Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture

The Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA) will empower the next generation of leaders in food production, providing world-class education in conservation agriculture principles and skills in communication, leadership, and entrepreneurship. RICA's masterplan emerged from multidisciplinary research and analysis efforts on existing models of agricultural education, and from engagement sessions within the local community.

The master plan is inspired by the concept of "One Health," an approach that argues human, animal, and ecological health are inextricably intertwined within an ecosystem. The landscape architects collaborated with RICA's staff to develop a curriculum unique to the campus, emphasizing agricultural training and community engagement across five enterprises of agricultural development: tree and vegetable, row and forage, dairy, swine and poultry, and mechanization and irrigation.

RICA's masterplan includes landscape, housing, academic spaces, processing and storage space, stormwater systems, human and animal waste management systems, and off-grid energy infrastructure. The masterplan unites conservation and regenerative agricultural practices, linking ecological and animal health. The landscape design incorporates contextual research, placing great importance on biosecurity vectors, the protection of soils, the conservation of ecological zones, and the fostering of community engagement. 

By considering all stages of the building process, RICA's embodied carbon will be 44% less than the global average for institutional works. The project developed a supply chain of building materials harvested, crafted, and sourced locally. Over 96% of materials sourced within Rwanda. RICA's is completely powered by an on-site solar array, and is predicted to be climate positive by 2044.

RICA represents an unprecedented opportunity for positive environmental, ecological, and agricultural impact. RICA is progressing across two phases, opening the first phase in 2019 and reaching full completion by Summer 2021.