0:00:00.200,0:00:02.640
Farmers in Africa [br]are important to the economy,

0:00:02.640,0:00:05.080
but also very exposed to climate change.

0:00:05.880,0:00:10.040
Regenerative agriculture is a farming [br]practice that brings back destroyed soil

0:00:10.040,0:00:12.360
in a way that makes [br]soil healthy and productive,

0:00:12.360,0:00:15.360
restores biodiversity [br]and improves nutrition.

0:00:15.800,0:00:16.680
That’s the future.

0:00:21.360,0:00:23.480
There are two innovative farms in Kenya

0:00:23.480,0:00:25.520
practicing regenerative agriculture.

0:00:27.240,0:00:29.270
We have Tamalu using agroforestry

0:00:29.270,0:00:32.480
and Farmer Max using livestock[br]to regenerate soils.

0:00:37.320,0:00:41.120
The story about this farm [br]is not just about chickens,

0:00:41.120,0:00:45.440
it’s about using chickens [br]as a tool to regenerate soil.

0:00:47.160,0:00:50.360
It was typical to any small farm,

0:00:50.360,0:00:53.120
it was heavily grazed, [br]it was tilled.

0:00:55.720,0:00:58.200
We got in 100 chicks [br]and it kind of evolved from that.

0:01:01.480,0:01:02.660
Over many many years

0:01:02.660,0:01:05.600
the ground was being used [br]in a conventional way of farming,

0:01:05.600,0:01:07.270
which means that over time

0:01:07.270,0:01:10.360
you have a loss[br]in the microorganisms by tilling it.

0:01:10.360,0:01:13.520
You’re releasing carbon which [br]is food for the microorganisms.

0:01:15.000,0:01:18.440
What we’re trying to do is [br]stop any disturbance in the soil

0:01:18.440,0:01:22.920
and try and revitalise[br]it by using livestock

0:01:22.920,0:01:25.960
to fertilise the soil[br]in a natural way.

0:01:25.960,0:01:29.920
Conventional poultry farming[br]is usually in confined houses

0:01:29.920,0:01:32.880
where there’s a batch of[br]3,000 to 4,000 chickens.

0:01:32.880,0:01:37.320
What we do is we take away[br]that pressure by shifting the coops.

0:01:40.040,0:01:44.280
On the broiler pasture,[br]we have a small dairy herd

0:01:44.280,0:01:47.240
that we move about 10 days [br]in front of the chickens.

0:01:47.240,0:01:50.680
And they graze the grass [br]down to about six inches.

0:01:50.680,0:01:54.960
The patties are full of natural protein[br]by the time the chickens graze over them.

0:01:54.960,0:01:58.640
So, it further substitutes their [br]feed in terms of natural protein

0:01:58.640,0:02:01.360
that they are able to forage [br]and peck at on the ground.

0:02:01.360,0:02:04.560
What they poop out is [br]our resource for the soil.

0:02:04.560,0:02:08.000
Their poop is high in nitrogen,[br]they are fertilising the soil.

0:02:08.000,0:02:11.080
We are trying to rebuild [br]ecosystem health,

0:02:11.080,0:02:12.480
and it’s effective.

0:02:12.480,0:02:15.320
And then behind the chickens[br]are the sheep that come in

0:02:15.320,0:02:18.800
who also maintain [br]a sort of level of pasture

0:02:18.800,0:02:20.520
where we want it for the broilers.

0:02:20.520,0:02:23.200
In other poultry operations[br]the poop is a burden,

0:02:23.200,0:02:26.120
whereas for us it’s a [br]tool to regenerate soil.

0:02:27.960,0:02:30.320
Our system of farming [br]is nature-enhancing.

0:02:30.320,0:02:32.800
If you had a bird’s eye view of our farm,

0:02:32.800,0:02:37.120
you would see exactly where [br]the chicken coops have been.

0:02:37.120,0:02:40.240
And the idea is that if [br]your soils are healthy,

0:02:40.240,0:02:42.920
your pasture is healthy,[br]your animals are healthy,

0:02:42.920,0:02:45.640
we are healthy and the planet’s healthy.

0:02:54.520,0:02:59.200
Agroforestry is a practice of [br]either agriculture in forestry systems

0:02:59.200,0:03:01.360
or forestry in agricultural systems.

0:03:01.360,0:03:04.760
So that trees and crops [br]are on the same piece of land

0:03:04.760,0:03:06.480
for long periods of time.

0:03:06.480,0:03:09.520
Farmers are able to produce [br]diverse portfolios of food

0:03:09.520,0:03:11.400
allowing them to [br]make more income,

0:03:11.400,0:03:14.240
rather than when they were relying [br]just on one crop or one enterprise.

0:03:18.280,0:03:19.479
What we’re standing in here

0:03:19.479,0:03:21.680
are actually tunnels[br]that used to grow flowers

0:03:21.680,0:03:23.840
and only two years [br]ago it was just bush,

0:03:23.840,0:03:26.640
lots of weeds, very [br]overgrown and not much life.

0:03:27.760,0:03:31.600
It’s just amazing that you can bring [br]that all back within less than two years.

0:03:32.960,0:03:35.000
We decided to set up agroforestry

0:03:35.000,0:03:36.920
because we wanted [br]a food production system

0:03:36.920,0:03:39.080
that produces superior quality,

0:03:39.080,0:03:42.480
enhances soil and sequesters[br]as much carbon as possible.

0:03:42.480,0:03:44.920
And enhances, [br]of course, biodiversity.

0:03:50.040,0:03:51.560
It was really when [br]we first went to Brazil

0:03:51.560,0:03:54.680
and discovered the advantages[br]of syntropic agroforestry

0:03:54.680,0:03:56.360
over any other agroforestry.

0:03:56.360,0:03:59.480
We realised a lot of the crops[br]that they were using in Brazil

0:03:59.480,0:04:00.520
are also in Africa,

0:04:00.520,0:04:02.040
and so, we knew we could do it here

0:04:02.040,0:04:04.320
and just slightly[br]change it, ever so slightly,

0:04:04.320,0:04:05.960
just to fit into the local context.

0:04:05.960,0:04:07.920
So, if you can imagine[br]in a natural forest,

0:04:07.920,0:04:09.280
you’ve got lots of different levels.

0:04:09.280,0:04:12.280
You’ve got your canopy crops,[br]you’ve got your emergent above that,

0:04:12.280,0:04:13.800
you’ve got your sub-canopy,

0:04:13.800,0:04:15.320
and then you’ve got[br]your ground level stuff.

0:04:15.320,0:04:16.720
In some circumstances,

0:04:16.720,0:04:18.399
you’ve even got food[br]growing under the ground.

0:04:18.399,0:04:21.399
And that’s what we’re strongly[br]mimicking in a system like this.

0:04:21.399,0:04:24.840
In syntropic agroforestry,[br]everything is planted at the same time,

0:04:24.840,0:04:26.360
be it from seed or from seedling.

0:04:26.360,0:04:28.240
You start planting trees and other crops

0:04:28.240,0:04:30.960
that begin to grow slowly[br]and help each other.

0:04:30.960,0:04:33.720
Fast growers begin[br]to diversify the system

0:04:33.720,0:04:37.120
and produce food at[br]the onset of the systems.

0:04:37.120,0:04:41.400
So, you’ve got a continuously[br]self-propagating family of plants

0:04:41.400,0:04:42.880
that build the soil for you.

0:04:45.760,0:04:48.920
The difference between Tamalu[br]and the neighbours is very evident.

0:04:48.920,0:04:52.840
Where our neighbours are the lands[br]are bare or just one monocrop all the way.

0:04:52.840,0:04:55.440
If it’s dry season, it’s just dry.

0:04:55.440,0:04:58.360
But in our system,[br]it’s always green, always bushy.

0:04:58.360,0:05:00.960
In Tamalu, we’re living in a food forest.

0:05:00.960,0:05:03.840
Even if it’s just a normal[br]tomato, if you taste it,

0:05:03.840,0:05:06.800
it’s not just juicy but[br]it has some flavour.

0:05:06.800,0:05:09.560
It doesn’t really matter what it is,

0:05:09.560,0:05:11.160
if you taste it,

0:05:12.480,0:05:13.480
it’s really yummy.

0:05:18.400,0:05:22.360
We’ve been harvesting very superior[br]quality produce from the farm.

0:05:22.360,0:05:26.680
We started with families, but[br]now we’re at the online shops.

0:05:26.680,0:05:30.240
We’ve been selling to restaurants[br]also locally in Nanyuki and Nairobi.

0:05:30.240,0:05:34.560
And we are also selling our farm[br]produce to shops in Mombasa too.

0:05:38.840,0:05:40.640
The end goal is to be able to consistently

0:05:40.640,0:05:42.800
supply those big urban markets,

0:05:42.800,0:05:45.920
because that’s part [br]of the circular vision of this farm.

0:05:52.440,0:05:56.920
As chefs, it’s our duty to[br]source our food from producers

0:05:56.920,0:05:59.080
who are really looking[br]after the environment.

0:05:59.080,0:06:01.640
And I can tell you from a chef’s[br]point of view, this is where it starts;

0:06:01.640,0:06:03.400
this is where you start building flavour.

0:06:03.400,0:06:05.600
And more and more you [br]see customers push back

0:06:05.600,0:06:09.200
and actually demand their food[br]comes from responsible sources.

0:06:09.200,0:06:11.480
The future has got food[br]and feed for everyone,

0:06:11.480,0:06:13.320
we should not just think about ourselves.

0:06:13.320,0:06:14.480
We are part of nature.

0:06:14.480,0:06:16.840
We need to have a[br]stable agricultural system

0:06:16.840,0:06:19.720
in which we’re able to store[br]a lot of carbon in the soil

0:06:19.720,0:06:22.040
to produce healthy[br]food for human beings,

0:06:22.040,0:06:23.960
and other parts of the ecosystem.

0:06:23.960,0:06:25.520
And therefore, get on a path of growth

0:06:25.520,0:06:28.720
that is based on the wider[br]concept of circular economy.