4 tourism facilities
Formal and Informal jobs generated
KES 14.6 million (USD 108,752) generated by community bandas (self-catering accommodation facilities)
47 community members trained in wilderness first aid training
Conservancy-Based Businesses
Tourism Development
Conservation-based tourism has the potential to generate enough commercial revenue for conservancies to achieve economic sustainability and provide critical services and infrastructure to their people.
Tourism provides an accepted, complementary form of land use in northern Kenya that can be pursued in parallel with the existing pastoralist lifestyle, provide youth and women an alternative income source to pastoralism, and encourage communities who have peacefully co-existed with wildlife for centuries to re-energize efforts to steward their dwindling precious resources.
IMPACT
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The community conservancies have widely distributed funds generated through tourism into community development priorities, including education, health, water, and infrastructure – benefitting the poorest in the community and providing a lifeline of alternative employment opportunities.
“Before joining Melako in March 2020, I had lost my job as a chef a few months prior. I started a small grocery in Merile using my small savings, but it was not profitable enough to sustain my family’s needs. I suffered a lot and hoped that something would change my situation for the better, but things only got worse, especially with the COVID-19 outbreak. My luck changed for the best when I got a job as a Chef in Melako Bandas, Melako Conservancy. This has really benefitted me and taught me the importance of tourism in Northern Kenya. My favorite snacks to prepare are burgers and pizzas, but I am always happy to prepare any meal as long as it meets my guests’ needs.”
John Leresh, Chef, Melako Bandas,
Melako Community Conservancy.
Carbon Sequestration
The Northern Kenya Carbon Project is the world’s first large-scale grasslands soil carbon project. It is one of the few large, landscape-level carbon removal ventures currently on the market. It is anticipated to remove and store 50 million tons of CO2 over 30 years – the equivalent of the annual emissions from over 10,000,000 cars.
For Conservancies to realize revenue for the program, every conservancy has to raise awareness within the community about the program, plan their grazing effectively to grow more grass, and submit monthly livestock movement reports.
MashinaniWORKS will assist NRT in the commercial aspects of enabling conservancies to earn annually in carbon credit sales.
The sale of this sequestered carbon from community rangelands in northern Kenya will create additional and much-needed income for the communities and enhance conservation efforts, including the improvement of habitat for four endemic endangered species—the eastern black rhino, Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, and Beisa oryx, as well as address the impact of climate change. At least 40% of carbon revenue will finance conservancies’ operations and rehabilitating rangelands and degraded areas, benefitting community members’ livestock and wildlife. The remaining 60% will go towards funding projects of the community’s choice, such as health, education bursaries, water, and classroom construction.
In March, the world’s first large-scale grasslands soil carbon project; the Northern Kenya Rangelands Carbon Project, was launched. 14 NRT member community conservancies will benefit from the Project. Each partnering conservancy will receive Ksh. 36 million (USD 316,205) this year (2022), with similar amounts or more to follow each year.
NRT CEO, Tom Lalampaa.