Every morning, Mukeshimana Clarisse walks just a few steps from her kitchen to pick fresh vegetables for her family’s meals.
Not long ago, that simple task looked very different. She had to travel to buy vegetables, spending both time and money to put nutritious food on the table. Today, she simply walks into her backyard.
“The Permagarden has helped me have easy access to fresh vegetables close to my home instead of walking a long distance to get them,”
Clarisse, who lives in Murehe, Rwamagana District, Rwanda.
Her experience reflects what some families in parts of Africa are discovering: a small piece of land can become a source of fresh food for the household.
Through training provided by The Permagardens Foundation, households are learning how to establish permanent Permagardens that can produce vegetables using natural farming practices. These practices include using compost or animal manure to improve soil health, natural pest management, and crop rotation.
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For many families, the garden is not simply changing what they eat. It is changing how they use the land around their homes.
Built to Last
Permagardens are designed as permanent garden systems that can remain productive over multiple growing seasons with regular care.
Clarisse has seen the difference firsthand.
“Other gardens I used to build would only last for a year or a few months, and then I had to make a new one. The Permagarden is a very permanent garden,” she said.
Maintaining it has become part of her daily routine.
“I simply maintain it by cleaning it, tending the vegetables, and replanting them by rotating crops from one bed to another.”
The permanent design can give families greater confidence that their gardens can continue producing food across multiple seasons when properly maintained.
That confidence is reflected in a post-gardening survey conducted by The Permagardens Foundation among 160 households across four communities in Kenya and Rwanda, with 40 households surveyed in each community.
In Rwanda’s Southern Province, 90 percent of families said they were very confident they could maintain their Permagardens over the long term. Homabay County in Kenya followed with 80 percent, while Gakenke District in Rwanda and Kwale County in Kenya each recorded 75 percent.
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Across all four communities, only 2 to 7 percent of households reported a lack of confidence in maintaining their gardens
Growing Food Despite a Changing Climate
In many African communities, changing rainfall patterns and periods of dry weather are making food production more challenging. For households that depend on what they can grow, finding ways to produce food through difficult seasons can make a difference.
Families trained through The Permagardens Foundation are finding ways to grow vegetables under different local conditions.
In Zinzi Village in Kenya’s Kwale County, Fatuma Damawi, a mother of nine, including three children under the age of five, grows tomatoes, bell peppers, and collard greens in her Permagarden.
The vegetables provide her family with fresh food grown using the methods she learned through Permagarden training.
The experience is echoed hundreds of miles away in Mali.
When trainer Om Bai Singh introduced the first Permagarden in his village in June 2025, many people doubted vegetables could grow in the area’s rocky soil.
When we set up the Permagarden, people wondered what it was and how it would work because our village has rocky terrain,”
Om Bai Singh
“But we put in the hard work, and the vegetables did grow.”
Singh said his family harvested vegetables for about ten months of the year, except during the hottest months of May and June. He said this reduced the amount they spent buying food from the market.
His experience has since encouraged him to help other families establish their own gardens.
The Foundation’s survey also points to the ability of participating households to grow food during dry periods.
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In Homabay, 98 percent of surveyed households said they were able to grow food during the dry season. Southern Province recorded 95 percent, while Kwale Coastal and Gakenke each recorded 86 percent.
The findings suggest that participating households were able to continue growing food during the dry season.
Fresh Vegetables Within Reach
One of the clearest benefits of a Permagarden can be seen at mealtime.
Families reported having regular access to fresh vegetables grown only a few steps from their homes.
In Rwanda’s Southern Province, 83 percent of households described fresh, nutritious vegetables as highly available. Kwale Coastal followed with 76 percent, while Homabay recorded 75 percent.
In Gakenke District, 50 percent of households reported that vegetables were highly available, while another 49 percent said they were available. Only 1 percent reported that vegetables were unavailable.
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The results indicate that many participating households reported improved access to fresh vegetables grown close to home.
According to the Foundation’s survey, between 93 and 95 percent of participating households also reported that they were no longer worried about having enough food, while 5 to 7 percent said they still had concerns.
A Harvest That Goes Beyond Food
The benefits reported by the Foundation extend beyond what families eat.
Peter Otiende, Director of Global Initiatives and Lead Researcher at The Permagardens Foundation, said the organization has observed wider social and economic changes among participating communities.
He said women have started saving money through table banking groups, while some families have been able to buy shoes for their children. Others have purchased livestock, creating additional sources of income.
According to Otiende, these changes are also contributing to greater economic independence for some women by giving them more control over food production and household spending.
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“Our analysis confirms our initial statement that Permagardens are able to produce between 40 and 50 percent of the food used at home for an average family.”
Peter Otiende
Across Kenya, Rwanda, Mali, and other communities where the model is being introduced, Permagardens are being used to grow vegetables close to home.
For participating families, the gardens can help reduce food expenses, improve access to fresh vegetables, and strengthen household resilience.
For Clarisse, the transformation begins with a short walk into her backyard.
For other families, it begins with the same simple act of planting a seed that can grow into something much larger than a garden.
It grows into food, confidence, and hope.
