Poverty and environmental degradation persist because of a complex web of social, economic, political and environmental factors. CGP's approach to poverty alleviation and environmental degradation is holistic. CGP identifies the obstacles that families and communities face in their efforts to achieve a secure livelihood, and assists in designing solutions that will bring opportunities and hope.

Basic Education: Promoting basic education for all, including girls who are often denied the opportunity to go to school. Families with garden-based income can afford to send their children to school. The children are healthier and can learn more effectively.

Small Economic Activity Development: Providing technical training to poor families to start or expand small business and increase family income

Strengthened Community: Training programs are community-based. Villagers come together for training workshops and to share experience and exchange ideas. The circle widens as they recruit their neighbors. Population (Family Planning): Trainers emphasize the connection between farm size and family size. Nature-based farming methods make farmers aware of the "carrying capacity" of their small plots.

Soil Restoration: Diminishing soil fertility is an acute problem in Kenya. By growing and composting plants with a high content of carbon and nitrogen, Bio-intensive farmers restore soil fertility.

Water Conservation, Sanitation and Environmental Health: Helping poor communities build and maintain wells, water systems and latrines with income from Bio-intensive garden and mini-farms. Also, providing health education to reduce the risk of water borne illnesses. Bio-intensive techniques significantly reduce the amount of water needed to nurture crops by building porous, microbe-rich soil that absorbs and retains it. This makes it possible to maintain adequate supplies of food even in drought conditions.

Food Security: Improved and increased food supply stabilizes families and villages.

Farm Management: The farm management program is based on sustainable and environmentally appropriate agriculture. The farmer needs to understand and use the land wisely and appropriately. Since maize is grown everywhere, crop diversity is a primary focus.

Stream Bank Stabilization: Stream bank stabilization efforts include teaching about vegetation (its uses and benefits), the need to provide good flood storage, and the importance of preventing the loss (mass wasting) of stream banks.

Agricultural Efforts: Our agriculture teachings are based on Ecology Action's Grow Bio-intensive (GBI) organic gardening techniques. GBI is based on soil fertility concepts. Composting and generating compost is a primary component of the program. The farmers need to understand basic soil fertility and how and why they should "build soil." This program includes bed preparation, sustainability, composting, natural fertilization, seed propagation, companion planting and the need for a balanced ecosystem.

Common Ground Program Groups