The farming system of Western Kenya is characterized by small-scale subsistence agriculture, with low inputs, low yields, and rapid loss of soil fertility, while there is a lack of financing for long-term extension services on sustainable land management(SLM). Therefore, a carbon certification scheme for soil conservation measures connected to the voluntary carbon market has been set up. Instead of receiving direct payments, farmer families participating in the scheme profit from the proceeds of the carbon revenues through an investment into a community benefit-sharing mechanism. This system provides bi-annual extension services on SLM for the next 20 years. A local not-for-profit entity, “Soil-Carbon Certification Services”-SCCS, has been set up to coordinate the certification, the MRV system, and the adoption of the extension services.The main benefits of the carbon scheme are higher and climate risk-adjusted yields, improved income for farmers, and climate change mitigation via increased carbon in soils and plant biomass.