Field Notes: Nakuru, September 15–19, 2025
The Guarded Harvest Project - Empowering Communities
Monday, I arrived in Nakuru after a 21-hour journey via Doha, followed by a four-hour drive from Nairobi. The Rift Valley greeted me with its familiar landscape and promise. That afternoon, I met with Mr. Francis Ndeithi, executive secretary of the Guarded Harvest CBO. Together, we laid out the week’s agenda and reviewed the farmer questionnaire in meticulous detail.
Tuesday began with a full team meeting, spirited, sincere, and far-reaching. We spoke of philosophy, of present realities, and of the regenerative vision ahead. By afternoon, we had secured three mobile maize threshers and resolved the last of our logistical hurdles.
Wednesday continued the momentum. Seven solar dryers arrived, courtesy of GrainPro, and we turned our attention to infrastructure and readiness for the training ahead.
Thursday was a high point. The GrainPro team joined us at headquarters, delivering hands-on instruction to the young agripreneurs who will anchor our pilot services. Their energy was palpable. These are the hands that will carry Guarded Harvest forward.
Friday was reserved for cultural immersion and final preparations, a day of listening, learning, and quiet recalibration. More on that in due time, as I am still processing the magnitude of it all.
Direct interventions local industry development in detail
Putting the pieces in place
With generous support from Matt Mehr and GrainPro, Guarded Harvest will deploy solar-powered air dryers capable of processing up to 1,000 kg of maize in 6–8 hours. This represents a major upgrade from traditional sun-drying methods, which often require several days or weeks and are highly vulnerable to spoilage, pest infestation, and aflatoxin contamination. By accelerating the drying process, we increase the volume of grain that can be safely stored and reduce post-harvest losses significantly.
Each participating farm will also undergo soil testing to inform future planting decisions and improve input efficiency. Farmers will receive hermetic storage bags to maintain grain quality and prevent recontamination.
Importantly, we are training local agripreneurs to operate the dryers as part of a sustainable service model. These individuals will receive the dryers at no cost, enabling them to offer drying services at reduced rates and build viable small businesses around post-harvest support. This integrated approach strengthens food security, supports local enterprise, and reinforces the value chain from harvest to storage.
This deployment marks only the first phase of a broader initiative. As we approach the next planting season, Guarded Harvest will unveil additional business development tools and services designed to strengthen field preparation, enhance farmer resilience, and expand agripreneurship opportunities across the region.
research in Greater detail
Know More. Lose Less.
Guarded Harvest is launching a full-scale, mixed-methods research initiative designed to illuminate the realities of smallholder farming and environmental health across Kenya, and eventually, beyond. At its core is a commitment to listening deeply, measuring wisely, and adapting responsively.
We begin with a robust, bilingual (English and Swahili) questionnaire, field-ready and modular, built to capture both quantitative data and qualitative insight directly from farmers. But this is just one layer. Alongside farmer-reported data, we’ll be tracking agronomic inputs, planting density, yield outcomes, meteorological shifts, soil health indicators, pest pressure, and post-harvest losses. This integrated approach allows us to build a clear, evolving picture of local realities, highlighting strengths, identifying vulnerabilities, and revealing patterns that will guide out efforts to food security and fully regenerative agriculture.
What makes this research different is its feedback loops. As data comes in, we’ll use it to assess the effectiveness of our interventions in real time, adjusting tools, trainings, and outreach as needed. This isn’t a static study; it’s a living system designed to evolve with the communities it serves.
Over time, the data will help us build a scalable knowledge base, one that honors local nuance while supporting broader public health and agricultural goals. Our aim is not just to gather information, but to co-create solutions: tools and strategies that are culturally grounded, scientifically sound, and ethically deployed.
This is the foundation of Guarded Harvest’s mission: to steward change through insight, humility, and collaboration. The research begins September 2025. The listening never stops.
