In the post-Terra Madre event held in Machakos Kenya in 2005 bringing together participants from the East African region, community gardens were identified as immediate entry point for this initiative. Community gardens were not new to Africa since most communities had experience with communal gardening that ensured participation and food for all thereby demonstrating the social strength of Africans in which each of them is “his brother’s keeper”. Several community and school gardens have since been established all over Africa and The Thousand Gardens in Africa program aims at scaling up this successful model.
While each community garden directly benefits 30 to 50 households and school garden 50-80 students, they also benefit hundreds more households through “spill-over” effects. Beneficiaries include young and old men and women living in rural areas and households in peri-urban areas.