Overview
Restoration that ends when the planting is finished rarely lasts. Coastal enterprise development is how Twende connects ecosystem restoration to the livelihoods that give communities a lasting reason to protect what has been restored.
What Coastal Enterprise Development Means for Restoration
Coastal enterprise development means building climate-smart, nature-based income opportunities alongside restoration work, so that healthy ecosystems translate into tangible benefit for the communities that steward them.
blue economy
Where the Opportunities Come From:
- Coastal Agronomy
KALRO’s Industrial Crops Research Institute in Mtwapa, Kilifi County, focuses specifically on coastal cash crops, including coconut, cashewnut, sisal, cotton, oil palm and sericulture.
- Nursery Supply
Mangrove nurseries themselves can become a source of seedling supply and paid nursery work once a site’s own planting needs are met.
- Nature-Based Tourism
Community-led nature tourism, such as the mangrove walks already established around Kilifi’s Mida Creek, is a further example of enterprise growing directly out of a restored ecosystem.
- Cash Crop Trainers Programme
Twende’s Coastal Enterprise & Cash Crop Trainers Programme is built around this same coastal agronomy expertise. A confirmed partnership with KALRO is a direction Twende is building toward, not yet formalised.