A Kenyan farmer's half-acre went from nine bags of maize to 15, and his trees now pay school fees

Andrew Musamia and his wife, Eunice Nelima, once lived in a grass-thatched house in Kenya's Bungoma County. Andrew recalls that any little profit they made went straight into buying iron sheets, to improve the home slowly.

Every harvest disappeared almost as quickly as it came, on school fees and food. On half an acre, they harvested only nine bags of maize in a good season. Local shops often sold fake seeds and fertilizer, Andrew has said. At one point, he sold half of his land to pay school fees.

In 2008, Andrew joined One Acre Fund as part of a farming group. The group was trained in making compost, intercropping, post-harvest storage and agroforestry, which Andrew says taught them how trees prevent soil erosion.

Andrew then harvested 15 bags of maize from the same half-acre that had once produced only nine. It earned him second place in a local farming competition. That large harvest, the family has said, let them start building the permanent house they live in today.

They also grew vegetables and planted trees through One Acre Fund's tree program. Eunice has said the farming profits and vegetable sales paid for their children's education, allowing one to graduate from college and become a school teacher.

Today, one child is a teacher. Another studies at the Kenya Medical Training College. Another is a nun. When Andrew began planting trees in 2008, he was told they would educate his youngest. He thought it was a joke, he recalls. Now his youngest is in Grade 10, and Andrew pays his school fees with money from selling timber.