The search for a job after completing his studies had become frustrating for Chillion Origa. He had trained in engineering and earned a Certificate in Engineering from Ugenya Technical and Vocational College, hoping to secure employment and build a career in his field. But as the months passed, the job he hoped for remained out of reach.
With limited opportunities, Chillion began looking for another way to make a living. Through support from his family and money he had earned from casual labour, he managed to raise Kes 2,000. He decided to put the money into farming.
The area falls within the Nyokal Local Rights Programme (LRP), where ActionAid Kenya works with communities to address challenges affecting livelihoods and food security, while strengthening people’s ability to claim their rights, participate in decisions that affect their lives and hold duty bearers accountable. The programme uses a Human Rights-Based Approach to support communities to identify and address the barriers that keep people in poverty and exclusion.
Through the Local Rights Programme, ActionAid Kenya works alongside communities to identify locally driven solutions that strengthen resilience, improve livelihoods and advance people’s rights. Chillion’s experience of turning a challenging piece of land into a productive source of food and income is one example of how this approach can translate into practical opportunities at household level.
The land Chillion chose was prone to flooding and remained waterlogged for much of the year. To many, such a piece of land might have seemed difficult to use, but Chillion saw an opportunity. His approach to farming was later strengthened through training facilitated by ActionAid Kenya. The training introduced him to agroecology and farming methods that encourage farmers to work with nature while producing food and generating income. Chillion learned how to make better use of available natural resources, care for the land and reduce reliance on chemical inputs.
The training helped him recognise the potential of the swampy land. Knowing that arrowroots thrive in wet conditions, he realised that the swamp could support a crop while providing food and income. Rather than draining or eliminating the swamp, Chillion has chosen to work with its natural conditions. He uses furrows to draw and direct water through the farm, helping to maintain the moisture needed by the arrowroots while allowing the swamp to continue supporting the farm’s ecosystem.
For Chillion, this approach is a practical example of agroecology: working with nature to produce food and build a livelihood while caring for the land and its natural resources.
“Through this type of farming, I have learned that I can create a livelihood while taking care of the land. I invested KES 2,000 in arrowroot farming and earned KES 8,000 from my first harvest. That return gave me the confidence to continue farming and to work with the swamp instead of destroying it. I am protecting the land, producing food and creating employment for myself.”
That first return changed Chillion’s outlook. Farming, which had initially been an alternative to formal employment, was beginning to offer him a pathway to self-employment.
The training also helped him understand the benefits of avoiding chemical inputs and encouraged him to adopt farming practices that protect the quality of the soil, crops and surrounding environment. As a result, Chillion has since chosen not to use chemicals on his arrowroot farm.
“I don’t use chemicals on my farm, so my clients are assured of good arrowroots,” he says.
The knowledge has helped Chillion see his farm differently. It is not simply a place where he grows a traditional crop. It has become a source of food, income and self-employment, while allowing him to manage the land in a way that respects its natural characteristics.
During his second planting season, Chillion harvested four sacks of arrowroots, earning Kes 30,000. His enterprise has continued to grow, and he now also sells arrowroot suckers to other farmers, creating an additional source of income. As he has expanded the furrow system to adjacent arable land, he has been able to increase the area under arrowroot cultivation and further grow his enterprise. From the arrowroots currently growing on his farm, he expects to earn about Kes 70,000.
For Chillion, the success has reinforced his belief that agriculture can provide young people with an alternative to waiting indefinitely for formal employment.
“I encourage young people to embrace agriculture,” he says.
His own story is an example of that possibility. A young man trained in engineering, who once hoped to find employment in his area of study, has transitioned into agriculture and is creating an income. Through agroecological practices, he produces food, protecting the wet conditions that sustain his farm and building an enterprise that can grow.
Chillion now plans to diversify into poultry rearing, creating another potential source of income and strengthening his livelihood.
His journey shows that climate action can take root in everyday decisions. By adapting agriculture to the conditions of his environment, maintaining the swamp through water channels and embracing agroecological farming methods, Chillion is finding a way to produce food while caring for the land.
Author: Ezra Kiriago, Communications Coordinator ActionAid Kenya.