What We Do

Programs and
Areas of Focus

Three integrated pillars and six thematic areas working together to build lasting resilience in Africa's most climate-vulnerable communities.

Our Vision

A climate-resilient, food-secure Africa.

Powered by community innovation, technology, and storytelling for transformational impact across the continent.

Our Mission

Equip. Innovate. Amplify.

To equip frontline communities with tools, technology, and storytelling power to drive environmental transformation, economic resilience, and social equity.

Theory of Change

Innovation drives sustainability drives stories drives investment.

When communities are equipped and their success is told, they inspire replication, influence policy, and attract the investment that makes it all self-sustaining.

Our 3 Pillars

Three hubs, fully integrated.

Most development programs treat sustainability, technology, and storytelling as separate tracks. At SOEA they are deliberately connected. A farming community adopts a new technique, we document it. A digital tool changes how a community responds to drought, we tell that story. A story attracts a donor, the investment goes back into the ground.

The loop reinforces itself. That is the point.

Result
+70%
yield improvement when sustainability meets technology
Result
+60%
donor traction when technology meets storytelling
Coverage
6 ASAL counties in Kenya, expanding to Ethiopia, DRC, Malawi and Senegal by 2028
Hands holding a seedling with soil and roots visible, Kenya
Pillar 01

Eco-Development Sustainability Hub

Community-led adaptation and livelihoods through climate-smart agriculture, agroforestry, renewable energy, blue-economy systems, and gender-responsive climate resilience. This hub anchors our work at the grassroots, integrating sustainable practices that restore ecosystems and strengthen food systems from the ground up.

See focus areas →
Fresh vegetables and produce at a community market
Pillar 02

Eco-Tech Innovation Hub

Scalable digital tools, mobile applications, and SaaS platforms designed to power climate-smart decision-making across agriculture, energy, and coastal ecosystems. Technology that turns data into practical action, boosting productivity and opening access for women and youth across ASAL regions.

Coming Soon — Taarifa Eco App

Our flagship mobile platform for real-time climate data, early warning, and peer knowledge sharing across ASAL communities. Launching 2026. Register your community for the pilot.

Community members at the IWD 2026 gathering in Mathare, Nairobi
Pillar 03

Eco-Storytelling and Advocacy for Impact Hub

Amplifying local voices and success stories emerging from climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy, and blue-economy work. Through visual storytelling and strategic communications, this hub shapes narratives, influences policy, and puts community leadership at the centre of Africa's climate-resilient future, on their own terms.

Read our field stories →
Thematic Areas of Focus

Six areas of focused work.

Each area connects to one or more of the three pillars. All six share a cross-cutting commitment to storytelling and community-led advocacy.

Partner on a Program
Seedling being planted in Kenya showing agroforestry work
ASAL Communities · Kenya
Building food security through community-led climate adaptation.
01
Eco-Development Hub

Climate-Smart Agriculture and Agroforestry

Regenerative and climate-smart farming systems that restore degraded ecosystems, improve soil health, and strengthen food and water security. Through agroforestry, water-smart agriculture, and ecosystem-based adaptation, farmers in ASAL regions build climate-resilient livelihoods while restoring biodiversity and productivity.

02
Eco-Development Hub

Just Energy Transitions

Equitable access to affordable renewable energy that powers communities, households, and enterprises sustainably. Decentralised solar, clean cooking innovations, and local capacity-building ensure that Africa's move to a low-carbon economy is inclusive, gender-responsive, and driven by the communities it affects most.

03
Eco-Tech Innovation Hub

Digital Innovation, Data and Early Warning Systems

Technology that strengthens climate resilience and local decision-making. Through data platforms, mobile applications, and early warning systems, communities can anticipate, adapt to, and recover from climate and environmental risks. This area anchors the Eco-Tech Innovation Hub, with the Taarifa Eco App as its flagship tool.

04
Eco-Development Hub

Blue Economy and Coastal Resilience

Sustainable use and protection of coastal and marine ecosystems in Kilifi and Kwale through community-led conservation, eco-enterprise development, and blue innovation. Helping coastal communities strengthen climate resilience, preserve biodiversity, and unlock the potential of Africa's blue economy.

05
Eco-Development Hub

Rural to Urban Sustainable Development

Bridging rural innovation and urban growth through circular economy initiatives, waste-to-value solutions, and eco-enterprise incubation. This includes our ongoing advocacy work with waste pickers at Dandora in Nairobi, where 41 community members are building a case for dignified, community-managed recycling systems.

06
Cross-Cutting

Gender in Climate Resilience

Gender equity and social inclusion embedded across all programs. Women, youth, and marginalised groups take leadership in climate action through skills development, access to resources, and advocacy. Not treated as an afterthought but built into the design of every program from the start.

Overarching Focus

Storytelling and Advocacy for Impact

This is not a separate program. It runs through every thematic area. We amplify community voices, document local innovations, and use narrative to drive behavioural change and systems transformation. Every initiative creates impact, and we make sure that impact gets told.

Read our field stories →
Stories and Impact

These programs, in practice.

What the work looks like on the ground. Each story below maps directly to one of the six thematic areas above.

All Stories
Dandora dumpsite Nairobi with waste pickers and machinery Thematic Area 05
March 3, 2026 · Dandora, Nairobi
Dignity and Safety for Dandora's Waste Pickers

41 waste pickers making the case for a community-managed circular economy at Nairobi's largest dumpsite. Their ask: give us the opportunity to manage what we built.

Read the story →
IWD 2026 community gathering Mathare Nairobi Thematic Area 06
March 6 to 8, 2026 · Mathare, Nairobi
When the Nairobi River Burst Its Banks Before Women's Day

Floodwater hit Mathare hours before IWD celebrations. Women were still cleaning when our team arrived. A story about gender, climate, and who bears the cost of inaction.

Read the story →
Fresh market produce representing food security outcomes
Coming 2026
Thematic Areas 01 and 03
ASAL Agriculture and Energy Field Reports

Dispatches from our climate-smart agriculture and renewable energy pilots across Tana River, Laikipia, and Kajiado are in progress. Check back as programs get underway.

Partner to make it happen →

Partner on a program.

We are looking for funders, volunteers, researchers, and community partners across all six thematic areas.

Partner With Us Get in Touch