Award-winning climate activist Patricia Kombo has continued to advocate for environmental preservation and poverty alleviation. As founder of PaTree Initiative,she has planted 10,000 trees and encouraged hundreds of women to embrace kitchen gardening. In this interview with Project Inspire Africa, Patricia talks about how the journey has been.
Can we meet you?
I am Patricia Kombo,a 24 years old citizen of the Republic of Kenya. My hobbies are adventure, travelling and farming.
Tell us briefly your childhood experience.
I grew up in a village setting and was introduced to farming at a tender age and I became very interested in nature and soil. We grew, ate our food and played in the forest.
What's your educational background?
I am a final year student of Moi University,Kenya pursuing a degree in communication and journalism. I had my primary and secondary school education at Utangwa Primary School and Chogoria Girl's High School.
What are your contributions towards making your country a better place?
I am the founder of PaTree Initiative,Kenya. At PaTree,we are working towards environmental conservation through farming organically and growing trees. We are also improving livelihoods by training communities on kitchen setups and climate smart agriculture amidst climate change.
What steps did you take to bring your vision to fruition?
The following steps helped me kick-start my non-profit organization:
1. I did a background check on my community to find out what was responsible for the high levels of poverty we had
2. I brought the community members on board and listened to their challenges
3. I involved them in decision making and the implementation of the project
4 I also visited schools and talked to students. It was as a result of doing that I discovered that our environmental education wasn't rooted. Today, schools are a big part of what we do.
What have been your achievements?
We have seen more women embrace kitchen gardening and this has impacted positively on their finances. Through our campaigns,environmental education has appreciated in the communities we operate in. I have been named a Land Hero by the United Nations Convention To Combat Desertification. I am also a recipient of the Kotex Kenya SHE CAN AWARDS in recognition of my work in communities. Our advocacy program currently reaches over nine schools in Kenya. We have planted 10,000 trees. My family also began a family forest.
What motivated you to do what you are doing?
I have witnessed first hand the negative consequences that have been brought on my community(especially women and children) a result of climate crisis and the resultant poverty these consequences bring. PaTree Initiative is my contribution to the solution we all want to see.
What has been your major challenge since you began your nonprofit?
Lack of adequate Capital
Inadequate skills to implement the project like setting up nursery
How have you been able to raise money to implement your ideas?
Through setting up nurseries and selling farm produce.
Could you share with us one or two experience(s) you have had in the course of your campaign that has impacted on you?
Most people in my community depend on agriculture for a living but with the lockdown caused by the pandemic,a lot of things were slowed down. As a result,money wasn't readily available and children needed more food as they were always at home. This led to an increase in gender based violence. It wasn't a good sight to behold. In response,I began training the women in my community how to grow vegetables and do irrigation. As they sold what they grew, they had what they needed to cater for living expenses. It made me glad to see that lives are being touched by what I am doing.
What are your prospects in the next 5 or 10 years?
In the decade, we want to work towards ensuring that all schools in Kenya have an effective and sustainable environmental program so that from a young age, the next generation can learn about environmental preservation and adaptability in case of climate crisis.I would like to extend our kitchen gardening trainings so that more women can be empowered to feed their communities.
What do you think is the major cause of unemployment in Africa, and how can we get over this?
Lack of skills .This is caused by our education system which is more theoritcal and grade-based
If you had an opportunity to speak to presidents in Africa, what would be your message?
Invest more in skill based education and address climate change without which all other SDGs will remain unattainable.
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