Changes at "GROUNDED FUTURES (REFUGEE-LED SOIL AND SUSTAINABILITY ACTION)."
Title (English)
- +GROUNDED FUTURES (REFUGEE-LED SOIL AND SUSTAINABILITY ACTION).
Body (English)
- +Summary of the challenge
- +Degraded soil quality in refugee settlements like Kakuma has severely limited opportunities for sustainable agriculture, threatening food security, livelihoods, and environmental resilience. Refugees—especially youth and women—are most affected, as they lack access to fertile land, farming knowledge, and support systems needed to restore soil health and grow food sustainably.
- +Detailed description
- +Title: Refugee-Led Soil and Sustainability Action. Detailed Description: This challenge emerges from the overlooked environmental injustices faced by displaced populations living in protracted refugee camps like Kakuma, Kenya. As a refugee myself, I have witnessed firsthand how soil and territorial injustice manifests not only through food insecurity, but also through the disempowerment of entire communities living on degraded, marginalized lands. Kakuma Refugee Camp is home to over 200,000 people, the majority of whom were forcibly displaced by conflict, drought, or persecution. While humanitarian agencies provide essential services, there is limited attention paid to the long-term sustainability of the land we live on. The soil in Kakuma is dry, compacted, and stripped of nutrients-unsuitable for farming or meaningful green cover. This has left the residents almost completely dependent on external food aid, which is often inconsistent or insufficient. The absence of fertile ground undermines our food sovereignty and dignity, reducing our ability to grow our own food, care for our environment, or even plant shade trees to combat the harsh heat. Historically, refugee settlements are built on marginal land—areas considered ‘unused’ or ‘unproductive’ by host governments. In Kakuma, this means inhabiting a semi-arid region with poor soil structure and scarce rainfall. Over the years, population pressure, deforestation, and unsustainable land use have only worsened the degradation. Attempts by some residents to grow vegetables in small kitchen gardens often fail due to lack of compost, poor soil, and extreme weather. The main actors in this challenge include: Refugee communities who lack the resources and technical support to improve soil conditions. Host communities, who share similar land struggles and sometimes compete for scarce resources like firewood and water. Humanitarian agencies and NGOs, who provide food and infrastructure but rarely invest in soil regeneration. Environmental justice advocates and youth-led initiatives, who are beginning to raise awareness about soil and territorial rights in marginalized areas. The urgency of this issue is heightened by climate change. Prolonged droughts and extreme temperatures are making life even harder in already inhospitable environments. Without intervention, the camp risks becoming more unlivable. But there is also opportunity: many young refugees, like myself, are eager to learn about composting, agroecology, tree planting, and regenerative agriculture techniques that can restore soil health and bring life back to our land. This challenge is deeply tied to soil justice and territorial equity. Refugees often live on land that is seen as temporary, and thus unworthy of investment in restoration. But for many of us, this is our home for years, even decades. Without fertile soil, we cannot feed ourselves, plant our dreams, or build self-reliance. Territorial justice means giving marginalized communities—not just legal ownership—but real control over how land is used, restored, and respected. Participating in initiatives like the Soil Tribe Bootcamp would allow us to: Learn and apply regenerative techniques to restore soil health in the camp. Empower refugee youth with climate resilience skills. Build bridges between refugee and host communities through shared land restoration projects. Create models of eco-friendly refugee living that can be replicated elsewhere. Ultimately, this is a call not just for environmental aid, but for environmental dignity. Every person deserves the right to live on land that sustains them. Through soil justice, we can begin to reclaim our agency, rebuild our ecosystems, and root our futures in living, breathing ground.
- +Which SoilTribes priority area(s) does your challenge address?
- +Soil Democracy
- +Territorial Justice
- +Commons Stewardship
- +Regenerative Transitions
- +How does your challenge respond to the selected SoilTribes priority area(s)?
- +Our challenge responds directly to the SoilTribes priority areas of Territorial Justice, Commons Stewardship, and Regenerative Transitions. As refugees living in Kakuma Refugee Camp, we face severe limitations on land access, land use rights, and the ability to sustainably manage natural resources. This situation embodies territorial injustice, where marginalized populations are excluded from decision-making and deprived of land sovereignty. Our initiative seeks to reverse this by advocating for inclusive, community-driven soil use and sustainable land practices within the camp, promoting fairer access and stewardship. Through community gardens, composting practices, and soil restoration trainings, we are actively engaging in Commons Stewardship. Refugee communities often share limited land and soil resources. By organizing collective action and education, we ensure shared responsibility and care for our local soil and environment. Lastly, we embrace Regenerative Transitions by focusing on long-term, sustainable, and nature-based practices—composting organic waste, regenerating depleted soils, and promoting food sovereignty. These efforts build ecological resilience and create dignified livelihoods, even in contexts of displacement. Our challenge not only addresses urgent environmental and food security needs but also builds a model of inclusive environmental action driven by refugees themselves.
- +Which EU Soil Mission goal(s) does your challenge contribute to?
- +Prevent erosion
- +Reduce soil sealing / reuse urban soils
- +Reduce soil pollution / enhance restoration
- +Conserve soil organic carbon
- +Reduce desertification
- +Challenge typology
- +Seeds (small, replicable initiatives)
- +Expected outputs / actions
- +Awareness-raising / communications
- +Creative or cultural events
- +Capacity-building (training, guides, mentorship)
- +Policy or advocacy initiatives
- +Who is involved or affected by the challenge?
- +The challenge primarily affects refugee communities living in the Kakuma Refugee Camp and surrounding host communities, where land degradation, limited access to fertile soil, and lack of environmental awareness hinder food security and sustainability efforts. Key actors involved include: Refugee youth and women groups, who are both the most affected and the most engaged in local sustainability and gardening initiatives. Community-based organizations (CBOs) such as Resilience Action International, which supports refugee-led development. Host community farmers and elders, who bring local knowledge and collaborate on land use practices. International partners and NGOs, including UNHCR and humanitarian supporters, who offer funding, visibility, and tools for scaling the initiative. Local government and environmental departments, who regulate land use and can support community land access for soil restoration projects. This diverse collaboration fosters inclusive, community-driven solutions to soil and territorial challenges in a fragile humanitarian contexts.
- +Where is your challenge located?
- +Kakuma Refugee Camp, Turkana County, Kenya
- +Which SoilTribes pillar(s) are you connected to?
- +Public Sector
- +Academia, Education & Research
- +Civil Society
- +Business: Social Economy & Cooperative Sector
- +What public policies or institutional frameworks does your challenge engage with or seek to change?
- +Our challenge engages with and seeks to influence several public policies and institutional frameworks at both the national and international levels: 1. Kenya’s Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) – We advocate for the inclusion of refugee-hosting areas in national environmental planning, particularly in soil restoration and sustainable land use strategies. Currently, refugee camps are often excluded from national environmental policies. 2. UNHCR Livelihoods and Environment Strategy – This project complements and aims to strengthen implementation of UNHCR's efforts to promote sustainable natural resource management in refugee settings, particularly through soil rehabilitation and sustainable agriculture. 3. County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs) – Turkana County – We seek to integrate refugee-led soil and sustainability initiatives into local government development frameworks, ensuring that refugees are recognized as contributors to territorial resilience and not just aid recipients. 4. The EU Soil Strategy for 2030 and Soil Monitoring Law – Though we operate outside the EU, our work aligns with EU objectives to enhance global soil stewardship and reduce external soil footprints. We seek to raise awareness of how refugee settlements are both affected by and contribute to global soil challenges, encouraging inclusion in international dialogues. 5. The Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) – We support the GCR’s aim of enhancing refugee self-reliance through environmental sustainability and community-led action. Our initiative acts as a model for localizing this framework within soil and land restoration.
- +How do you imagine the Bootcamp will benefit your initiative — and others?
- +We hope the Bootcamp will help us strengthen our refugee-led soil and sustainability initiative by deepening our understanding of regenerative practices and policy engagement. We want to learn new methods for soil restoration and explore how to communicate our impact more effectively. Through the Bootcamp, we also aim to connect with others working on land justice and co-create approaches that can be adapted to fragile or displaced communities like ours. We bring lived experience from the Kakuma Refugee Camp, knowledge of survival-based land use, and a growing local network committed to ecological and social resilience. Our initiative can offer insights into how marginalized communities can lead environmental stewardship efforts under challenging conditions.
State
- +Accepted
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