Kaluki Paul Mutuku is a 26 year-old environmental activist born and raised in Kenya.
Kaluki grew up in Machakos, a rural community in the Kenyan countryside, where he spent his childhood among nature. He recounts seizing every opportunity to go to the forest; whether to collect firewood for his mother, graze the cattle and goats, or to play alongside his peers. Sadly, over time, he witnessed the gradual decline of his village’s landscapes. He was particularly troubled by the issue of water scarcity and the toll it took on families – especially single-mother households such as his.
Kaluki tree-planting with former colleagues at A Rocha Kenya. Source: Green Treasures Farms
Drawing from these experiences, Kaluki went on to study Environmental Conservation and Natural Resources Management at the University of Nairobi. During this time, he founded Green Treasurers Farms, an initiative that trains local women and youth in conservation to equip them to become greenpreneurs; to fend for their families while caring for the environment.
Through this initiative, Kaluki fights against the stigmas of single Kenyan mothers – instead, celebrating them as ‘seeds of success’ and trailblazers of society. Another purpose of Green Treasurers Farms is to document Kaluki’s journey and the inspiring people he meets along the way, such as Naomi Sang, a young Kenyan woman who educates marginalised groups on health and development, whom Kaluki met at the Young African Leaders Initiative. Or Njuguna, a youth leader he met at a boot camp hosted by Writer’s Guild Kenya, who is pursuing computer studies in spite of personal obstacles. After Kaluki graduated from university, he continued his blog entries and continues to share his journey with us as he approaches new opportunities, such as training as an Environmental Educator with A Rocha International, and working with 350.org Kenya for the deCOALonize campaign.
Kaluki tree-planting with former colleagues at A Rocha Kenya. Source: Green Treasures Farms
Today, Kaluki is the Africa Regional Director for Youth4Nature, a global youth-led organisation mobilising youth for Nature-based solutions. On a typical day, you would find Kaluki teaching groups about the value of trees or organising forums to engage people on Nature-based Solutions. However, in response to the challenges of this year, Kaluki has transferred his environmental storytelling to a primarily digital space, where he is engaging and mobilising the global youth to take the future into their own hands.
Through his ongoing work at Green Treasurers Farms and the organisations he works with, Kaluki ultimately seeks to champion nature; to share his love for the environment while transforming communities one step, and one tree at a time.
Kaluki Paul Mutuku is an Ambassador for the Global EverGreening Alliance, where he is sharing his passion and work to help us Green Up to Cool Down. You can follow Kaluki’s journey and incredible work on Twitter and Instagram.