LIVELIHOODS AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
KEY ACTIONS.
IMPACT is committed to building secure and sustainable and self-reliant pastoral communities. What we do:
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Supporting communities in their exploration of alternative forms of compatible livelihood, especially those that have fallen out of pastoralism
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Supporting enterprise initiatives where community group capacities have been strengthened.
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Collaborating with other organizations to help construct comprehensive business plans for groups such as Osuguroi, Twala Women Group, Naatum Women Group.
IMPACT supported five women groups in the development business plans focusing on alternative livelihoods, including bee keeping, bead work, small-scale agriculture and bio-enterprise initiatives.
IMPACT has also contributed to the rehabilitation of the Sang'a Water Project, ensuring water access to 60 households and an Early Childhood Development nursery school.
With support from the Let There Be Light program, IMPACT supplied 100 solar lamps to the most vulnerable residents of Laikipia and Samburu counties .
IN 2019.
IN 2021.
Climate Smart Approach to Enhancing Livelihood Resilience in Northern Kenya
People in Laikipia North constituency, comprising of Mukogodo East ,West, Segera and Sosian, are facing an uncertain future due to persistent and severe droughts. The dry spells have become more frequent over the years due to irregular weather patterns brought about by climate change.
The situation has seen hundreds upon thousands of cattle, goats and sheep decimated, thereby jeopardizing the communities’ pastoralist livelihoods.
This means that the need to diversify livestock-dependent livelihoods has never been greater.
That is why the Indigenous Movement for Peace Advancement and Conflict Transformation (IMPACT), working with the Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid (CORDAID), is helping these communities learn the skills necessarily to adapt to a changing climate. Through this process, new income generating opportunities are created.
THE ROCK WATER CATCHMENT INITIATIVE
The rehabilitation of a rock water catchment reservoir in SoitOudo Village of Morupusi Group Ranch, of Mukogodo West ward Laikipia North sub-county, will go a long way towards providing safe drinking water for the community and livestock.
CORDAID provided funding and IMPACT implemented the roofing and rehabilitation of the water intake of this rock water catchment, reducing contamination of the harvested water. Risk of serious injuries from accidental falls by children and livestock from the rock outcrop have also been prevented as a result.
NGUSERO SELF-HELP GROUP
Composed of different communities, the 20-member Ngusero Self-Help Group received 92 chickens from IMPACT, with a plan to start selling eggs.
However, poultry keeping was not the first income-generating activity they had in mind. Their initial aim was to buy property and heifers for each group member, but they were unable to raise enough money to achieve this.
NAATUM WOMEN GROUP
For the 25-member Naatum Women Group, bee-keeping is an appealing and viable livelihood alternative, especially as the rise in demand for honey outstrips supply.
The group has received 25 beehives from IMPACT. They are now waiting for trees to flower, so bees can be attracted and colonise the beehives.
The new venture is particularly important for the group because their previous economic activity was discontinued, leaving them without an income option. They were producing soap, lotion and shampoo from the aloe vera plant at a local church.
NAISHU PEOPLE LIVING WITH DISABILITIES GROUP
In Chumvi area of Laikipia North, a group of people living with varying forms of disabilities have come together to form Naishu Self-help group for the purpose of empowering them economically.
They are running a chicken project on a piece of land donated by one of the members, with 45 birds. In addition to giving them the chickens, IMPACT also donated two 50kg of feed for them to start with.
TWALA WOMEN GROUP
An umbrella body of six constituent sub-groups from Olpolei and Munishoi group ranches in Laikipia North, Twala has managed to mobilise and empower women economically.
These groups include Simela, Nalepo, Najooli, Naserian, Nosetwa and Munipisha. Their economic activities range beadwork, beekeeping, baboon, cattle and plant walks.
They sell pure natural honey to the local people and to Perma Culuture Company. IMPACT has donated 20 beehives to the women group, two of which have already been colonised. In addition, the women receive training on bookkeeping skills from IMPACT.
OSUGOROI SELF-HELP GROUP
Members came together to form the self-help group composed of 25 women and four men, four years ago. It has grown to 38 members.
With each member contributing KES 3,000 initially and later increased the contribution to KES 5,000, the group managed to save and purchase a 9-acre piece of land.
They were trained on beekeeping by IMPACT, who donated 25 beehives and 92 chickens to the group.
“We initially thought about a tree seedling project, but since we are pastoralists and therefore closely attached to cattle, the next best thing close to livestock was poultry. We began with 50 chickens but five died from disease. We contribute KES200 each that goes to paying the salary of a girl who looks after the chickens. We are now planning to open a bank account. Also in our sights is to own land and start a table banking initiative. We intend to be lending money at small interest.”
— Bernard Karmushu, Chairman
Speaking on Naishu people living with disabilities
“Our plan is to use what we earn in three different ways. We will use the profit to plough back into the business and set a certain amount for savings and another for emergency purposes.”
— Geoffrey Waweru, Secretary of Self Help (Ngusero)
COMMUNITY FEEDBACK.
"People used to walk 12km to look for water, but since the rehabilitation, this will no longer be the case. However, we are requesting that the water be piped to the nearby SoitOudo Primary School, where we can access the water, something which will also serve as measure against wastage during the school holidays. The negative impacts of climate change disproportionately affect women more than men. This makes a bad situation worse given that women are usually economically disempowered to begin with. But a number of projects supported and implemented by CORDAID and IMPACT are transforming lives for women in this arid region."
— Dickson Letair, a member of the community
"This is a very dry region. Drought has decimated our cows, and the invasive cactus opuntia plant species has made keeping livestock particularly difficult because the thorny plant interferes with the digestive system of the livestock and eyesight."
— Jane King’au, Chairlady of Naatum Women Group
"We used to run our business without any budgeting skills, so the training has been quite helpful. The whole experience has enhanced group cohesion by bringing the women closer together. The biggest challenge facing beekeeping is the destruction of beehives by the honey badger. All of the 80 beehives they had prior to receiving the new ones from IMPACT were destroyed by the animal. However, the new beehives are designed such that it is difficult for the honey badger to get to them."
— Rachel Rana, Najooli Women Group member
“We are grateful to IMPACT for the assistance, which, besides training us on water issues, they have brought the community much closer, because there is now a lot of coordination between the upper and lower Water Resource Users Associations.”
— James Moiyare, Treasurer of Kurum Water Resource Users Association
"We share dividends twice a year in June and December from all these activities and 10 per cent of whatever we make is set aside for enhancing the girl child education. I would like to appeal for more aloe vera seeds for the women groups."
— Rosemary Nenini, Manager of Twala Women Group
"We then approached IMPACT who advised us to start rearing poultry and donated the chickens. We were then trained on how to find a market for our eggs.Keeping poultry was particularly appealing to the group as opposed to rearing dairy cows, given the drought situation. However, disease and the expensive nature of feed are the main challenges associated with keeping poultry. The chickens consume between 10-12kg of feed on a daily basis, at a cost of KES280. Initially we thought that chicken would be consuming only 5kg of feed daily."
— Jane Mutua, Chairlady (Ngusero)
IMPACT is supporting a number of women groups in Laikipia north, Samburu north and West,we are targeting women in community lands that we are supporting to secure their lands.Strengthening traditional economies is one strategy of nature based solution and women play the leading role in building and sustaining indigenous economies,we therefore took an initiative to train them on Bee keeping and agro ecology,we also donated Bee Hives as a start up. They are also engaged in climate change discussions and how deforestation has affected access to water and woodfuel.
Our Agro-ecology team is training women groups on Earthworks to address soil erosion as a strategy for ensuring resilient landscapes and food security.One of the activities done was digging swales and planting indigenous aloe
The prolonged drought is getting tough and families affected need any support they can get to sustain themselves.The IMPACT team took time over the holidays to distribute food packs donations to the most pressed in Samburu county, Marsabit county,Isiolo county and Laikipia county to help vulnerable households survive through the drought.
Courtesy of Miserior,Germany