KAYA Newsletter #3. March 2025
KAYA Newsletter #3. March 2025
Introduction
It’s been a busy couple of months at KAYA as we’ve made real progress towards launching our nature-based solutions projects in Angola.
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Our agroforestry feasibility assessment is nearing completion, and the signs are very positive, enabling us to advance deeper into the development stage of the project.
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As well as identifying suitable regions in Malanje that can benefit the most from restoration projects, we’ve been engaging with stakeholders to explore potential areas of collaboration and expand our grassroots reach to facilitate community participation.  Â
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At the KAYA Lab, thousands of seeds have been collected, crops planted, and we’ll soon be hosting another community workshop demonstrating sustainable agriculture practices.
We were honoured to participate in discussions with Angola’s Vice President Esperança da Costa to reiterate our commitment to assisting with the development of carbon markets in the country, and to provide expert advice on a flagship settlement program for rural communities.
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We have a brand-new website, which we hope will provide deeper insight into what we’re doing – and why we’re doing it. We shall continue to expand the site over the coming months as we seek to share resources we’ve developed, latest news, and our stance on developments in carbon markets, sustainable agriculture, Angola and more.
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Read on to learn more about the latest happenings at KAYA.
Latest News
Business News
We’d like to express our thanks to Angola’s Minister of Environment Ana Paula Chantre Luna de Carvalho, through the National Institute for Biodiversity and Conservation Areas (INBAC) for inviting KAYA to become a member of the Safeguards Group for the Global Environment Facility (GEF 7).
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Our membership can help KAYA to support the government in advancing the climate agenda and provide the private sector with more opportunities to invest in biodiversity and conservation.
GEF is the world’s largest multilateral environmental fund that provides grants and blended finance for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), mercury, sustainable forest management, food security, and sustainable cities in developing countries and countries with economies in transition.Â
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GEF recently approved a $41.3 million seven-year project (2021-2028) to strengthen the resilience of Angola’s local communities and ecosystems to climate change and support the management of two national parks.
Financing
In February, KAYA secured increased funding support from Crown Energy, further strengthening our ability to develop impactful nature-based solutions projects across Sub-Saharan Africa.
This expanded financial support reinforces our partnership and enables us to accelerate efforts in landscape restoration, carbon sequestration, and sustainable community development.
Stakeholder Engagement
We’ve been engaging with local and international NGOs and civil society organisations, including ADPP Angola, which is an NGO focused on education, health, and community development in Angola. And ADRA Angola, a national NGO working on rural development, environmental sustainability, and social justice, often engaging in advocacy and community empowerment.
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The fruitful conversations allow us to harness their regional knowledge, leverage their networks in Malanje, and explore potential areas of collaboration. Such relationships help us to bridge the gap between global best practices and local realities.
Agroforestry Project
We’ve finalised the areas of interest for our agroforestry project! With the help of NGOs in Angola, who provide valuable local knowledge and data, we identified more than 100 communities across eight municipalities in Malanje, representing 80,000 hectares of cooperative areas.
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It’s an important step in completing feasibility assessments to determine the regions that can benefit the most from KAYA’s interventions.
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In Angola, where around 56% of the population is engaged in agriculture, farmers organise themselves into cooperatives by pooling resources, sharing knowledge, and improving market access to enhance their livelihoods and agricultural productivity.
The KAYA Lab
At the KAYA Lab, on the outskirts of Malanje, things are really clicking into gear! The Lab now comprises six plant production structures, each measuring 43.5 metres in length and 6 metres in width. Over 40 thousand bags of substrate have been prepared and over three thousand plants have germinated.
The use of sustainable agroecological practices, such as mulching and strategic planting of support species, has played a key role in enhancing soil moisture retention, enabling crops to thrive despite challenging drought conditions. The application of dynamic, multistrata designs based on syntropic agriculture principles further ensures resilience and long-term productivity.
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Seven permanent workers were hired from local communities to initiate operations, with ten additional temporary local hires to expedite bag filling and sowing activities.
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All staff members are undergoing training in the design, implementation, and management of multistrata agroforestry systems. We hope to strengthen local capacity and lay the foundation for resilient agriculture in Malanje.
Meanwhile, to celebrate the UN International Day of Forests, we will be hosting an event at the KAYA Lab this Friday 21st March. Organised in conjunction with Malanje Province’s Environment, Agriculture and Forestry sectors, it reinforces our commitment to environmental conservation, sustainable land use, and community development in the region.
New Website
KAYA has a new website! Head to kaya.global to check it out. We hope it provides a more in-depth view of what KAYA is about, while providing plenty of useful contextual information.
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You’ll find comprehensive insight into the types of projects we are working on, and why we’ve identified Angola as a country suitable for nature-based solutions on a landscape-scale.
The team will be expanding the site further over the coming months, including plans to add a new video showcasing our KAYA Lab, with interviews with KAYA staff and some of our stakeholders.
Hiring
Our Team
Visit our new website, or find us on LinkedIn for regular KAYA updates, including job postings:
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We are currently seeking the following:
- Angola Head of Operations
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Meanwhile our CEO and Founder Chaitanya Sure will be in Lisbon to attend the European Climate Summit between 1-3 April. If you’ll be in attendance and want to organise a meeting, feel free to reach out!
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Head to our NEW website at https://kaya.global/ – and look out for our next newsletter.
KAYA Climate Solutions
