From childhood wanderer to community leader,
Caroline Kiti is writing a new chapter for Kenya’s sacred Kaya Chonyi forest – one seedling and one
football match at a time.
“Every tree here holds a story,” Caroline Kiti whispers, running her
fingers along the bark of a towering baobab tree in the Kaya Chonyi forest on Kenya’s eastern coast.
“My elders taught us this forest isn’t just land. It’s our home, our history.”
As a child, Caroline played hide and seek among these trees, guided by elders’ warnings
about sacred boundaries and ancestral spirits. She recalls these wise guardians disappearing into
the forest to call for rain, which soon followed, as if summoned by their whispered prayers. Now,
she leads efforts to restore this UNESCO World Heritage Site to its former glory.
The transformation of Kaya Chonyi in the Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests mirrors Caroline’s own
journey. She watched as the sacred trees of her childhood became threatened by timber harvesting and
land clearing. Where thick, majestic trees once stood, there is now barren, blackened earth.
Women at the front line of climate crises
“Women bear the brunt of these challenges,” she adds. “With delayed rains, food scarcity has become a
pressing concern. We rise before dawn to get our work done, hoping to finish before the sun blazes
overhead. Many of us walk up to five kilometres along dusty roads just to fetch water, a task that
is both risky and time-consuming.” The paradox isn’t lost on Caroline: “It’s often women who cut
down trees for firewood. Cooking is at the heart of our culture; as Mijikenda women, we have large
families and love to entertain.”
If Caroline had a superpower, she says she would “fast-forward the trees’ growth. “Seeing big, sturdy and fruitful trees makes my heart sing.”
Finding climate-change solutions through COSME
Through Plan International’s Conservation and Sustainable Management of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems
(COSME) project , Caroline found a way to help break this cycle. The project works in partnership
with local communities to conserve the Kaya Chonyi forest and other critical coastal and marine
ecosystems.
As chairperson of a local conservation group, Tumaini (meaning “hope”), Caroline leads efforts to
balance preservation with community needs. The group has planted 5,000 indigenous seedlings,
including Mzambarau (java plum) and Mibuyu (baobab) – trees the elders called miti ya kukinga
baridi , or “medicine trees for colds and asthma.”
The project goes beyond mere tree planting. In Caroline’s compound, fruit trees now provide food and
shade, while Solvatten solar water heaters have helped replace the need for firewood. “We’re showing
our community that conservation creates abundance,” Caroline says, gesturing to the thriving orange
and mango trees around her home.
“These communities understand the impact of environmental degradation better than anyone,” says
Annick Gillard-Bailetti, coastal resilience advisor for the COSME project. “They see first-hand how
deforestation and mangrove destruction affect their livelihoods, health and even their children’s
access to education.”
Beryl Odour, who leads the project in Kenya, adds, “We hope women’s voices will strengthen advocacy
for environmental protection, disaster risk reduction and sustainable livelihoods. Now is the time
for the women to rise and lift up their families and communities.”
“
My dream is for our children to inherit a forest that still breathes. I want them to grow up knowing that we did everything we could to protect this place. ”
–Caroline, COSME participant
Building gender unity
For Caroline, her other significant achievement is the role she plays in her community in bridging
gender divides. While Tumaini started as a women’s conservation group, it has evolved into a
community-wide movement. Her husband, initially skeptical, has joined a men’s group, Heri (meaning
“goodwill”), that partners with Tumaini. Their collaboration comes to life in a surprising way:
through mixed-gender football matches where only women can score goals. “We never imagined we’d be
playing – especially alongside our husbands!” Caroline says with delight.
The games help build alliances off the field as well. “Sometimes, when a woman is cutting down a
tree, she might disregard my advice,” Caroline explains. “Women often don’t take advice from other
women. But if a man intervenes, she listens. It works the other way, too: Men are more receptive
when women speak about sharing household tasks, including bringing water to the home. Collaborating
is essential.”
This partnership has transformed both forest and family dynamics. “We’re not there yet with the
forest, but now my husband respects me more,” Caroline reflects. “He even seeks my opinion on family
matters.”
Through the COSME project, Caroline and her husband have found common ground playing soccer and growing seedlings for forest restoration.
In mixed-gender matches organized through COSME, men and women play soccer with a twist: Only women can score goals, while men must assist in setting up their shots.
Three women in the conversation group water mango seedlings.
Community members gather under a tree for a Gender Justice Journey session, which combines environmental resilience with gender equality by training women for leadership roles while engaging men as partners in community and climate solutions.
Caroline holds one of the seedlings that will help with the Kaya Chonyi forest restoration. She describes her environmental group as “the freedom fighters of clean air and good medicine.”
Madam Sholo, a village elder, fills her Solvatten solar water heater – an innovative device that provides clean water while reducing firewood use.
A community transformed
The groups’ success has rippled through the community. They’ve sold seedlings to Plan International ,
earning 80,000 Ksh (C$860) that has helped families send their children to school. (The seedlings are replanted in the forest by COSME participants.) In the evening light, as women sway barefoot among the seedlings to the rhythmic sounds of the kayamba (a
traditional instrument), they sing, Eh Plan imebadilisha mtindo – “Plan has changed our way of life.”
“We’re the freedom fighters of clean air and good medicine,” Caroline declares, her commitment to
Kaya Chonyi unwavering. In her hands, she holds milk bags salvaged from roadsides, recycled into
seedling containers to cradle the next generation of trees – a testament to how traditional wisdom
and modern conservation can nurture both forest and community.
She adds that she wants to be like Mekatilili wa Menza , an activist who led the Giriama people
against colonial rule between 1912 and 1915. “If I had superpowers, I would fast-forward the trees’
growth and bring them to maturity,” says Caroline. “Seeing big, sturdy and fruitful trees makes my
heart sing. I long for things to return to how they were before. If I could, I would make the forest
my permanent home, guarding it and enjoying its beauty every single day.”
Through her connection to the land and her unwavering determination, Caroline embodies the spirit of
Plan’s COSME project, a remarkable initiative that empowers communities to cultivate hope,
resilience and sustainability for the future. It’s not just about planting trees; it’s about
nurturing a legacy that will thrive for generations to come.
