Grounded: Where Farming Meets Systems Change
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In 2025, Be The Earth gave an unrestricted grant to Grounded's Regen Ag Facility — in the spirit of our deepening roots in South Africa, and our conviction that food and farming can unlock change.
Most of the world's poor are farmers. And most of the world's farmers are poor. It is a cycle that conventional development approaches have repeatedly failed to break — because they target isolated symptoms rather than the system itself. Grounded was founded on a different conviction.
A systemic approach to regenerative change
Born out of Commonland and rooted in Sub-Saharan Africa, Grounded is on a mission to make regenerative agriculture work economically, at scale for farmers in Africa. Since 2016, they have been building agri-processing ventures from the ground up — learning, adapting, and deepening their understanding of what genuine transformation requires.
Their approach is systemic by design. Rather than targeting one piece of the puzzle, Grounded works across the entire value chain — from the health of the soil beneath a farmer's feet to their access to investment capital, from crop quality to fair market prices. Grounded is a member of the 4 Returns Network.
Throughout all their work, they aim to deliver 4 returns: the return of inspiration, the return of social capital, the return of natural capital, and return on investment.
The result is a model that doesn't just improve yields — it repairs ecosystems, raises incomes, and builds the conditions for communities to thrive long after any single intervention ends.
Into the field: the Simalaha Incubator Farm Company, Zambia
In the Simalaha region of Zambia, this theory of change is alive and working.
The Simalaha Incubator Farm Company (IFC) is both a working farm and a living laboratory — a cornerstone of Grounded's Regen Ag Facility. It was started to create a regenerative farming model that is economically attractive for smallholder farmers in Zambia.
The IFC pioneers the transition from subsistence farming to regenerative systems in one of Zambia's most economically marginalised regions. Smallholder empowerment schemes in Zambia have historically prioritised scale over depth — resulting in income changes that are small, cyclical, and fleeting. Simalaha takes the opposite approach: fewer farmers, deeper transformation, lasting change.
The outcomes are striking. Through soil preparations using green and animal manure, crop rotations, and biochar application, soil organic matter at Simalaha increased by 250% in just two years.
Farmers who once depended on expensive synthetic inputs now produce their own high-quality compost and fertilisers — cutting costs, improving cash flow, and building long-term resilience into their land. Farmers typically experience a minimum 2.5x increase in income in their first year, growing to an estimated 4x increase by year five.
In the words of the farmers
“I bought a water pump and PVC pipe, my children have normal meals and my income has changed. I also no longer have to spend money on chemicals at my home farm."
— Limpo, IFC Farmer
“Before joining the IFC I didn't have enough money to sustain my business selling bread and oranges. Now I can do this and I have built my family a house with cement walls. I am practising regen in my garden at home."
— Precious, IFC Farmer
“I have received knowledge and experience in organic farming and have copied this to my home garden. I can buy food and put my kids through school."
— Maurice, IFC Farmer
