visited Nature and People as One’s (NaPO) restoration site where we delved into Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR).
🌿 Field Study #1
We visited the Big Ship in Mombasa - our mangrove ecosystem - for our first field study. On this visit, we kicked off our curriculum with NbS 101 workshops, covering the what, why, how, and who of NbS. We also visited Big Ship’s project site and spent an afternoon planting trees.
✨ Field Study #4
For our 4th and final field visit, we visited the geographical marvel of the Ondiri Wetland! Our learning here bridged between food security and food sovereignty, at this key ecosystem that protects and provides crucial water sources for surrounding communities and agriculture.
💪🏿 Field Study #2
We immersed ourselves in an agroforestry ecosystem in Nyamira for this field study. In addition to visiting the community to learn about indigenous seed sharing and organic farming practices, we learned more about NbS for livlihoods in our workshops.
🎉 INUKA Celebration
In October 2024 we celebrated the end of the INUKA Pilot together with our youth beneficiaries, partners, and local community in Nairobi. With speeches, music, art, and more, this was an incredible way to wrap up the successes of a vibrant, hope-filled vision of what NbS can look like in action.
Meet the INUKA Leadership team
Leading this project on the ground in Nairobi!
Past INUKA Pilot leadership team members have also included Micah Lopese, Eddah Mwihaki, and Kaluki Paul Mutuku.
This pilot project is only made possible in the community. Thank you to our generous funder, ClimateWorks Foundation. We also extend deep gratitude to our on-ground partners including Ubunifu Hub, Envi Concepts, and others.
We are beginning to dream up how we can scale out this project. If you are interested in partnering and supporting this work, please reach out, via email.