On 14th May 2025, KEPSA Foundation Executive Director Ms. Gloria Ndekei joined Her Excellency Mama Rachel Ruto, the First Lady of the Republic of Kenya, at the launch of the ‘Mama Kitchen Garden’ initiative held at the Agricultural Training Centre (ATC) in Koibatek, Baringo County. This nationwide program was designed to empower women and students to establish thriving kitchen gardens in their homes, schools, and communities, contributing significantly to food security and improved nutrition across Kenya.
Ms. Ndekei’s participation aligned with KEPSA Foundation’s commitment to strengthening food systems through its Kijani Initiative, which complements the Mama Kitchen Garden initiative. The Kijani Initiative, under the Foundation’s Community Climate Action and Sustainability priority area, seeks to enhance community food systems and promote sustainable environmental practices, particularly through the establishment of school-based orchards.
To date, KEPSA Foundation has successfully established orchards in nine schools across Nairobi, Kiambu, Taita Taveta, Tharaka Nithi, Makueni, and Nyeri counties. A similar initiative is scheduled to be launched in Embu County later in May 2025.
During the Launch, the first lady, Her Excellency Rachel Ruto, noted that her mission was to give mothers the power to increase household vegetable intake by empowering Kenyan women to establish thriving kitchen gardens for their families. By engaging both women and children in sustainable agricultural practices, ‘Mama Kitchen Garden’ aims not just to grow food, but to cultivate stronger, healthier futures.
Further, she noted that hunger and malnutrition continue to hinder education, health, and overall development in Kenya and noted that through the establishment of kitchen gardens in homes and schools, the initiative seeks to turn these spaces into green, productive areas that nourish both body and mind. She highlighted that schools in 21 counties had already benefited from the program, forming a growing network of gardens that feed, teach, and inspire. To enhance sustainability and success, the initiative was collaborating with the State Department of Agriculture, along with various development and technical partners, to provide training, seeds, farming tools, and extension services for modern farming practices.
