By the year 2008, ICE was supporting communities to form community research groups comprised of elders and young people. The elders shared their stories about seeds with the youth as a way of passing knowledge to the other generations. Village-based field committees were also formed led by elders who are the custodians of local social, ecological and governance knowledge. These committees have been very effective in providing leadership, lobbying for support from government representatives in sensitive matters and participating in campaigns against external threats such as genetic engineering, agro-fuels and AGRA.

They have also been very active in research and campaigning for revitalization and recognition of local governance structures based on local culture as a vehicle for social control, accountable leadership, alternative learning and ecological governance. In some communities, these committees have been very useful in advocating for behavioural change among men so as to reclaim the space as providers of their households, thereby relieving this burden off women. This way, ICE has managed to bring men into the gender discourse, and women have testified that they have seen significant change in their husbands. ICE has also been involved in local campaigns against genetic engineering having been a founding member of the Kenya Biodiversity Coalition.

In the past three years, the coalition has put a spirited fight against passing in of a weak Biosafety law. These fights saw representatives of the coalition presenting petitions to government ministers, lobbying parliamentarians to reject the weak bill and organizing demonstrations in various towns in Kenya to protest the weak bill as well as raising awareness among Kenyans on genetic engineering. Kenya now has a bio-safety law and the campaign is in strengthening communities to protect themselves from the impacts of genetically modified organisms, especially seeds.

In the coming years, ICE will strengthen the field committees to become strong grassroots advocacy leaders on community matters. Existing committees will be expanded to address the issues of soils and water, biodiversity, food and health issues and education and governance. ICE is reaching out to other areas to initiate similar community-led empowerment processes.