On 27th July 2025, after completing my regular 14-kilometer morning walk to stay healthy, I set out for a mission that was both refreshing and transformative. Together with my friend and volunteer, Abdulaziz Chipera, I visited his Kambe community in Kinondo Ward, Kwale County.
This visit officially welcomed Kambe as the latest addition to the “KATARU & SAWBO Communities” network, a growing collaboration that leverages Scientific Animations Without Borders (SAWBO) knowledge and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to improve agriculture, health, and conservation across villages in Kenya.
James Kamuye Kataru explains to the Kambe community how SAWBO content empowers farmers: providing practical, visual guides, promoting best practices, reducing post-harvest losses, and supporting informed decision-making, all helping to boost productivity and food security. Photo Credit: Kataru Concepts.
Why Kwale County?
Kwale County, located along Kenya’s southern coastline, is a region rich in agricultural potential yet often limited by access to reliable information. As climate change continues to reshape farming seasons, communities here, just like many across Kenya need practical, trusted, and accessible knowledge to more farming technologies to improve yields, safeguard health, and conserve the environment.
It is also home to our headquarters at Galu, Ganja La Simba Village, and the Kataru Concepts demo farm at Kinangunangu Village, where we test and showcase climate-smart farming practices. To strengthen our collaboration with the Kambe community, we intend to establish a demo farm within the community itself, which will act as a local training and business center to make it easier to scale best practices across the region.
In the same area, we have also been working with the Muhaka Community group for the past two years, equipping farmers with both SAWBO knowledge and hands-on demonstrations. This continuity of effort shows how Kwale County is gradually becoming a center of excellence for farmer-driven innovation and knowledge sharing under the Kataru & SAWBO Communities network.
By introducing SAWBO’s scientifically validated animations alongside AI-powered agricultural tools such as PlantVillage Nuru (a mobile app that helps diagnose crop diseases using photos), FarmerChat (an AI chatbot that provides real-time farming advice), Agri AI (which supports decision-making on planting and harvesting), PlantVillage Hulu (which shares localized agricultural insights), and the SAWBO App (A free mobile app with simple, animated videos on farming, health, and conservation in multilingual, easy to share content) we aim to fill existing knowledge gaps and bring digital innovations directly to the grassroots.
The Kambe Community Joins the Network
While the Kambe engagement is new, it is by no means our first in Kwale. Over the years, we have collaborated with several other communities including Mackinnon, Kinango, Likoni, Muhaka, Lungalunga, Ganja La Simba, and Mazeras. Each of these partnerships has strengthened our conviction that communities learn best when empowered with both scientific knowledge and technology-driven solutions.
The addition of Kambe expands this growing family. During our session, we engaged 30 enthusiastic members who expressed readiness to apply both SAWBO content and AI-driven insights to their daily lives.
The focus during this training was on the short rainy season that is just around the corner. We discussed crops that thrive best during this period which include:
Groundnuts: a valuable source of protein and income.
Sweet potatoes: a nutritious crop that supports food security.
Cassava: resilient and adaptable even in changing weather patterns.
Bambara nuts: a traditional yet underutilized legume with high nutritional value.
Cowpeas and beans: essential staples that enrich soils and provide dietary protein.
Pineapples: a high-value fruit that offers both nutrition and income opportunities.
Passion fruits: a profitable horticultural crop well-suited for smallholder farmers with access to local and export markets.
With SAWBO animations and AI tools, the community will be able to learn improved planting, harvesting, and storage techniques for these crops. The aim is not just to increase yields but also to reduce post-harvest losses, increase incomes and ensure year-round food availability and supply to the local markets.
Beyond Farming: Health and Conservation
Agriculture is only one part of this collaboration. The KATARU & SAWBO Communities initiative also addresses health practices from preventing common diseases to ensuring clean water access and environmental conservation, particularly as communities in Kwale which is largely Arid and Semi-Arid (ASAL) face deforestation and soil degradation challenges.
By weaving these three strands together, agriculture, health, and conservation, powered by digital innovations such as AI, we are empowering communities to adopt a holistic approach to development.
Looking Ahead
The launch in Kambe is only the latest step in a longer journey. Together with Abdulaziz and other partners, we plan to expand this initiative across more communities in Kwale County and beyond, building a network of groups that are self-reliant, informed, and resilient.
The beauty of the SAWBO model is that once a community masters the animations, they can share the knowledge with neighbors, relatives, and friends. This ripple effect ensures that the lessons spread far beyond the original training group, multiplying impact without extra cost.
Going forward, Kambe and Muhaka communities will not only benefit individually but also from exchange visits and shared experiences, learning from each other’s challenges and successes. This synergy will strengthen the entire Kataru & SAWBO Communities network.
A Personal Reflection
As I walked back from the day’s activities, tired but fulfilled, I felt proud of what we had started. The 14 kilometers of walking in the morning had prepared me physically, but the real workout was in witnessing the passion and determination of the Kambe community members.
This journey has just begun, but I believe the “KATARU & SAWBO Communities” initiative now powered by AI innovations and SAWBO animations will become a model for how simple, accessible knowledge can transform lives. It’s not only about farming or food, it’s about giving people the tools they need to thrive, stay healthy, and protect the environment for generations to come.
