Growth that starts where people already are.
The Sustainable Innovation Centre works alongside communities in Kenya to turn local resources, local skill, and local leadership into lasting change — in water access, dignity, livelihoods, and youth opportunity.
Three pillars, one community-led approach
Every programme grows out of needs the community itself identified — and is carried forward by the people closest to them.
Climate Smart Agriculture
Transitioning rural farming from climate vulnerability to resilience through integrated, science-based frameworks.
- Permaculture: Students grow vegetables, legumes, and fruit seedlings in a self-sustaining ecosystem that mimics nature.
- Greenhouses & Shade Nets: Seedling propagation for vegetables and fruit trees, sold to fund school fees and capitation expenses.
Community Empowerment
Building resilient livelihoods and infrastructure that keep value and decision-making within the community.
- Sisal & Peanut Value Addition: Processing local crops into finished products for income generation.
- Solar Boreholes & Water Tanks: Upgrading boreholes with solar-powered systems for reliable water access.
- Irrigation Infrastructure: Modern irrigation systems transforming subsistence farming.
- Classroom Renovations & Landscaping: Improving school environments for better learning.
- Community Table Banking: Savings and loan groups that build financial resilience.
Menstrual Health & Scholarships
Ensuring every girl can stay in school with dignity and that no child is left behind due to financial hardship.
- Menstrual Hygiene Support: Providing sanitary products and stigma-free education for 200 girls every term.
- Toilet Construction: Building safe, private sanitation facilities in schools.
- Scholarships: Partial fee support for vulnerable students in Mango and Ang'iro communities.
Est. through 16 years of community work
We didn't start as an organisation. We started as neighbours solving problems.
Long before SIC was formally registered as a community-based organisation in 2021, the work was already underway — carrying water, sharing knowledge, organising around shared land and shared struggle.
That history shapes everything we do now: programmes are never designed in isolation from the people they serve, and leadership is never imported from outside the community.
Read Our Full StoryPrinciples behind every programme
Community-Identified
Programmes begin with what residents themselves name as urgent — not with a predetermined template handed down from outside.
Locally Resourced
From sisal fibre to women's cooperative savings groups, we build on materials, skills, and relationships already present in the community.
Built to Outlast Us
Every initiative is designed for local ownership and governance, so progress continues whether or not SIC is in the room.
Want to be part of what comes next?
Partner with us, support a programme, or simply learn more about the work underway in Mango Village and beyond.
SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION CENTER
Sustainable Innovation Center is a community based organization found in Kenya. At SCI we are dedicated to driving sustainable community development, climate resilience, and economic empowerment within Kenya and far beyond the country.
” For 16 years, we have inspired and uplifted our community through innovation and invention to create a self-sustaining and resilience environment for the wellbeing of communities around the lake basin. To deepen our impact and scale our efforts, we officially established our Community-Based Organization in 2021 formalizing our commitment to sustainable development.
OUR PRINCIPLES
CLIMATE SMART AGRICULTURE
SCI drives an integrated, science framework designed to transition rural farming from a state of climate vulnerability to climate resilience. Recognizing the change in climate affecting the lake Victoria basin, our methodology goes beyond traditional farming.
PERMACULTURE
At the heart of our educational vision lies a living classroom: our school-based permaculture program, where students don’t just learn about sustainability they practice it, profit from it, and bring it home. Here, children engage in hands-on organic farming, growing nutrient-rich vegetables and raising hardy fruit tree seedlings within a designed ecosystem that mimics nature’s resilience.
MENSTRUAL HEALTH EMPOWERMENT
Every month, millions of young women and girls across the world face a challenge that most people never talk about. Sustainable Innovation Centre believe that menstrual health is a human right. Through advocacy, community education, and direct support programs, we are breaking the silence and building environments where every girl can thrive without shame or interruption.
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
WASH & Water Infrastructure
Installing rainwater harvesting tanks, upgrading boreholes, and building sanitation facilities so communities have reliable, safe water access year-round.
Economic Empowerment
Sisal value addition at SIC is not just about products it is about people. The majority of our sisal artisans and group members are women from rural and peri-urban communities who have turned a wild plant into a reliable income stream.
Through cooperative group structures, shared equipment, collective branding, and financial literacy training, SIC ensures women retain the value they create building household income, school fees, and savings that compound across generations.
SCHOLARSHIP
Our primary school scholarship program in Mango and Ang’iro communities is a direct response to the painful reality that many bright, capable children are forced to drop out simply because their families cannot afford school fees. We bridge this gap by providing partial fee support to the most vulnerable students those at immediate risk of leaving school ensuring that financial hardship never becomes a barrier to education.