The Beginning

We emanated from a place of frustration and hopelessness. The frustrations of Human Wildlife Conflict and the lack of attention from the conservation sector in Central Kajiado, pushed our founders to think of a lasting solution.

Instead of dwelling on the conflict between wildlife and communities, they opted to mobilize their people in search of a homegrown solution against a backdrop of regular livestock predation, crop raids, loss of human lives, poaching and environment degradation.

The first step was the mobilization and registration of Kikesen River Conservancy in 2020, the first one in the region. The land owners held three meetings before they bought into the idea. Kikesen River Conservancy became the reference point for neighbouring communities that are in the same predicament. They also mobilized and led to the formation of Parsilet, Oldoinyo Sambu and Kisapuk conservancies along the Kenya-Tanzania border. These conservancies are a major migratory route for wildlife from Tanzania and Lake Magadi region.

The second wave of conservancies came from the peripheries of the Amboseli National Park ecosystem - Lorbetera and Noosikitok Conservancies were born in 2021.

The movement kept growing as more communities accepted that the conservancy model could actually become a vehicle for engaging various stakeholders to attract resources for development, environmental protection and improvement of their economic status.

What was once considered impossible took place - that communities living in the Mapatapato Rangelands (Mailwa, Emotoroki, Meto and Long’oswa) opened up to the idea of forming conservancies.

Through the support of filmmaker, Dr. Paula Kahumbu of Wildlife Direct, the Embassy of France became our first supporter and gave us funds that paid salaries for community scouts in Kikesen, Noosikitok and Lorbetera Conservancies.

The support of Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA) came in handy during the height of the COVID19 pandemic – paying salaries for 4 scouts at Kikesen River Conservancy. KWCA also supported with the first ever Governance Training for conservancy leaders as well as the mapping of 10 conservancies in the region.

Our story is getting richer as more conservancies come on board while the interest of the region among conservation institutions is growing.

Change is coming!