Each morning in Mjanaheri village, the mother of three sorts through her buckets of ripe tomatoes and bunches of amaranth, spinach and sugarcane. Around her, a small flock of chickens clucks noisily in the heat.

“Farming pays,” she says with a smile. “We’ve been taught to look for markets near and far. I didn’t know I could plan like this before.”

Kaingu is one of about 2,000 farmers in Kilifi county learning through Tushauriane Schools, community-led “schools without walls” where farmers meet weekly to share ideas, test new farming methods and find solutions to common challenges.

The schools operate under Tushauriane Tuimarishe Kilimo Biashara (Let’s Discuss and Strengthen Agribusiness), part of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)’s Flexible Voluntary Contribution sub-programme.

Across Kilifi North, Kilifi South, Magarini and Ganze, 80 Farmer Field Schools are actively engaged under the project, each bringing together about 25 to 30 smallholder farmers, most of them women, who learn, experiment and make decisions collectively.

Before joining the Tushauriane school, Loice planted haphazardly and sold whatever survived. Now, she and her husband map their farm into sections for vegetables, legumes and poultry feed. She keeps detailed records of sales and expenses.

“When I come home from the sessions, I explain what we’ve discussed,” she says. “Now my husband supports me, we plan together. He even helps me take produce to the market.”

Facilitators guide farmers through 24 sessions covering topics such as farm planning, market mapping and gender equality.

Simple audio messages, played through 400 Amplio Talking Books in circulation, reinforce the lessons between meetings, helping families continue the conversations at home.

BUILDING RESILIENCE

In a region where water scarcity often discourages women farmers, Kaingu remains determined.

“Our major challenge is lack of water,” she says, pointing to a dry borehole she once dug beside her home. “But I still irrigate using water that we buy or fetch from the stream. My children help after school.”

Her persistence is paying off. She now sells vegetables to local traders and neighbours, using part of her earnings to pay school fees.

“This project helps farmers look at their challenges differently,” says Husna Mbarak, land governance programme manager at FAO Kenya. “It combines training with reflection, changing how people think about farming, families and fairness.”

SHIFTING MINDSETS

At the heart of the Tushauriane schools is dialogue. Weekly sessions encourage women and men to speak openly about roles, workloads and decision-making, once considered taboo topics.

“We see women now running budgets, keeping records and planning group businesses,” says Hellen Collete, project coordinator at CBCC Africa.

“They’re not just learning to farm better; they’re learning to lead.”

Dr Lenard Mounde, a senior lecturer at Pwani University, agrees. “The cultural norms that hold back production are slowly giving way. When men, women and youth share responsibilities, the whole community benefits.”

SEEDS OF CHANGE

FAO social policy officer Huda Alsahi, based in Rome, says the pilot in Kilifi has provided powerful lessons for global programming.

“The project combines building farmers’, especially women’s, agribusiness skills with improving market linkages,” she says.

“Even within a short period, we’ve seen that when partners come together and communities take ownership, transformation happens.”

The one-year initiative may be nearing its close, but the knowledge and confidence it has sown will endure.

“I used to grow just enough for food,” Loice says, brushing dust from her hands. “Now, I farm to feed my family and earn an income. That’s what learning has done for me.”

As the sun dips behind the coconut trees, her children return from school, helping her water the rows of green vegetables, proof that in Kilifi’s schools without walls, the lessons go far beyond the classroom.

The Tushauriane project is implemented with the Centre for Behaviour Change and Communication (CBCC) Africa, Pwani University and Amplio Ghana. It combines two approaches. These are the Women’s Empowerment – Farmer Business Schools with a Social and Behaviour Change Communication course, and Amplio Talking Books, audio-based learning tools.