Kevin Kamau, Kwetu Regenerative Hub, Kenya
Organic Farmer, Tour Guide, and Dog Rescuer. "My only love is to leave the world a better place than I found it."
Meet Kevin Kamau, a 32-year old Kenyan organic farmer, hiker, tour guide, and dog whisperer/rescuer. For the last year he has been working for and with
Van Reenen (featured on Day 31) and Dee J Essy (featured on Day 11), both Syntropic Agroforestry experts who are developing the Kwetu Regenerative Hub demonstration site in Kitui, a remote and arid climate zone east of Nairobi. Visit Roland’s FaceBook page or YouTube shorts for the amazing progress they are making on building a natural home and syntropic agroforestry demonstration site in Kitui.When not working with Roland, Essy and the team at Kwetu, Kevin lives on his organic farm with his family in Lusigeti, 30 km west of Nairobi.
Before Kevin met Roland, he was doing manual jobs and growing maize and beans organically on the half acre he has on his grandfather’s farm.
They met online when Kevin saw that Roland made a request on Facebook for a spineless nopal cactus supplier. Kevin grows spineless nopal cactus as a living fence for his organic farm to keep intruders and animals out of his farm. He grows enough to both give away in his community as well as sell for income generation. Kevin had more than enough cactus and was able to contribute some to Roland and Dee J’s Kwetu project. That was one year ago; Kevin has continued on with Roland as an assistant, helping them develop the Kwetu Regenerative Hub site in Kitui.
Over the last year, I’ve leared about plant integration and succession farming, the Syntropic Agroforestry way. I can see with this kind of farming that even in Kitui, the land can produce… if we take it with a pinch of a salt. We can even grow some dragonfruits.
I asked Kevin if he would like to replicate the Kwetu model of farming on his own farm. He explained that he will definitely be replicating Syntropic Agroforestry principles at his own farm. As for dragonfruits, while they are easy to grow, the trick is their maintenance. Nonetheless, he is excited by the quick results at Kwetu.
The team working at Kwetu is about eight total. Kevin helps plant, build and do whatever else is needed on the site. “We all work together as a team; whatever is needed I do.” It’s hard work living off of the grid. They are basically camping while building a house. But they also have a lot of fun!
I used to be a tour guide…
Kevin finished high school and went to college, graduating with a diploma as a qualified tour guide. He even had a tour company and office in partnership with his mentor who was 15 years his senior. Life was good; Kevin was doing what he wanted to in life.
There has always been something inside me that wants to travel. Ever since I was young. I have traveled all around Kenya.
But after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, everything stopped and the travel and tourism industry collapsed. Kevin’s business partner, who owned most of the business assets, sadly passed away during the COVID pandemic. And, Kevin’s business passed away with him.
Since COVID, Kevin has been working on his family farm and doing manual jobs. The opportunity to work with Roland was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
Even so, he wants to restart his tour guide company in the future as well as integrate what he has learned from Roland into his farm at home. But that’s not all. There is another passion brewing in Kevin.
If I could just save the dogs…
I asked Kevin to share with me what it is about him that makes him a ChangeMaker. How does he serve people and his community? I asked this question because while we had already talked about the ways in which he was making a difference, I wanted to hear him summarize his contributions to the community.
That’s when he said…
I don’t just look at people. I look at animals. If there is something I wish I could do, it would be the rehabilitation of dogs. There are so many stray dogs in Nairobi and near my home.
The Network for Animals which partners on fundraisers for the Kenya Society for the Protection of Animals estimates that there are tens of thousands of stray cats and dogs in Nairobi alone.
In my hometown, near my farm, I have 10 dogs that depend upon me. I always buy them food and feed them. I’m not just kindhearted with animals. If I see a human who is in need, I always help. But when it comes to being a ChangeMaker, I’m going to change some situation with the dogs.
Kevin is very modest, adding that he didn’t have any pictures of the dogs because he acts and doesn’t tell.
I don’t do it for showing. Even if you come to my hometown, you will see that the dogs come up and jump to me and kiss me. That’s how I know that I have changed their lives. Most people don’t understand.
“Noone has ever asked me how I can change the world – I feel good that I have shared something that has been bothering me all along. I can make a change.” - Kevin Kamau
Kevin has noticed over the years that there are no dog rescues. Or, if there, they are not visible and there are so many dogs on the streets in need (Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals along with another organization in Kibera Slums called Kibera Youth for Stray Animals are the only two organizations I could find addressing animal welfare in the country). “People don’t treat animals with any respect. I would get those stray dogs and train them and then sell them to people who need dogs.”
We have theme parks and zoos but no one cares about the stray dogs. I realize I need to take that route. I need to help them.
Who is Kevin’s ChangeMaker?
An Inspiring Change Maker: Kevin named Roland Van Reenen. “He is the person behind this passion and the skills because he is my teacher and still is.”
I asked Roland to share a few words about Kevin for this article:
I learned to know Kevin as a hard worker and a practical learner and a silent observer who after he integrated the lesson gives you feedback about how he understands the concept now.
Where in the world is Kevin?
When Kevin is not spending time in Kituyi with Dee J Essay and Roland Van Reenen at the Kwetu Regenerative Hub, he is at home with his family in Lusigeti, Kenya.
