Recently, the LISTEN Project hosted a team from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kenya and The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Three sites were visited where the #LISTENProject has successfully worked with the communities to showcase landscape regeneration, Water-Energy-Food Nexus and the Entrepreneurial spirit of Village Based Advisors.

• At Maiyanat Community land in Mukogodo East, the team had an opportunity to see the partnership with IMPACT_KENYA and the County Government of Laikipia to undertake the rehabilitation of the community land through reseeding, and the use of mechanical and biological methods to control the invasive Opuntia species.
• The Team also visited Kambi Juu Borehole, Baisa Youth Group and Bidii Women Group in Isiolo County where farmers showcase Good Agricultural Practises, Youth in Agriculture and Water Efficient Irrigation technologies. At Kambi Juu, the project rehabilitated the Kambi Juu borehole, enhancing water availability for agriculture, livestock and household use. This was done as a way of addressing identified priorities in the Burat Ward Development Plan developed by the Ward Climate Change Planning Committee. Baisa Youth Group and Bidii Women Group farms use rain hose irrigation technology thus promoting water efficiency at the farm level. The group has also been trained on Access to Finance where members now contribute Ksh 500 for savings and credit.
• Finally, the Team visited Mercy Gatwri, A village Based Advisor from Mukogodo East, Laikipia County. The VBA business model uses farmer entrepreneurs (Village Based Advisors) to offer extension services to fellow farmers. Mercy’s farm is a training site for Good Agronomic Practices (GAPs) for other farmers within and beyond her village. She cultivates both commercial and food crops. She is also a champion of climate-smart agriculture, employing a range of practices such as water harvesting, irrigation, integrated soil fertility management, integrated pest management, soil conservation, agroforestry, sequential crop rotation, and intercropping. As a VBA, Mercy aggregate both inputs (especially pulse seeds from KARLO) and outputs for income generation working with private companies to create demand.