Growing Love in the City

In Mombasa's urban sprawl, green spaces are rare and precious. When Amina Wanjiku found an unused lot between buildings, she saw potential that others missed.

"Everyone said the land was useless," Amina recalls. "Too small for building, too shaded for crops. But I knew that plants need less sun than people think. What they need is love."

The garden started with eight plots and a shared vision: neighbors growing food together. It grew to twenty plots, then thirty. People came not just for vegetables but for community.

Meditation was Amina's own practice. She would arrive early, before anyone else, and sit among her seedlings. "I talk to the plants," she admits with a smile. "But mostly, I listen."

When she heard about Love Token, the connection was immediate. "We were already doing everything right — gathering, caring for something together, being present. We just needed to add the app."

Now, Garden Valley's morning routine includes fifteen minutes of meditation before the gardening begins. Members sit among the vegetables, phones steady in their hands, earning credits that flow into the community fund.

The first project they funded: an irrigation system. "We couldn't grow much without reliable water," Amina explains. "Now the credits we earn from sitting still help the plants grow taller."

The garden has become a beacon in Mombasa. Other neighborhoods have reached out, wanting to start their own Love Farms. Amina leads training sessions on Saturdays, teaching both meditation and composting.

"We grow two things now," she says. "Vegetables for the body, stillness for the soul. And both have value."