Walking down the path toward Lang’ata Women’s Maximum Security Prison, the Lishe Grow team could already hear the sounds of daily life. Laughter echoed from the buildings. Women chatted as they swept the walkways. Laundry hung out to dry in the morning sun, much like any neighborhood.

If it were not for the bright orange jumpers and the black-and-white striped uniforms, it would have been easy to forget we were inside a prison.

The women incarcerated at Lang’ata come from many different backgrounds and life experiences. Many are serving sentences for crimes committed in moments of conflict, self-defense, or circumstances that changed the course of their lives forever. Whatever brought them here, fourteen of them shared something in common that morning: they had volunteered to learn gardening and composting as part of Lishe Grow’s newest project.

On our first day, we were escorted to a classroom where we arranged our materials and prepared for introductions. One by one, the women entered the room and took their seats. They had chosen to participate, hoping to gain skills they could use both during their time in prison and after their release.

We began by introducing ourselves and explaining the purpose of the project. Together, we explored what food security, waste management, economic empowerment, and strategic partnerships meant in their own lives. The discussion quickly became lively. Hands shot into the air as the women listed vegetables they wanted to grow. I eventually ran out of room writing them all down on the flip chart.

As we talked, the conversation shifted beyond vegetables. We discussed how growing food could reduce household expenses after release, create healthier diets, and even become a source of income.

To finish the session, we held a hula hoop competition. Soon the room was filled with laughter, and for a few moments, prison walls seemed to disappear.

The following morning, we returned for the groundbreaking ceremony. After reviewing the layout of the future garden, the fourteen women marched together to the plot. Standing outside in the fresh morning air, we introduced different garden designs, demonstrated raised beds and planting mounds, and talked through what the garden would eventually become.

Then it was time to break ground.

The women lined up in a row and took turns digging into the ground, revealing moist brown soil . Before long, friendly competition emerged over who was the strongest and who could dig the fastest. Once again, the laughter returned.

Later, I asked one of the women what she was most looking forward to.

“Gardening is calming,” she said. “We’re out in the sun. We’re not in the ward. It will be good to grow something.”

It made me realize that, while our team was thinking about the technicalities of the garden plot, she spent two days thinking about sunshine, and we were helping to create something much larger than a garden.

The vegetables would eventually grow.

But perhaps the first thing to take root was hope.