Fertility Trenches & Water Pumps: KOWYN Climate-Smart Farming

KOWYN joined Koibatek ATC and KickStart at the Poror-Upendo Fellowship Group, hosted on Bishop Bomett’s homeground, for a hands-on training day in climate-smart farming techniques. Together, the groups set up fertility trenches, zaipits, a full moon demo, and a vertical corn garden using dumbliners, along with an alternative method using materials that are easy to find locally.

It was a day of getting hands dirty and learning by doing, exactly the kind of training that sticks.

Building a Fertility Trench

A good fertility trench measures 2ft by 2ft, and the process is straightforward but precise:

• Base layer — maize stalks laid at the bottom to provide nutrients and retain moisture.
• Soil layers — red subsoil followed by black topsoil, carefully layered to create the right growing environment.
• The secret mix — one wheelbarrow of manure to two wheelbarrows of topsoil. That ratio makes all the difference.

Participants also practiced planting kales, sagaa, and managu in straight lines, and learned mulching techniques to help the soil hold onto every drop of moisture it can.

Each step is simple, affordable, and designed to be replicated at home. That is what makes it powerful.

Water Solutions for a Changing Climate

KOWYN was honored to host Paul Munyala and Carrington Kambatha from KickStart Nairobi. They brought a message that resonated with everyone in the room: water is the biggest challenge farmers face today. Changing weather patterns have made rainfall less reliable, and communities need practical solutions to keep their crops growing.

Enter the MoneyMaker Max and MoneyMaker Starter pumps, simple, durable technologies capable of pushing water 150 to 200 meters on flat ground. These tools are designed to do more than move water. They help farmers move beyond subsistence farming and turn agriculture into a viable business.

When water is no longer the bottleneck, everything changes.

Growing Resilience Together

Through fertility trenches, zaipits, vertical gardening, and accessible water technology, KOWYN continues to build the knowledge and tools communities need to farm sustainably, strengthen food security, and adapt to a changing climate.

None of this happens in isolation. It takes partners, shared learning, and the willingness to try new methods side by side. Days like this one in Poror-Upendo are proof that when communities come together around practical solutions, resilience grows from the ground up.