CUSTOM CHALLENGE; Kenya
PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED
Reforesting trees and providing work for young people
Learn more about the Custom Challenge and why we only fund ideas that focus on distributing proven poverty interventions.
DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION
Kiswahili for ‘trees in our neighborhoods’, Miti Mitaani pays urban youth to establish community forests which mitigate the impact of climate change.
Miti Mitaani pays urban youth to establish community forests. By engaging unemployed youth in African cities as tree stewards (they plant and maintain the trees monthly), there is huge potential to rapidly scale tree cover in African cities. Miti Mitaani currently operates in Nairobi, Kenya.
Trees are the most scalable and affordable solution to mitigate the effects of climate change, especially in resource-constrained countries. Community forests can transform cities by making them cooler and greener, in addition to other benefits such as cleaner air, habitat for urban wildlife, improving the rain cycle, reducing flash floods etc.
A youth participant enrolled in Miti Mitaani’s program has the opportunity to earn up to $375 annually. Their pilots to date show that stewardship payments are invested in businesses (ex. light motorcycle transportation) and meeting basic needs such as food and healthcare. 100% of the participants in their initial pilot reported they would join Miti Mitaani again.
PILOT AND SCALING GOALS
30 at-risk youth from a low-income neighbourhood of Nairobi will be engaged as tree stewards.
Each of these 30 hired youth will be responsible for planting and maintaining 500 trees, bringing the total number of trees planted to 15,000.
Raise an additional $10 - 15,000 USD from new donors within the pilot period.
FOUNDING TEAM
Ronny Mutua - Founder, Strategy & Partnerships Lead
Maria Omulubi - Co-Founder, Program & Operations Lead