Can a vegetable garden and a well change lives? Yes. The story of Jemimah in Kenya proves it. Thanks to CELIM’s project, Farming the Future, a number of wells have been drilled in Laikipia County . These have ensured that local communities have access to water for both domestic use and to water their livestock . “In past years we used to walk distances in search of water,” Jemimah recalls, “but thanks to the project, now the journey has become longer because our homes are close to the wells.

In the past few years, smart greenhouses have also been planted with automated irrigation systems and sensors that provide data on temperature, humidity, and soil nutrients, which, combined with data on the products grown, have made it possible to optimize yields, reducing the use of water and fertilizer. “Automated greenhouses,” he continues, “have been important in getting fresh vegetables . The only challenge we face is elephants. Three times their passage has destroyed plants and three times we have been forced to rebuild them.”

The time saved thanks to the greenhouses has been devoted by the women, who in the community are traditionally deputed to water collection and garden cultivation, to watching their children more closely and to odd jobs that can provide them with additional income.

“Thanks to the smart greenhouses we can devote time to other activities,” they conclude, “such as beadwork, which generates income. We can also follow our children more closely, who are now able to go to school. The gardens, then, ensure that we always have fresh vegetables for us and our families and, with it, the nutrients we need to live better.”