Kai Thota Playbook
This playbook draws from the experience of the women of Kai Thota, a Community Supported Agriculture initiative built on collective farming. It offers a step-by-step guide to starting your own community farm, using practices that care for the land, are sustainable, and resilient to climate extremes.
As you scroll, you will find practical guidance for every stage of the journey, from forming a collective to bringing produce to households. Each chapter blends traditional wisdom with simple, climate-friendly methods that restore the soil, conserve water, and rely on organic inputs while avoiding chemicals.
Chapter 1
Principles and Community
This section introduces the values that guide Kai Thota and the practical steps to organise a group.
You’ll learn what makes a farm thrive including caring for the soil, nourishing people, and ensuring dignity for the women who farm as well as how to bring people together as a collective. From setting shared promises to creating simple systems for leadership, decision-making, and support, these chapters show how farming becomes stronger when rooted in community.
Chapter 2
Land and Market Readiness
This section guides you through choosing land that is workable, safe, and close to the community, and preparing it for cultivation.
It also explores how to connect with buyers, whether through Community Supported Agriculture or local markets, so that your harvest reaches families who value fresh, seasonal food. Together, these chapters lay the foundation for a farm that is both sustainable and supported by its community
Chapter 3
Planning the Farm
This section shows how to plan every step together, from sharing roles fairly to keeping simple records that guide decisions, all to ensure your farm thrives.
You’ll also learn how to test and care for the soil, plan crop rotations, and manage money as a collective. These practices make farming more organised, sustainable, and rewarding, ensuring that both the land and the community stay strong across seasons
Chapter 4
Cultivation
This section walks through the journey from sowing seeds to harvesting crops, showing how simple practices like crop rotation, companion planting, and mulching can keep the soil healthy and yields abundant.
It also highlights how to support plants as they grow, manage weeds and pests naturally, and harvest at the right time. With these practices, farming becomes not only productive but sustainable across seasons
Chapter 5
Post Harvest and Review
This section shows how to sort, pack, and deliver vegetables in ways that build trust with your community, while also keeping subscribers connected to the farm’s journey.
It also guides you through reviewing the soil, crop, and financial records at the end of each cycle. These reflections help the collective improve season after season, making farming more resilient, transparent, and rewarding
