{"title": "Salt Solutions Kenya:  Regenerating Land with Halophytes", "logoImg": "bafkreig6ydqbwbfiyjivtpcpmarptxx62mg7nif6prujx6jouws6czh76y", "website": "https://naraclimate.com", "bannerImg": "bafybeifu3vq4gkbipisdiuiudl6kobp5lv2logn6fbg5lefcomj2r7jk7a", "createdAt": 1729467358337, "userGithub": "", "credentials": {}, "description": "At **NARA Climate**, we use saltwater, whether from oceans or underground sources, to support biocultural regeneration in areas with limited freshwater access. We do this by farming **halophytes**\u2014salt-tolerant plants that thrive in saline soils worldwide\u2014 to create biodiverse carbon sinks that bolster local livelihoods, all without using freshwater or chemicals.\n\n[![IMG-20221220-WA0005-2.jpg](https://i.postimg.cc/W317k6qG/IMG-20221220-WA0005-2.jpg)](https://postimg.cc/R32frtRh)\n*We grow these plants without freshwater!*\n\n\nWe have worked in over 10 countries and are currently focused on a project near Kenya\u2019s **Lake Turkana**, the world\u2019s fourth-largest salt lake. This arid region is experiencing an unprecedented five-year drought, threatening traditional livelihoods that depend on cattle herding. \n\n[![cs-lake-turkana-banner-adobestock-70126705.png](https://i.postimg.cc/6Qp8tHvN/cs-lake-turkana-banner-adobestock-70126705.png)](https://postimg.cc/68FWhfcH)\n*The landscape near Lake Turkana, Kenya.*\n\n[![IMG-0412.jpg](https://i.postimg.cc/sXL0f0HQ/IMG-0412.jpg)](https://postimg.cc/phDBqkHR)\n*Some of our local collaborators.* \n\n\nWe are collaborating with local communities and government to regenerate 100 hectares of land through a five-step process:\n\n1. Removing invasive Prosopis trees\n2. Producing biochar from the wood\n3. Applying the biochar to degraded land\n4. Growing halophytic (salt-tolerant) crops using salty groundwater\n5. Feeding these crops to local livestock, which are central to the local economy\n\n[![2024-10-18-13-36-50-171.png](https://i.postimg.cc/xqDxMN29/2024-10-18-13-36-50-171.png)](https://postimg.cc/sGm4RXxL)\n*One of our pilot sites in Kenya.*\n\n[![2024-10-18-13-33-05-359.png](https://i.postimg.cc/bNy3cPwC/2024-10-18-13-33-05-359.png)](https://postimg.cc/BtzxHdDH)\n\n\nFunding from this GitCoin raise will be used for the procurement of water pump parts and solar irrigation systems, as our projects are entirely off-grid. \n\nThis project excites us because it leverages an abundant resource\u2014saltwater\u2014to regenerate both the landscape and the culture that depends on it. Our long-term goal is to develop a regenerative halophytic animal feed that can be sold locally and across Kenya.\n\n\n[![IMG-0436.jpg](https://i.postimg.cc/4yh2Ybj8/IMG-0436.jpg)](https://postimg.cc/zH8FMWzW)\n*Preparing the prosopis for the biochar kiln.*\n\n[![IMG-0327.jpg](https://i.postimg.cc/280TCtqz/IMG-0327.jpg)](https://postimg.cc/7fTSVmMc)\n*Meeting with our local team.*", "logoImgData": {}, "bannerImgData": {}}
Salt Solutions Kenya:  Regenerating Land with Halophytes
At **NARA Climate**, we use saltwater, whether from oceans or underground sources, to support biocultural regeneration in areas with limited freshwater access. We do this by farming **halophytes**—salt-tolerant plants that thrive in saline soils worldwide— to create biodiverse carbon sinks that bolster local livelihoods, all without using freshwater or chemicals.

[![IMG-20221220-WA0005-2.jpg](https://i.postimg.cc/W317k6qG/IMG-20221220-WA0005-2.jpg)](https://postimg.cc/R32frtRh)
*We grow these plants without freshwater!*


We have worked in over 10 countries and are currently focused on a project near Kenya’s **Lake Turkana**, the world’s fourth-largest salt lake. This arid region is experiencing an unprecedented five-year drought, threatening traditional livelihoods that depend on cattle herding. 

[![cs-lake-turkana-banner-adobestock-70126705.png](https://i.postimg.cc/6Qp8tHvN/cs-lake-turkana-banner-adobestock-70126705.png)](https://postimg.cc/68FWhfcH)
*The landscape near Lake Turkana, Kenya.*

[![IMG-0412.jpg](https://i.postimg.cc/sXL0f0HQ/IMG-0412.jpg)](https://postimg.cc/phDBqkHR)
*Some of our local collaborators.* 


We are collaborating with local communities and government to regenerate 100 hectares of land through a five-step process:

1. Removing invasive Prosopis trees
2. Producing biochar from the wood
3. Applying the biochar to degraded land
4. Growing halophytic (salt-tolerant) crops using salty groundwater
5. Feeding these crops to local livestock, which are central to the local economy

[![2024-10-18-13-36-50-171.png](https://i.postimg.cc/xqDxMN29/2024-10-18-13-36-50-171.png)](https://postimg.cc/sGm4RXxL)
*One of our pilot sites in Kenya.*

[![2024-10-18-13-33-05-359.png](https://i.postimg.cc/bNy3cPwC/2024-10-18-13-33-05-359.png)](https://postimg.cc/BtzxHdDH)


Funding from this GitCoin raise will be used for the procurement of water pump parts and solar irrigation systems, as our projects are entirely off-grid. 

This project excites us because it leverages an abundant resource—saltwater—to regenerate both the landscape and the culture that depends on it. Our long-term goal is to develop a regenerative halophytic animal feed that can be sold locally and across Kenya.


[![IMG-0436.jpg](https://i.postimg.cc/4yh2Ybj8/IMG-0436.jpg)](https://postimg.cc/zH8FMWzW)
*Preparing the prosopis for the biochar kiln.*

[![IMG-0327.jpg](https://i.postimg.cc/280TCtqz/IMG-0327.jpg)](https://postimg.cc/7fTSVmMc)
*Meeting with our local team.*
NARA Climate