The Climate Resilience Service Program (CRSP) initiative, or ‘Climate WorX’, is set to employ 113,034 youths across the country with a minimum of 500 youths per county in a bid to, among other things, create employment.
This short-term youth employment initiative is anchored in the Constitution, and after success in Nairobi, it is set to expand to all 47 counties.
Documents seen by Kenyans.co.ke show the initiative is structured around three pillars: infrastructure, environment, and housing and urban development, with the backing of key ministries at both the national and county levels.
Under the plan, youth will take the lead in construction, environmental restoration, and slum upgrading projects, all designed to build resilience and create green jobs.
According to the documents in our possession, youths under the programme will be working in road construction to build and rehabilitate roads across counties while minimising carbon emissions from machinery. This area will be implemented in conjunction with the State Department for Roads, Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA), Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA), Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) and Kenya Forest Service.
Beyond laying tarmac, the plan includes highway greening and beautification. Youth will plant trees and install landscaping features along major roadways, supported by seedlings from the environmental stream.
A third activity involves long-term road maintenance and cleanup. From unclogging drains to clearing bushes, youth teams will keep roads functional and flood-resistant, ensuring resilience against extreme weather.
The second priority is the environment, with a heavy emphasis on tree growing. Each participant will begin their day by tubing 10 seedlings. The seedlings are then nurtured in local nurseries before being planted in degraded areas.
Under the programme, nursery operations will evolve into small businesses, supplying seedlings to other workstreams and selling to the public. Once trees are in the ground, stewardship kicks in. Youth will water, monitor, and protect seedlings to maturity, with infrastructure support from the Ministry of Water.
To keep the model viable, the government is exploring carbon credit sales, ecotourism, and learning hubs to fund long-term conservation efforts. The third and most ambitious pillar targets housing, slum rehabilitation, and waste management.
In rural areas, the government will support the construction of low-cost homes using Interlocking Stabilised Soil Blocks (ISSBs). Youth clusters will manufacture and sell these blocks, based in local TVETs or ABMT centres, promoting local enterprise.
Urban focus will centre around riparian zones. The Nairobi River Commission will lead cleanup and transformation efforts, restoring riverbanks, installing walkways, creating green pockets, and planting trees.
Solid waste management is also a core component under the third pillar. Through a hub-and-spoke model, community-based youth groups will collect and sort garbage. Households will pay a nominal fee, while recyclables will be sold, creating a local circular economy.
The programme promotes home waste segregation, encouraging the use of two-bag systems, organic waste in one and recyclables in another, reducing landfill loads.
Local artisans will play a major role in the Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) under the Climate WorX plan. Trained fundis in the Jua Kali sector will receive contracts to supply, install, and maintain housing components, from windows to water tanks, guided by the Jua Kali Construction Manual.
Kenyans.co.ke has learnt that all those employed under Climate WorX will serve for six months, with the opportunity to extend their employment to a year. The youth will be paid a daily wage of Ksh500, with supervisors taking home Ksh550 daily.
Under the programme, youth aged 18 to 35 will work in shifts. There will be two cohorts, each working for two weeks each month, with two days of training scheduled during the other two weeks.
Every youth working under the programme will be required to attend paid training sessions with a minimum of 30 hours of life skills instruction. This is to equip them to enhance their skills and ability to adapt to various work environments.
In terms of management, at the national level, Climate WorX will be steered by a top policy organ, the National Steering Committee, co-chaired by senior officials from the Interior Ministry and the State Department for Housing, and will receive regular updates from Regional Commissioners across all eight regions.
Operational coordination will be managed by the National Technical Committee, composed of key ministry officials and project coordinators. On the ground, County Implementation Committees, chaired by County Commissioners, will lead execution, meeting regularly to tackle challenges, with recruitment led by NGAOs alongside technical officers, Nyumba Kumi leaders, and local administrators to ensure transparent selection.
The recruitment process started on June 6 and closed on June 16. The vetting exercise is now underway.
