Children use computers at the Social Innovation Eco Village in Kajiado, where they learn digital skills through community-based Code Clubs. [Courtesy]
A solar powered eco village in Kajiado is combining digital training, climate smart agriculture and indigenous knowledge in an effort to build a model for rural resilience that can be replicated in other marginalised communities.
The Social Innovation Eco Village (SIEVE) in Enduata has established a digital resource centre where schoolchildren in the off grid community learn coding and other digital skills through Code Clubs.
The initiative also uses solar energy, natural cob building techniques and smart rainwater harvesting to address community needs while linking technology, environmental conservation and sustainable livelihoods.
The model is being developed as a scalable approach for arid and semi arid areas and other marginalised regions facing similar climate and economic challenges.
Empower and Serve Kenya (EmpServe), which established SIEVE, says the initiative reflects its shift from running individual projects to building community ecosystems where residents help develop and sustain solutions.
EmpServe was founded in 2016 to bridge gaps between young people, underserved communities and access to skills, technology, opportunities and resources. Its programmes now reach 10 counties across Kenya.
The organisation has reached more than 10,000 people through more than 30 projects and says more than 3,000 beneficiaries have transitioned into jobs and enterprises through its job intermediation programmes.
Its digital inclusion work includes 24 Digilabs located in community centres across the country. The hubs provide young people, particularly young women, with information and communications technology skills, career readiness training, mentorship and seed funding.
The programme also equips young people with coding and online entrepreneurship skills to help them access remote work, establish businesses or become local technology trainers.
EmpServe also runs Code Clubs that connect school based learning with practical technology skills. The programme trained 230 educators in Murang'a, Kiambu and Kajiado counties, resulting in 117 school based Code Clubs and 22 community Code Clubs.
The organisation works through four pillars: Equip, Ignite, Bridge and Thrive. These cover digital skills, entrepreneurship, market access, livelihoods and community resilience.
EmpServe has partnered with the Ministry of ICT and Digital Economy, Raspberry Pi Foundation, Women WorldWide Web, Global Philanthropy Alliance, Earth Allies Restoration Network and the European Union, among others. It has also worked with research institutions including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kenyatta University, Arizona State University and Riara University.
The organisation plans to replicate SIEVE in other arid and semi arid regions by combining off grid power, digital resource centres and climate smart agriculture.
Over the next five to 10 years, EmpServe aims to expand youth economic inclusion, increase employment transitions to 50 per cent, grow Code Clubs into more counties and position SIEVE as a regional innovation destination.
