Vijiana Twaweza

What Vijiana Twaweza does

Vijiana Twaweza is a refugee-led community cooperative based in Kakuma refugee camp, Turkana County, Kenya. It was founded by Dieu Merci Luundo (also referenced as Luundo Lukambo), a national of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with operations beginning in 2016 and formal cooperative registration in 2018. The entity operates a circular integrated permaculture system that combines aquaculture (tilapia fish farming), insect farming (crickets), crop cultivation, and poultry production, using the outputs of one subsystem as inputs for the next. The cooperative has 40 active members—18 women and 22 men—drawn from multiple nationalities including the DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Sudan. Reported impact to date includes serving over 500 households and more than 5,000 refugees with fish protein, and harvesting approximately 1,200 kg of fish cumulatively.

The organization's commercial model is hybrid. Earned income comes from direct product sales—fish, chicken, vegetables, and other agricultural output—at reduced prices to the refugee community within the camp, bypassing formal retail. This is supplemented by grant funding from institutional donors, with the input explicitly naming the World Food Programme (WFP), the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), and Credit Agricole Assurances as funders. The organization runs six named programs: Fishing in the Desert (the umbrella aquaculture initiative), Samaki-Rise (a fish-farming training and scaling program), Chicken Farming Training, Sustainable Education, Nutri Kakuma (nutrition outreach), and Sports 4 Peace (community-cohesion activities).

There is no private equity or venture capital participation, and the cooperative operates as a community-based entity dependent on donor funding and micro-scale product sales. It does not employ software, AI, or other digital technology as a material part of its operations; its competitive position rests on community trust, on-the-ground execution in a difficult semi-arid environment, and the integrated nature of its permaculture loop, which lowers external input costs.

Name

Vijiana Twaweza

Legal name

Vijana Twaweza Club

Website

https://vijanatwawezaclub.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Vijiana Twaweza is a 40-member refugee-led cooperative in Kakuma, Kenya that runs a circular permaculture system—fish, crickets, poultry, and crops—to deliver food security and livelihood programs to more than 500 refugee households, funded by grants and micro-sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community-based sustainable agriculture and refugee food security services

NAICS

Aquaculture (11251), Community Food Services (62421), Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating (115112)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Agricultural Services (700), Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee & Migrant Integration Enterprises (Livelihoods, Services) (BPAGALAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Rural Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment (BPAGABAA), Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI), Refugee, IDP & Migration Humanitarian Assistance (BPAGAAAH)

Keywords

• Sustainable agriculture
• Fish farming
• Permaculture systems
• Community cooperative
• Food security programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Kakuma

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: VTC generates revenue by selling sustainable agricultural produce (fish, meat, vegetables) at reduced prices to the Kakuma refugee community. The organization sells produce at reduced prices to increase food availability and diversity while reducing high market costs.
2. Donations and Grants: Vijana Twaweza receives funding through bank transfers and GoFundMe donations. They have received seed funding raised by friends overseas and grants from organizations like Credit Agricole Assurances for the chicken farming project.
3. Cricket Egg Business: VTC operates a business opportunity where they receive crickets from a local religious aid group, sell cricket eggs back to them, and use those funds to build fishpond structures.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Vijana Twaweza is a refugee community cooperative in Kakuma Refugee Camp that runs a circular permaculture system combining tilapia/catfish farming in semi-intensive ponds, cricket cultivation, crop production irrigated by fish-pond wastewater, and chicken/poultry rearing to produce and distribute nutritious food, deliver sustainable agriculture training to households, children, and women, and run peacebuilding programs for young people.

Product overview

Vijana Twaweza Club (VTC) is a refugee community cooperative organization offering multiple interconnected agricultural and community programs. The core offerings include Fishing in the Desert (fish farming in semi-intensive ponds), Samaki-Rise (fish distribution from Lake Turkana), Chicken Farming Training, Sustainable Education, Nutri Kakuma, Sports 4 Peace, Cricket Farming, and Crop Production. These programs operate within a circular permaculture system where fish, crickets, crops, and poultry support each other to combat malnutrition in Kakuma refugee camp. The organization functions as a single unified initiative rather than a platform with separate modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ households supported with nutritious food
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• World Food Programme (WFP)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2021WFP launched the NextGen East African Innovators Programme in partnership with DTU Skylab FoodLab, Hult Prize Foundation, and Ministry of Danish Affairs. Vijana Twaweza won the competition and received support to polish their business model and study the needs of refugees in Kakuma. WFP's Innovation Hub for Eastern Africa (launched 2020) works with partners to support innovations for transformational change in East African food systems.
• University of GenevacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Dr. O'Keeffe initially began work in Kakuma with University of Geneva in 2017, helping set up and manage its higher education in emergencies programme in the camp. Vijana Twaweza founders, including Dieu Merci Luundo, were graduates from courses offered in the camp.
• Technical University of Denmark (DTU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDTU Skylab FoodLab partnered with WFP and others for the NextGen East African Innovators Programme. DTU experts were scheduled to visit Vijana Twaweza in Kakuma to provide technical guidance and support for expanding fish production.
• Hult Prize FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the NextGen East African Innovators Programme, supporting innovative solutions to address food-related challenges in East Africa.
• Dublin City University (DCU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Paul O'Keeffe from DCU's School of Law and Government has been working with Vijana Twaweza for 7 years, connecting DCU students on the BSc in Global Challenges programme with project members to learn about sustainable agriculture in Kakuma. Dr. O'Keeffe continued his work with VTC after joining DCU in 2023.
• Jesuit Refugee ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVTC partnered with Jesuit Refugee Services to run Sports 4 Peace festivals in three secondary schools across Kakuma, reaching over 700 young people in 2023.
• Focolare MovementminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with VTC to run Sports 4 Peace festivals in Kakuma secondary schools promoting reconciliation and peaceful coexistence.
• FútbolmasminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with VTC to run Sports 4 Peace festivals using play and fun activities to foster teamwork, collaboration, unity, and peaceful coexistence.
• Beach Management Unity (BMU) at Lake TurkanacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVTC collaborates with fishermen and BMU personnel at Lake Turkana to ensure fish products reach Kakuma refugee camp in good condition. Fish are stored in BMU facilities until transported in cooler boxes on motorbikes.
• Local Religious Aid GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided crickets to VTC for chicken farmers and offered a business opportunity where VTC sells cricket eggs back to them, generating funds for fishpond construction.
• Local Baker in KakumaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA baker in the camp makes cricket powder and incorporates it into bread, helping VTC promote consumption of crickets as a nutritious food source.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• FARM-Africa: East Africa-focused NGO delivering sustainable agriculture, livestock, and aquaculture programs to smallholder and pastoralist communities. Directly comparable in geography and the mix of aquaculture/livestock training.
• Self Help Africa: International NGO implementing sustainable agriculture, enterprise, and nutrition programs with smallholder and vulnerable communities in East Africa, including refugee-hosting areas.
• Heifer International: Global nonprofit focused on sustainable livestock and agriculture for vulnerable smallholder and displaced communities. Highly comparable to VTC's combined livestock, aquaculture, and livelihoods model serving low-income populations.

Broad incumbents

• Practical Action: International development organization using technology and sustainable agriculture to help poor communities in developing countries improve food security and livelihoods.
• Concern Worldwide: International humanitarian organization operating livelihoods and food-security programs in refugee camps, with comparable focus on resilience and nutrition in East Africa.
• UNHCR Innovation: Innovation function of the UN Refugee Agency, which runs programs supporting refugee-led food and livelihood solutions including aquaculture and permaculture pilots.
• BRAC: Large international development organization running livelihoods, agriculture, and microfinance programs in refugee contexts (notably in Uganda and Bangladesh). Overlapping mission in refugee economic empowerment at much larger scale.
• Mercy Corps: Major humanitarian and development agency with established food-security, agriculture, and youth-livelihood programs in fragile and refugee-affected settings across East Africa.

Others

• African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD): Organization investing in agricultural research leadership in Africa, with adjacent relevance to VTC's women-focused agricultural training and education components.

Emerging players

• Permaculture Research Institute: Global permaculture knowledge and project network with arid-land and refugee-context projects. Comparable in its permaculture philosophy and award-recognition ecosystem for VTC's work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DieuLuundo
• Facebookfacebook.com/VijanaTwawezaClub
• Instagraminstagram.com/vijana.twaweza.club

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vijiana Twaweza