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Beehive Fences Help Protect Farmers’ Crops
As human development continues to expand and encroach on wildlife, there has been an increase in human-wildlife interaction and conflict over the years, particularly in areas within Kenya where humans and animals directly share the local land and resources. This phenomenon is further magnified by climate change, which causes the wildlife to change their migratory patterns in search of food. One such area is Kileva, a small sub-area within the Taita-Taveta County, situated a few kilometers from Rukinga. Here, the dwellers are prone to conflicts with elephants, which frequently destroy farmers’ crops during the dry seasons. As many of these farmers rely on their crop yield to survive, this has…
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Occupational First Aid Training Program at Wildlife Works
With the increasing number of employees at Wildlife Works’ Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project, we decided to host a first aid training program for employees from various departments, with the help of The Kenya Red Cross. At Wildlife Works, one of our main goals is to protect wild animals and conserve the environment, and during this process, the safety of our employees is a top priority. While patrolling the protected area for poachers, our rangers are faced with various dangers; for instance, poachers who are armed either with guns or bow-and-arrows frequently threaten to attack our rangers, who are usually unarmed. In addition, the wildlife itself poses certain risks, including snakebites. Given…
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Getting to Know our Female Rangers: Constance
Last week, we introduced a series on getting to know our four female conservation rangers currently working in the Kasigau corridor, in celebration of Wildlife Works’ first-ever hiring of female rangers in the spring of 2011. We sat down and talked to each woman about her experience working in the project area over the past year, and gained some pretty interesting insight into daily life on the job, which we’d like to share with you. Constance Mwandaa, a 22 year-old native of Sagalla, begins her day at 5:30 am with a shower and some breakfast, and then heads out into the bush to begin her duties patrolling the protected area…
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Wildlife Works Embraces New Biogas Project
Here at Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project, we are constantly looking for opportunities to coordinate with the next generation of young Kenyans who devote their time and intellect to developing environmentally sustainable innovations. Meet 21 year-olds Daniel Njuguna, a recent secondary school graduate, and Edward Mwakisima, a Sociology student at Catholic University. They are currently developing a system to promote alternative energy use for everyday activities, in an effort to reduce the harmful effects of charcoal production in the area. The project began when Edward informed Daniel of the water shortage problem that was being experienced in his hometown of Maungu, a small village located within Wildlife Works’ Kasigau…
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Wildlife Works Welcomes its First Female Rangers
In March of 2011, Wildlife Works welcomed its first-ever female rangers to the team of 75 rangers currently working at our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project area to protect the local wildlife from poachers and other threats. At Wildlife Works, we believe vigorously in equal opportunity employment, and are excited that for the first time in our fifteen-year history, we have been able to welcome a total of four female rangers to the WW family. This is a very important milestone for us, and we’d like to take a moment to share the unique stories of these recent additions to our team in a series of posts featuring each woman and…
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Kasigau Corridor Community Education Programs
The most crucial element to Wildlife Work’s conservation success is our community outreach and education programs. Theatre education is the most recent addition to our community outreach activities. The Talent Nurtures Troupe (TNT), a theatre group from Voi, a town 30 minutes west of our project area has partnered with Wildlife Works to spread awareness of conservation and the REDD project. TNT have much experience in entertaining and educational skits and have received a great deal of attention for their excellent work. In November, the 8 actors (3 ladies and 5 men) came to Rukinga Ranch for an orientation day, in which they gathered material for the WW skit. Following…
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Update on Ijema, Our Injured Ranger
Thank you to all who donated to the families of Ijema, our injured ranger, and Abdi, our ranger who suffered a fatal gunshot wound. We received an outpouring of heartfelt messages from all over the world as well as generous donations that totaled $6781, which has been passed on to both families on your behalf. Abdi’s family will also benefit from Wildlife Works hiring one of their family members, Ali Adoww, who is currently being trained as a ranger. Wildlife Works has put Ijema up in a comfortable home in town and is supporting him through his recovery, including the surgeries to repair his shoulder. The titanium shoulder was donated…
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Wildlife Works Screen Printing Facility
For the first time in our 14 year history, we have brought our screen printing in-house with its own dedicated building at our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project. It currently employs 4 local Kenyans with full benefits. * * * * * * * * * About Wildlife Works Carbon: Wildlife Works is the world’s leading REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), project development and management company with an effective approach to applying innovative market based solutions to the conservation of biodiversity. REDD+ was originated by the United Nations (UN) to help stop the destruction of the world’s forests. Over a 15 year history Wildlife Works established a successful model…
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Wildlife Works’ First Nursery
As the number of our employees grows, so do the families we support through their employment with Wildlife Works at our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project in Kenya. In January 2012, we opened our first onsite children’s nursery for our young parents, so they would have a place for their children to continue to grow and learn while they work to help support their family. Twenty parents are bringing their children to the nursery on a daily basis, and it is wonderful to see all the smiling faces every morning as they arrive. There are currently twenty-one kids, ranging in ages from 2 to 5, attending the nursery. With that many…
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Rose and George, Hailing from Deep Sea Slum in Nairobi Join the Wildlife Works Team in Kenya
By Joyce Hu, Creative Director Although our core work is building rural communities, we can’t avert our eyes and hearts from the struggling urban communities in major cities around the world. Nairobi is home to some of Africa’s largest urban slums, where millions of people live without basic needs like running water, electricity or daily meals. On my most recent trip to Kenya, I was introduced to two bright, young adults from Deep Sea, a slum in Nairobi named for its sloping landscape that makes walking out of it a steep hike through the maze of metal corrugation and open wastewater ditches. George, an aspiring photo journalist, and Rose, an…