Nairobi, Aug. 12 -- When Daniel Njiru's salary doubled, he did not change his lifestyle. Instead, he started looking for a way to turn the extra income into an asset that could keep growing.

In 2022, a neighbour offered him a bare half-acre for Sh70,000 under a 10-year lease. Njiru paid from his savings, planted 470 coffee seedlings and began building the coffee farm he had wanted to pursue for years.

Four years later, the 31-year-old IT specialist has nearly 10 acres under coffee and close to 7,000 stems spread across leased and rehabilitated farms in Kirinyaga.

His interest in coffee started at home. Njiru grew up in a coffee farming family and watched his father, a teacher, use proceeds from coffee to educate his children.

"My dad ...