{"id":3358,"date":"2026-04-29T11:34:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.safalmrmfoundation.org\/?p=3358"},"modified":"2026-04-29T11:39:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:39:54","slug":"from-soil-to-strategy-rethinking-youth-skills-through-agriculture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.safalmrmfoundation.org\/?p=3358","title":{"rendered":"From Soil to Strategy: Rethinking Youth Skills Through Agriculture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

There is a quiet shift taking place at Mabati Technical Training Institute, one that is not happening in lecture rooms, but in the soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the institute\u2019s permaculture garden, a pilot of 100 dragon fruit plants is beginning to bear fruit. What started as an experiment is slowly revealing something more significant: a different way of thinking about skills, livelihoods, and what young people can step into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because this goes beyond growing a high-value crop, it is about growing relevance, and equipping young people to rethink agriculture as a pathway to economic opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dragon fruit is still relatively new within many Kenyan farming systems, but it is quickly gaining attention. It is considered one of the country\u2019s emerging high-value crops, with rising demand in local and export markets, and the potential to generate significant income when well managed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That context matters. Because it shifts this from a garden project to something much more intentional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To build this pilot, learning had to extend beyond the institute. A visit to Palora Farm in Isinya offered practical insight, not just on how to grow dragon fruit, but how to make it work within a real farming and market environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That experience shaped what is now taking root at MTTI. Not perfectly. Not instantly. But steadily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is happening in the garden is cultivation. And exposure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students are engaging with: High-value crop farming, Climate-smart agricultural practices the realities of managing a crop with market potential<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And perhaps more importantly, they are beginning to understand agriculture differently. Not as routine or a fallback plan but as a space for innovation and income.<\/strong> Because the reality is this: Agriculture is changing. And the opportunities within it are no longer limited to traditional pathways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crops like dragon fruit are showing that even small pieces of land, when approached differently, can hold significantly higher value, both economically and in terms of long-term sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At MTTI, this pilot is still in its early stages. There are lessons. Adjustments. Unknowns. But that is also part of the learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because what students are gaining here goes beyond technical knowledge,
it is sharpening their ability to test, adapt, and think beyond what is familiar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that is where the real impact lies. Not just in the fruit that is harvested,
but in the mindset that is being shaped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The knowledge gained in this space does not remain within the institute. It moves outward,
into communities, into small farms, into ideas that can be built on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At its core, the permaculture garden is becoming a training site. Demonstrating that when young people are given the right exposure,
they can step into opportunities that are not only sustainable,
but economically viable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And sometimes, that shift begins quietly. With a crop not many expected. And a different way of seeing what is possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To support our projects: Donate via the following link:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.globalgiving.org\/donate\/91100\/safal-mrm-foundation\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is a quiet shift taking place at Mabati Technical Training Institute, one that is not happening in lecture rooms, but in the soil. At the institute\u2019s permaculture garden, a pilot of 100 dragon fruit plants is beginning to bear fruit. What started as an experiment is slowly revealing something more significant: a different way […]\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[25],"tags":[56,57,58],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.safalmrmfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3358"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.safalmrmfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.safalmrmfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safalmrmfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safalmrmfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3358"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.safalmrmfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3376,"href":"https:\/\/www.safalmrmfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3358\/revisions\/3376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safalmrmfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.safalmrmfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safalmrmfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.safalmrmfoundation.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}