Mangroves & blue carbonMwache mangrove restoration
Restoring the mangrove belt of Mwache Creek with the community who lives beside it.
The Mwache mangrove restoration is a community-led programme funded by the I&M Foundation in Mwache Block, Kwale County, on the Kenyan coast. Furaha & Baraka Farms (FBF) implemented it with the Mwatsumbo Community Forest Association and Kenya Forest Service oversight, planting 1,600,000 mangrove seedlings between October 2025 and July 2026, as documented in the July 2026 completion report.
- mangrove seedlings with I&M, Mwache Block, as of October 2026Source: FBF partner records, Oct 2026
- 1.9M+
- mangrove seedlings documented in the July 2026 completion reportSource: I&M completion report, Jul 2026
- 1,600,000
- Funder
- I&M Foundation
- Implementing partner
- Furaha & Baraka Farms (FBF)
- Community partner
- Mwatsumbo Community Forest Association
- Oversight
- Kenya Forest Service
- Location
- Mwache Block, Mwatsumbo forest, Kwale County
- Planting
- Oct 2025 – Jul 2026
- Seedlings planted
- 1,600,0002
- Species
- Rhizophora mucronata · Ceriops tagal · Avicennia marina
- Self-help groups
- 40, management-reported
- Stage
- Planted
Overview
Putting a mangrove forest back on Mwache Creek.
Mangroves protect the coast, hold sediment in place and shelter the fish that coastal families depend on. With the I&M Foundation, the Mwatsumbo community planted 1,600,000 of them in Mwache Block between October 2025 and July 2026.
FBF runs it as a community-led restoration, not a tree count. Each planting team was briefed on its phase, plot, species, quantity and safe tidal working window, species batches were kept separate in the field, and every phase was mapped.
All seedlings were sourced from the community through the Mwatsumbo Community Forest Association. Programme management reports that 40 self-help groups took part in nursery supply, planting and post-care, with Kenya Forest Service officers providing oversight and technical guidance.
The film
From Tide to Triumph
How the Mwatsumbo community, FBF and partners brought mangroves back to Mwache Creek.
The site
Planted phase by phase.
Planting areas from FBF field records. Phase names follow the July 2026 completion report.
- Phase 1 · Oct 2025 · 500,000 seedlings
- Phase 2 · Dec 2025 · 100,000 seedlings
- Phase 3 · Mar–Jul 2026 · 1,000,000 seedlings
Planting areas from FBF field records; boundaries simplified for display. The map is view-only.
Progress
Where it stands
- 1,600,000mangrove seedlings planted, Oct 2025 – Jul 2026Source: I&M completion report, Jul 2026
- 40self-help groups taking part, management-reportedSource: I&M completion report, Jul 2026
- 3native mangrove species in the planting schedule
- Phase 1Oct 2025500,000
- Phase 2Dec 2025100,000
- Phase 3Mar–Jul 20261,000,000
| Phase | Period | Rhizophora mucronata | Ceriops tagal | Avicennia marina | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Phase 1 | Oct 2025 | 425,000 | 75,000 | 0 | 500,000 |
| 2025 Phase 2 | Dec 2025 | 76,000 | 24,000 | 0 | 100,000 |
| 2026 Phase 3(i) | Mar 2026 | 50,000 | 200,000 | 0 | 250,000 |
| 2026 Phase 3(ii) | Apr 2026 | 200,000 | 40,000 | 10,000 | 250,000 |
| 2026 Phase 3(iii) | May 2026 | 200,000 | 50,000 | 0 | 250,000 |
| 2026 Phase 3(iv) | Jun–Jul 2026 | 200,000 | 50,000 | 0 | 250,000 |
| Cumulative | Oct 2025 – Jul 2026 | 1,151,000 | 439,000 | 10,000 | 1,600,000 |
After planting comes a twelve-month post-care and monitoring programme: cohort-based survival and condition checks, a review of hydrology and disturbance, and an annual survival and ecosystem-condition assessment.
How it was done
- 01
Raised locally
All seedlings came from the community through the Mwatsumbo CFA, checked for species, condition and quantity before dispatch.
- 02
Planned by the tide
Each team was briefed on its phase, plot, species, quantity and safe tidal working window, with species batches kept separate.
- 03
Planted with KFS
Community teams carried seedlings across the intertidal flats and planted them with Kenya Forest Service guidance.
- 04
Mapped and monitored
Every phase is mapped. Post-care and cohort-based survival monitoring follow over twelve months.
Gallery
On the mudflats.
Photographs from the 2025 and 2026 plantings.
“Completion of planting begins, rather than ends, the restoration-performance period.”
Partners
- Mwatsumbo Community Forest Association
Funded by the I&M Foundation. Implemented by FBF with the Mwatsumbo Community Forest Association, under Kenya Forest Service oversight.
Notes & sources
- Trees planted with I&M to date: FBF partner totals, as of October 2026.
- Seedlings planted: management-reported total in the I&M Foundation mangrove planting July 2026 completion report (reporting period October 2025 to July 2026). Survival is not yet verified.
- Planting areas from FBF field records; phase names follow the July 2026 completion report.
