# Seedballs Kenya

> Charcoal-dust coated indigenous tree and grass seedballs for low-cost dryland reseeding

Source: https://treerm.org/org/seedballs-kenya · Updated 2026-11-07 · Data license: CC BY 4.0 (https://treerm.org/about#license)

## Facts

- Type: Social enterprise
- Scope: National
- Headquarters: Nairobi, Nairobi County, Kenya
- Founded: 2016
- Website: https://www.seedballskenya.com
- Donate: https://www.seedballskenya.com/donate
- Countries where they plant: Kenya
- Activity types: Seed collection (primary), Reforestation, Afforestation
- Trees on record: 75,400,000 (larger of latest cumulative figure and sum of annual figures; trees planted or distributed)

## About

Seedballs Kenya is a Nairobi-based collaboration between two Kenyan companies, Chardust Ltd (manufacturing) and Cookswell Jikos Ltd (sales and distribution). It coats indigenous tree and grass seeds in salvaged charcoal dust and a binder so they can be broadcast by hand, vehicle or aircraft without nursery raising. Seedballs have been distributed since September 2016 across Kenya and East Africa, including a 14 million seedball campaign with Bolt. The organization reports seedballs distributed rather than trees established.

## Metrics

> Note: Seedballs Kenya counts seedballs, which are tree seeds coated in charcoal dust and scattered by hand or from the air, not seedlings or standing trees: 75.4 million distributed since September 2016 according to its website, and 13 million sold by March 2021 according to AFP. The company publishes no germination or survival figures; AFP reported in 2021 that about 5 to 10 percent of seedballs scattered in the wild produce a shoot.

| Metric | Year | Value | Cumulative | Program | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---:|---|---|---|---|
| Trees distributed | 2021 | 13,000,000 | yes (to date) | organization-wide | Self-reported | [source](https://www.africanews.com/2021/03/01/the-simple-seedballs-giving-kenya-s-forests-a-helping-hand/) AFP feature carried by Africanews, 1 March 2021: 'The company has sold 13 million seedballs since launching in mid-2016'. Seedballs, not seedlings; company figure relayed by press |
| Trees distributed | 2026 | 75,400,000 | yes (to date) | organization-wide | Self-reported | [source](https://www.seedballskenya.com/) Homepage (re-checked 2026-11-07): '75,400,000 SEEDBALLS DISTRIBUTED SINCE SEP. 2016'. Figure counts seedballs (seeds coated in charcoal dust), not seedlings or established trees; the company states no germination or survival rate. AFP (Africanews, 1 Mar 2021) reported that only 5 to 10 percent of seedballs thrown in the wild yield a shoot |

Confidence: self-reported is the organization's own published figure; independently verified means a third party confirmed it; estimated means TreeRM derived it and the note says how.

## Links

- instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seedballskenya/
- facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BiocharSeedballs

JSON: https://treerm.org/api/v1/organizations/seedballs-kenya