Our story
Farming in public, mistakes and all.
The observation, the first project, the onion season — and why Kilimore4cus exists.
“I started farming because I watched people I worked alongside transform their lives through agriculture, and it lit something in me.”
Zola Madaga — Co-Founder, Kilimore4CUS
01
The Observation
It started with watching. Young people around us wanted to start farming ventures and were full of energy about it — but most of what they had to go on was second-hand advice, a hopeful budget, and a picture of farming that had been polished until it stopped being useful.
With over nine years of experience across NGOs, private agribusiness and large-scale farming, our founder had seen the difference between how agriculture is described and how it actually behaves in a season.
02
The First Farming Project
The first farming project was a lesson in expectations versus reality. Costs behaved differently on the ground. Timelines moved. Advice that sounded confident in a conversation did not survive contact with the field.
None of that made farming a bad idea. It made the missing information obvious.
03
The Onion Season
The onion season is the one we still talk about. It was our founder's onion farming experience that turned a private effort into a public one — the plan, the inputs, the labour, the weather and the market all pulling in different directions.
And then the unexpected melons. What was not planned for grew anyway, and taught us something the plan could not.
04
The Lessons From the Field
We started documenting the experience, honestly, as it happened. One-minute field lessons: what went wrong today, what it cost, what we would do differently.
No staged success stories. Just the work, in public.
05
The Community Response
The audience response was immediate and it was not what we expected. People were not watching for entertainment. They were watching for answers — and then asking their own questions in the comments, at the farm gate, in messages.
That is when it became clear that farmers needed practical answers and community, in that order.
06
Why Kilimore4CUS Exists
Kilimore4cus exists because storytelling alone does not put a crop in the ground, and a farm alone does not reach 300,000 people. Together they do both.
A media platform, a demonstration farm, a youth incubation hub, a trusted marketplace and advisory bridge, and a voice in how agriculture is talked about — five things most organizations only do one of.
“I farm in public, mistakes and all, because that's the only honest way to show someone else it can be done.”
Zola Madaga — Co-Founder, Kilimore4CUS
Join the movement
Join the Movement
Whether you’re a young person exploring agriculture, a farmer with a story to tell, or a partner who shares our vision — there’s a place for you at Kilimore4cus.