Cultivating Justice

The Issue

Kenya’s agribusiness sector feeds millions and fuels local economies, yet many communities, workers, and defenders continue to face human rights violations, labour abuses, and environmental harm with limited avenues for redress. The Cultivating Justice Project is stepping in to change this story by empowering civil society, grassroots organisations, Human Rights and Environment Defenders, and affected rightsholders in Nakuru, Nyandarua and the Nairobi Metropolis.

Through strengthened oversight, capacity building, coordinated documentation of violations and more effective access to judicial and non-judicial remedies, the project is building a bolder, more responsive accountability ecosystem. At the same time, it is opening new spaces for dialogue between agribusiness actors, government institutions and civil society on responsible business conduct, environmental due diligence and human rights protection.

The Project

Cultivating Justice is a multi-year initiative designed to strengthen responsible business conduct in Kenya’s agribusiness sector by empowering the people and institutions closest to the issues. It builds skills, resources and coordinated structures for documenting human rights violations, supporting collective redress and enhancing oversight on labour, environmental and governance standards. Alongside this, the project creates formal spaces for dialogue between civil society, private sector players and government institutions to promote transparency, experience-sharing and implementation of human rights and environmental due diligence.

Cultivating Justice ultimately seeks to shift the sector toward more ethical, accountable and inclusive practices where communities, workers and defenders can safely claim their rights and access remedies when violations occur.

DCA works with two national partners to implement the project:

Pamoja Trust:

Pamoja Trust is a non-profit organization founded in 1999. The organization is dedicated to promoting access to land, shelter and basic services for the Urban Poor. It takes principled and pragmatic approaches to protection and promotion of the right to the city through advocacy and precedence dotting models for problem solving. Pamoja provides social, technical and legal expertise at local community, national and international levels to ensure that urban growth and urbanism adhere to social justice principles and that national and international human rights standards are implemented in favor of the most vulnerable citizens.

Centre for Education Policy and Climate Justice (CEPCJ):

CEPCJ is a pioneering woman-led organization dedicated to advancing climate justice through research, policy advocacy, and strategic litigation. CEPCJ aims to be a global leader in promoting access to justice for vulnerable and marginalized communities affected by climate change. CEPCJ has a strong commitment to equity, human rights, and climate justice.

The Change

Cultivating Justice strengthens the ability of civil society, HREDs and grassroots organisations to monitor and respond to rights violations, supports rightsholders in seeking remedy, and opens structured platforms for engagement between agribusiness actors, government and civil society.

The project’s collaborative approach is paving the way for a sector where transparency, fairness and justice are non-negotiable.