The Ushanga Kenya project empowers over 3,200 Maasai women through beadwork. This initiative fosters economic growth and sustainable livelihoods by enhancing skills and marketing Ushanga jewelry. With resource centers across the ranches, collaboration between Chyulu Hills REDD+ Project and Ushanga Kenya aims to bring these creations to national and international markets, directly benefiting the female artisans.
Spotlight Summary The Indigenous Maasai Community The communities living in the Chyulu Hills landscape are socially, economically and culturally diverse. Historically, the western side of this region was inhabited by the Maasai, a pastoralist tribe comprising several distinct groups and clans. These Maasai communities spanned a vast expanse adjacent to the Rift Valley, not only […]
With the increasing likelihood of more frequent and extreme droughts due to climate change and the associated risk to the forest, the Chyulu Hills REDD+ Project (CHRP) partners have developed a plan for preventing, monitoring, and quickly responding to fire outbreaks in the area. In addition to the impacts on both humans and wildlife, fire is also one of the key threats to the carbon stocks on which the success of the Chyulu Hills REDD+ Project depends. The risk from fire can only be expected to increase in the face of higher temperatures and more extreme droughts that are predicted as a result of climate change. However, with the right equipment, training, and collaboration with local communities, it is possible to decrease risks from fire and preserve the integrity of the fragile Chyulu ecosystem.
“I believe if you empower a woman, you empower the whole nation.” -Lucy Simantoi Sayiore, Kuku Group Ranch Community Member, Chyulu Hills.
In Maasai culture, it is a rite of passage for a Moran (Warrior) to kill a lion. This has changed when conservation came. Now you don’t have to kill a lion to be called a Moran, you can earn that title by protecting them.
David’s hope for the future is that everybody strives to understand how nature works and that people develop a sense of care.
What inspires Anastacia to do the kind of job she does is her passion for gender equality. She hopes that harmful practices such as FGM will be a thing of the past.
Our communities are realizing the importance of education through the transformative change that is happening where children complete their education and have careers that give back to society.
The 1 billionth Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) credit was issued to the Chyulu Hills REDD+ project following the finalization of the project’s second verification. The team has been collaborating with local community members for biomass sampling and restoration of grasslands. The drought in Kenya has been very challenging, resulting in extensive food security issues and wildfire threats, mitigated in part through emergency school feeding programs and enhanced firefighting training and equipment.
More than ever, I think it is essential to include local and Indigenous voices in these conferences. We are the ones who have been sustaining the Earth up to now.
