KOMAZA
KOMAZA is a Kenyan distributed-forestry company that helps smallholder farmers grow trees and participate in the sustainable wood-products value chain.
Last updated August 31, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
KOMAZA is a distributed forestry and social-enterprise company based in Kilifi County, Kenya. It works with smallholder farmers in the country's dry coastal regions to establish small-scale tree farms and connect those farms to markets for sustainably produced wood. Rather than operating only through large, centrally owned plantations, the company organizes a network of farmer partners and supports them through the full forestry cycle, from choosing planting sites and supplying seedlings and other inputs to training, farm management, harvesting, processing, and sales. The company was founded by Tevis Howard after his experience in Kenya and his interest in developing practical ways to improve rural livelihoods. Howard began developing the concept while at university and initially tested it through a small demonstration farm near Kilifi. The model was intended to address two linked problems: the limited economic productivity of degraded or underused dryland plots and the shortage of locally produced timber and wood products. KOMAZA's approach combines elements of microfinance, agricultural extension, and vertically integrated forestry. Farmers receive planting materials, tools, training, and other support, often on credit or through arrangements tied to the future value of the harvest. They retain the opportunity to use resulting income for household needs such as education, health care, and reinvestment in other economic activities. KOMAZA's field structure is based on local relationships. Field facilitators work with farmers in villages, field officers supervise activities across larger areas, and field managers provide broader training and operational support. The company also works with community leadership and farmer groups when identifying participants. This network is designed to make tree farming accessible to households that may lack the capital, technical knowledge, or market access needed to establish a commercial plantation independently. Its operations began in Kilifi County, where the company reported partnerships with thousands of farmers and the planting of more than two million trees. The company has also described expansion into neighboring Kwale County. Public descriptions of its long-term ambition include planting one billion trees with one million farmers across more than ten countries by 2030, although the available reference material does not establish whether that target has been achieved or revised. KOMAZA's business scope extends beyond planting. The company aims to coordinate harvesting and processing so farmers can reach local and regional wood markets rather than selling immature trees or standing timber without reliable market information. This integrated model positions the organization between an agricultural service provider, a forestry operator, and a sustainable materials company. Its stated social and environmental rationale includes creating rural income, improving the productivity of marginal land, increasing access to locally sourced timber, and supporting tree cover through managed forestry. The company has received recognition in the social-enterprise and impact-investing communities, including support from the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation and the Mulago Foundation, a Social Venture Network innovation award, an Ashoka Fellowship for Howard, and Howard's inclusion in Forbes' 30 Under 30 list. The available material does not provide current revenue, financing, ownership, or profitability figures. It identifies KOMAZA as an active private organization with more than 100 full-time employees in the period described and with operations concentrated in Kenya.
History
KOMAZA emerged from Tevis Howard's interest in combining scientific problem-solving with practical rural development. Before establishing the company, Howard spent time in Kenya conducting malaria research at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Laboratories in Kilifi. While studying at Brown University, he explored different business concepts aimed at helping rural dryland communities improve their incomes. Forestry became the central idea because trees could make underused land productive while also addressing demand for locally available timber. The initial concept was developed in 2005, when Howard was still a university student. KOMAZA tested the idea through a five-acre demonstration tree farm on the Mombasa–Malindi highway outside Kilifi town. After completing university, Howard returned to Kenya and assembled an early operating team. The company began planting with its first farmer partners in 2008, while building relationships with communities and developing the systems needed to support dispersed farms over long growing cycles. KOMAZA's operating model was designed as a form of micro-forestry. Instead of asking smallholders to finance and manage commercial plantations alone, the company provides seedlings, agricultural inputs, tools, technical training, and ongoing field support. These resources may be supplied on credit or under arrangements connected to the eventual harvest. The organization also coordinates later stages of the value chain, including harvesting, processing, and marketing. This integration is important because individual smallholders often have limited bargaining power, limited access to technical forestry knowledge, and few dependable routes to formal wood markets. The company developed a village-based extension network to manage this work. Field facilitators support farmers in their communities, field officers supervise farmers across local areas, and field managers provide management and training. KOMAZA also works with farmer groups and seeks the involvement of community leadership when recruiting participants. Through this structure, households can establish tree farms on their own land while receiving support throughout the years required for trees to mature. The approach produced early growth in Kilifi County. By 2016, KOMAZA reported working with nearly 7,000 farm families and having planted more than two million trees across approximately 2,000 hectares. The company also reported employing more than 100 full-time staff during the period described in the reference material. Its geographic focus subsequently included expansion toward Kwale County, another coastal county in Kenya. Recognition and philanthropic backing helped establish KOMAZA within the international social-enterprise sector. In 2008, Howard received fellowships from the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation and the Mulago Foundation. He later received the Social Venture Network's Innovation Award in 2010 and an Ashoka Fellowship in 2011. Forbes included him in its 30 Under 30 list in 2014. These recognitions reflected the organization's attempt to link commercial forestry, climate and land-use goals, and improvements in rural household income. KOMAZA has articulated an ambitious long-term objective of planting one billion trees with one million farmers across more than ten countries by 2030. The available material does not confirm the current scale of operations, the status of that target, or whether the organization has entered additional countries. Its documented base remains Kenya, with headquarters in Kilifi and a core farmer network in the coastal region. The company is best understood as an active private forestry enterprise and social-impact organization whose distinctive proposition is the coordination of many small farms into a managed, market-oriented wood-products supply chain.
- 2016
More than two million trees reported planted
[1]KOMAZA reported partnerships with nearly 7,000 farm families and more than two million trees planted across roughly 2,000 hectares in Kilifi County.
- 2014
Forbes 30 Under 30 recognition
[1]Tevis Howard was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list.
- 2011
Ashoka Fellowship
[1]Howard became an Ashoka Fellow, bringing further recognition to KOMAZA's social-enterprise model.
- 2010
Social Venture Network Innovation Award
[1]Founder Tevis Howard received the Social Venture Network's Innovation Award for work associated with KOMAZA.
- 2008
First farmer planting program begins
[1]After Howard returned to Kenya, KOMAZA hired an early team and began planting with its first farmer partners. The organization also received fellowships from the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation and the Mulago Foundation.
- 2006
KOMAZA founded
[1]Tevis Howard founded KOMAZA as a forestry-focused social enterprise in Kenya.
- 2005
Initial KOMAZA concept developed
[1]Tevis Howard developed the early KOMAZA concept while studying at university, with trees emerging as the preferred vehicle for improving rural dryland livelihoods.
Products and positioning
A distributed, vertically integrated forestry and rural-livelihoods platform that enables smallholder farmers to participate in sustainable timber production.
Forestry services · 2008
Smallholder tree farms
KOMAZA helps participating farmers establish managed tree farms on small plots of land. The program includes site guidance, seedlings or improved seeds, planting inputs, tools, training, and continuing field support. The farms are intended to convert underused or low-productivity land into a long-term source of household income and timber supply.
Wood products
Sustainable wood products
The company coordinates the later stages of the forestry value chain, including harvesting, processing, and sales of wood from its farmer network. The available material describes these outputs generally as sustainable wood products for local markets; it does not specify a complete product catalog, species range, or standardized consumer brands.
Agricultural support services · 2008
Farmer extension and forestry inputs
KOMAZA provides a bundled support service covering planting materials, fertilizer and other inputs, on-farm instruction, tools, and operational guidance. Its field extension network uses village facilitators, field officers, and field managers to support farmers from establishment through eventual harvest and market access.
Brand decisions
2008
Adopt an integrated micro-forestry modelStrategyBackground
KOMAZA sought to help dryland smallholders create productive tree farms while addressing their limited access to capital, forestry expertise, and reliable timber markets.
Action taken
The company combined farmer inputs and training with a field extension network and vertically integrated harvesting, processing, and sales support.
Aftermath
The model expanded into a network involving thousands of farmers in Kilifi County and later supported planned expansion toward Kwale County.
- Set a global tree-planting ambitionStrategy
Background
KOMAZA framed its forestry model as one that could be replicated beyond Kenya.
Action taken
The company set a stated goal of planting one billion trees with one million farmers across more than ten countries by 2030.
Aftermath
The available reference material does not establish the current progress toward, or final status of, this objective.
Recent events
- 2014
Tevis Howard named to Forbes 30 Under 30[1]
Other
KOMAZA founder Tevis Howard was included in Forbes' 30 Under 30 list.
- 2011
Tevis Howard becomes an Ashoka Fellow[1]
Other
Howard received an Ashoka Fellowship in recognition of his social-enterprise work connected with KOMAZA.
- 2010
Tevis Howard receives Social Venture Network Innovation Award[1]
Other
Howard was recognized for the innovation associated with KOMAZA's smallholder forestry and rural-livelihoods model.
- 2008
KOMAZA receives support from the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation and the Mulago Foundation[1]
Other
Founder Tevis Howard received fellowships from two social-enterprise foundations as KOMAZA began expanding its farmer network and planting activities in Kenya.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/komaza · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled