The iCow Soil Advocacy Program
This is a 2-3 months program delivered in weekly hour long zoom sessions. There are 8 sessions in total. Courses start on the beginning of each month. After completing the course and taking the exam, you may earn yourself an iCow Soil Advocate Certificate and exemplary students will be featured on this site.
To join email info@archaeakenya.org subject line JOIN SOIL ADVOCACY Course by clicking below.
iCow Living Soil Lab Services
We are developing an iCow Living Soil Lab Service that will train and empower iCow Soil Advocates with skills and tools to provide real time, on-farm, soil biology analysis to their surrounding farming communities.
To work with us contact us on info@greendreams.co.ke
How we impact at Scale
Emmanuel Kirwa
Do you know what a Sitatunga is? Emmanuel Kirwa iCow Boda Soil Advocate in Nandi County Kenya shares his inspirational decade long journey transforming his community from poverty to wealth through joint collaborative efforts including tree planting, tea growing, bee and fish farming. The environmental transformation resulted in the return of the rare sitatunga. Seeing is believing.
Class of 2021
Class of 2021
The iCow Soil Advocacy Program started in June 2021 with an aim of training hundreds of individuals to become Soil Advocates, trained on Soil Biology and Regenerative Agriculture, in rural areas.
The course is delivered over zoom in weekly one hour sessions over a period of 2-3 months. The course content covers Climate Change, CO2 cycles, The Soil Food Web, Regenerative Agriculture including zero or minimum tillage, Composting, Cover planting/cropping, Soil structure and Integrity and Advocacy.
The first class of students to join the iCow Soil Advocates class were Boda Boda (motorcycle taxi) riders from the greater iCow Community in Kenya. Subsequent classes have included farmers and a class designed and focused on women in agriculture. Each student must share their knowledge and practical sessions with a female individual in their family or community, their +One.
Soil Integrity Tests
Early on in the iCow Soil Advocacy program, we teach farmers how their actions on their soils affect the soil integrity and structure. We do this through a very simple experiment we have learned from the Kiss The Ground Soil program. This simple experiment is crucial in helping us quickly see the difference between soil with good integrity and soil that has lost integrity and structure.
This video is a compilation of student testing and demonstrating the soil integrity test.
Composting and Advocacy
As iCow Soil Advocates, students learn the importance of compost in inoculating microbial life into soils. They learn how to make compost using on farm material and are expected to teach family and community members to do the same.
Compost piles are then registered through mobile phone by Soil Advocates or farmers onto the iCow platform Compost Calendar. Once registered, they begin to receive timely SMS messages on actions they need to take throughout the composting period e.g watering , turning, checking temperature etc
This video shows a compilation of students making compost and sharing their knowledge with family and community members.
iCow Soil Advocates
Stella Tenai
Godwin mwanyalo
I am Godwin Mwanyalo from Taita Taveta County. I joined iCow through an iCow text message. Thereafter I joined iCow Boda Soil Advocacy in June 2021
Through this program I have learned Renegerative Agriculture mostly about soils.
I have learned how to test soil structure and know how to regenerate our soil. I have also learned how to make compost.
Emmanuel Kirwa
I am Emanuel Kirwa from Nandi County Kenya. I heard about the iCow Soil Advocavy Program via iCow mass SMS alert, I joined because of passion for conservation agriculture.
I have learned an immense amoun.t of information on soil conservation and regeneration,I have stopped using chemical fertilizers and now use composted organic fertilizer.
Denis Kipkogei
I am Denis Kipkogei from Nandi County. I joined the iCow Boda Soil Advocacy program in June 2021. I am a student from class BSAP1.
I came to know about this program through Sue Kahumbu and joined because I want to educate others on the importance of healthy soil. I have learnt that Soil conservation is key to environmental sustainability.
Charles Mbithi
I am Charles Mbithi from makueni county.
I joined iCow through an invitation from a Friend, thereafter I got a Whatsapp link called iCow Boda Soil Advocacy in June and the program was scheduled for a few months through this program and training I came to understand Regenerative Agriculture and how it is based on soils and the strategies to fix our soils.
Charles Kiusya
I am Stephen Kiusya Charles from Makueni County Kenya.
I joined the iCow Boda Soil Advocacy program in June 2021.I am a student from class BSAP1.I came to know about this program through my friend Sammy Mutuku and joined because I am a farmer practicing irrigation farming.
I am also a community based facilitator.
Alloys Odhiambo
I am Alloys Odhiambo and I joined the iCow Boda Soil Advocacy in June 2021. I am a student from class BSAP1. I came to know about this program through Sue Kahumbu and joined because I want to educate others on the importance of healthy soil. I have learned that healthy soil is healthy me and healthy world.
Abdi Omar
I am Ismail Abdi from Nyeri County Kenya. I joined the iCow Boda Soil Advocacy program in June 2021. I am a student from class Bsap 1 . I came to know about this program through iCow and joined because I wanted to be trained on soil advocacy. Ilearned about soil health and how to make my compost manure.
James Kipyego Biwot
I am James Kipyego Biwot from Kaptumo, Nandi County Kenya.
I joined the iCow Boda Soil Advocacy program in June 2021. I am a student and a team frontrunner of class BSAP1. This is a great class I adore. I have come a long way with this team.
I came to know about this soil program from a message I received on my phone. was eager to study about soil.
The first lesson was a revelation, an eye opener. I have learnt a lot.
Adams Makori
I am Adams Makori (Willy) from Kisii county, Kenya. I joined the iCow Boda Soil Advocacy in June 2021. I am a student from class BSAP1. I came to know about this program through Sue Kahumbu and joined because I want to educate others on the importance of healthy soil. I have learned that healthy soil is healthy me and healthy world.
I have educated my community about natural ways of avoiding to use chemicals and start the new method of protecting our land.