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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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Update on Ijema Funan, Injured Ranger
Ijema was discharged from the hospital last week and for the first time since the surgery is showing no signs of fever. This is fantastic news, as it means that the antibiotics are fighting off any infection. In fact, Ijema actually felt strong enough to go and do a bit of shopping on his own in the local town of Voi to pick up some bits and bobs. He’s been surprised and somewhat overwhelmed by the amount of visitors he has received, which have kept him pretty busy while trying to rest and recover. He is looking a lot better, and doctors seem pleased with the progress so far, but…
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Elephant Poachers Kill Wildlife Works Conservation Ranger and Critically Injure Another
As vigilant as we are when it comes to protecting our community and the wildlife surrounding us, tragedy still finds us at times. On Friday, January 13th, elephant poachers opened fired on our unarmed conservation rangers who were patrolling the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project area in Kenya. One of our rangers, Abdullahi Mohammed, was fatally shot and another ranger, Ijema Funan, was injured by the gunfire. At the time, our rangers, along with members of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), were tracking the poachers after discovering a wounded elephant in the protected project area. “This is the first time in 15 years that any of our rangers have been killed…
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Meet Betty, Wildlife Works’ Enterprising Soap Maker
By: Cara Braund- Conservation Intern- 12th November 2011 In an area such as the Kasigau Corridor, where there are thousands of people out of regular work, Wildlife Works has been instrumental in providing jobs for hundreds of people in different sectors of the company. In order to reach as many families as possible, one important factor has been the diverse range of employment available. If you’re not made to be a cutter or sewer in the eco-factory, maybe you could be a ranger, or put those green fingers to use in the greenhouse or use your knowledge of mechanics in the workshop. Furthermore, by training local residents in the different…
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Traditional Roofing in Kenya
By: Scolastica Fundi – Eco-factory assistant – 18th October 2011 Our pilot REDD project area at Rukinga, Kenya, Wildlife Works’ growth has been tremendous within this last year. We are erecting seven new building all using traditional materials and techniques. Here we show traditional roofing called Makuti in the building of our new dining room. Makuti are bunches weaved leaves from a coconut plant caked Mnazi in Swahili. They are mostly found in coastal region of Kenya. Kenyan coastal people like the Mijikenda tribe mostly do Makuti production. PROCESS OF MAKING MAKUTI: STEP 1: The coconut plant leaves are harvested when they turn brown STEP 2: The leaves are soaked…
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Wildlife Works Crew to the Rescue, One Baby Elephant at a Time
By: CARA BRAUND- Conservation Intern- 5th October 2011 Monday mornings aren’t always the most exciting in many offices, but this Monday at Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project proved to be a little different than usual! We received a phone call from one of our rangers saying that an elephant had become stuck in a muddy rock catchment on our neighbouring ranch. Apparently the creature was only around two years old, and had been stuck for over 24 hours.With none of her family members in sight, it was important we help her out of her predicament as soon as possible before she became too dehydrated. The team raced to Kivuko rock…
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Statement made in Kenya to Heighten Awareness on Elephant Poaching
Article by Jason Straziuso, Independent Newspaper Kenya has publicly burnt elephant ivory worth £10m – at Manyani, Tsavo National Park – in an attempt to focus attention on rising poaching deaths. President Mwai Kibaki personally wielded the torch to light the bonfire of 335 confiscated tusks and 41,000 ivory trinkets. He told several hundred people gathered at a rural Kenya Wildlife Service training facility: “Through the disposal of contraband ivory, we seek to formally demonstrate to the world our determination to eliminate all forms of illegal trade in ivory.”We must all appreciate the negative effects of illegal trade to our national economies. We cannot afford to sit back and allow…
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Injured Elephant Treated on Rukinga
BY ROB DODSON – VP – RUKINGA – 15th February 2011 Our Wildlife Works rangers at our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project came across a large male elephant that was having trouble walking and so we called in the Sheldrick Trust vet to dart him and have a look at the heavily swollen leg. Our rangers led the vet through the thick bush to where the elephant was leaning against a tree, showing obvious severe discomfort. A dart was successfully shot into his flank and he went down after a few minutes and we were able to have a good look at him. We found that he had a small but…
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Production on our relaunch collection has begun!
For the first time in Wildlife Works’ 14 year history, we brought our screen printing process in house, making us the largest screen printing operation in Kenya outside of Nairobi. And here it is: I was reminded of power of pure human skill as I watched these guys produce what machines here in the west do in seconds. Peter, our color specialist, was able to mix and match a pantone color swatch by eye with 80% accuracy, on the FIRST try. Since we didn’t have running water at this site, the newly exposed screens had to be sprayed off by hand with a handheld spritzer bottle. Not one guy complained…
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Rangers Recruitment Day 2, Marapou Borehole, Sagalla – 6th November 2010
By Lara Cowan – Office Manager – 6th November 2010. Wildlife Works Rangers Recruitment Day 2 at Marapu Borehole, 6 November 2010 The recruitment day at Marapu was to allow the communities of Sagalla Hill lower such as Zomngwani, Raghasi, Marapau Talio B, Teri B to participate in the recruitment process. These are new community areas from Phase II, and are not yet being employed by Wildlife Works Carbon. It was very important to involve them. Our Rangers and management at the Marapu Borehole completing registration. All applicants had to come with their IDS, Application letters, be between the age of 18 to 40 years old and for men be…