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My Trip to the Kasigau Corridor: Seeing a REDD+ Project in Action
Guest blog written by Vibeka Mair, a Senior Reporter for Responsible Investor who visited our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project in February 2018. Jacob Kazungu has been disabled since birth. Now 72, he walks with a stick and has shakes when he stands up. But he insists he will stand as he presents the work of his community group in rural Kenya. The Buguta Disabled Group supports the disabled and parents of the disabled with a place to come to every day, conversation and most importantly a form of income through the making of toys, jewelry and baskets sold in places including popular fashion website ASOS. “We want to be self-reliant and not begging,” he says. Buguta Disabled…
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Simon Kipsang; The Ranger and Co-pilot at Wildlife Works
By Jane Okoth For some, a wildlife adventure may seem like a normal thing, but that seemed an impossible opportunity for young Simon Kipsang. As a young boy growing up in Nakuru County, Simon only learnt about elephants, lions and other wildlife in school. “Since I was passionate about the environment, I would spend time taking care of trees in my homestead and wished that I would one day come face to face with wildlife,” he recalls thinking. As fate would have had it, his dream has come true. Now at 30 years old, Kipsang is a full time ranger and co-pilot at Wildlife Works. When the husband and father…
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Women’s Agency Grows in the Greenhouse
By Jane Okoth In sub-Saharan Africa, women perform more than 50% of the agricultural activity, according to the United Nations. While women provide the majority of labour in agricultural production, their power over resources is restricted due to discrimination by male dominated traditions. Wildlife Works has been co-creating opportunities for economically-marginalized women to take the lead in their communities and generate new sources of income. We have been teaming up with organizations in order to support local women’s groups in setting up greenhouses within their surrounding communities. The concept of greenhouse farming was adopted because only a small size of land is needed to erect the greenhouse, and conditions can…
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Against All odds: Janet Wanjala’s Determination to Succeed
By Jane Okoth If you happen to pass by Wildlife Works’ organic greenhouses, chances are that you will notice Janet Elina Wanjala. The shy petite woman is always busy; if she is not taking care of the tree seedlings, or harvesting jojoba seeds, she is packing the soil into the potting bags. Janet’s day begins with a 2-hour walk from her home to Wildlife Works, ready to commence her usual duties. On this particular day, she is helping out peeling the mango seeds for drying and replantation. “I take my work seriously, with much dedication and hard work because I find morale and stimulation in it,” she says. According to…
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Son of a Poacher, 26-year-old Fulfills Dream to Become Conservation Pilot
By Jane Okoth Always calm and composed in his demeanor, Daniel Zuma is not your regular character. As a gyrocopter pilot at Wildlife Works, the 26 year old is living his dream and even more impressively, is dedicated to inspiring his community. Being the first born in a family of five, Daniel Zuma has come a long way. He was not born in a wildlife friendly household – in fact, his father was a poacher, who was tragically killed by a buffalo. Daniel came to realize the importance of wild animals, and he wanted to take care of them rather than destroying them. “If I had decided to follow in…
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Highlights from our Mai Ndombe REDD+ Project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
As we approach the end of 2017, we’re reflecting on all the achievements from our Mai Ndombe REDD+ project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Mai Ndombe REDD+ project is one of the world’s largest projects, and the first in the DRC. It is located on the shores of lake Mai Ndombe, and protects over 740,000 acres of threatened rainforest. A vast array of biodiversity live in the forest, including endangered elephants and bonobos, the closest extant relative to humans. Mai Ndombe is an essential part of the world’s largest wetland of international importance as recognized by the Ramsar Convention, and is also home to over 50,000…
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Boosting Healthcare: The Story Behind the Renovation of Moi District Hospital Laboratory—4 Years Later
By Jane Okoth There is something exciting about the Moi District Hospital, and it is not just the jovial laboratory employees who are always there to lend a helping hand. It is actually the medical laboratory itself! The clean, air-conditioned room filled with latest generation machines whirring away producing their diagnostic results is amazing. Situated in Voi town, approximately 30km from Wildlife Work’s Rukinga Headquarters, the government referral hospital is now home to a state of the art medical and pathology laboratory. The refurbished laboratory is one of Wildlife Works largest community service projects, an investment of much time and approximately Ksh16,750,000, or about $162,000 USD. Understandably, setting up the…
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Baby Elephant Rescue
On November 2, 2016, our ground team received a call from a goat herdsman that a 5-year old elephant was roaming close to her farm alone for hours. Our Rangers immediately reported to the scene and called @dswt to arrange airlift transport to their Nairobi orphanage in a few hours time. Meanwhile, the rangers kept close eye on the baby girl elephant by keeping down wind and out of site as not to frighten her away. When it came time to prepare her for the transport, it took a team of 12 to secure her down as she struggled with fear of her capturers. After treating some minor wounds, we…
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Moses – Head of Data Collection for our rangers
Moses Lorewa is Head of Data Collection as part of the 85 Wildlife Works rangers that patrol our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project in southeastern Kenya. He is the eldest child in a pastoral family of seven children, from central Kenya. Upon finishing school in 2004, Moses worked in construction for a few years to make ends meet but knew this wasn’t his calling. He first came to the Tsavo ecosystem in 2007 to work as a scout for Southern Cross Eco Safaris who ran Gala Rock Camp, an old lodge within the Wildlife Works project area. Although Moses didn’t have any experience of working in the bush, he had grown…
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Wildlife Works On-Site Nursery School Gets a Makeover
No matter where you are in the world, playtime at nursery school sounds the same – delighted shrieking and shouting erupts from tiny voices as soon as the kids are let free. There is no difference here at Wildlife Works’ on-site nursery school, except that recently the chorus has been extra loud (if that’s possible!) because the school has just had a makeover. Wildlife Works nursery school on site in Kenya Since January 2012, Wildlife Works has provided a nursery school free of charge for our employee’s children aged 2-5 at our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project in Kenya. This helps kids get an early start in their education and provides…
