Empowering women in Kenya with sustainable livelihoods

We are creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for women in rural Kenya, whose lives are closely intertwined with wildlife conservation.

Problem

While the primary role of many women in rural African communities—such as the Maasai of southern Kenya—may revolve around cooking and raising children, many women also collect firewood from wild habitats, harvest water from rivers, and tend to livestock in wildlife areas.

But despite their frequent interaction with wildlife and natural ecosystems, these women often do not have access to equal opportunities and resources to earn an income or benefit from conservation initiatives.

This should not be the case. After all, the future of conservation demands the involvement of all stakeholders—regardless of their gender, age, societal position, or socio-economic status.

Solution

This is where IFAW’s Inua Kijiji project comes into the picture. By empowering rural women to earn an income through beadmaking and other artistic ventures, we are not only uplifting these marginalised groups out of extreme poverty, but also giving them a fair shot at accessing economic opportunities to educate their children, preserve their cultural identities, and simultaneously protect Africa’s imperiled wildlife.

Beadwork is an iconic symbol of Maasai identity, representing tradition, beauty, strength, pride, wealth, and social status. In a rapidly changing world where traditional culture and practice are slowly waning, this project stands out as a beacon of hope to preserve ancient practices and pass ancestral knowledge and skills to younger generations.

The Inua Kijiji project started off at Esiteti village in Kitirua Conservancy, where the Maasai community lives in harmony with wildlife. This important sliver of land is a vital migration corridor for animals like elephants because it connects the Amboseli National Park to the greater Kilimanjaro and Enduimet Wildlife Management area, allowing wildlife to freely move across vast distances in search of food, water, and breeding grounds.

In mid-2024, Inua Kijiji expanded its wings into another equally important migration corridor, Illaingarunyoni Conservancy. Situated in the northwest of Amboseli National Park, this community owned land is one of the last remaining natural gateways connecting the Amboseli National Park and the greater Maasai Mara-Loita ecosystems of Southern Kenya.

To ensure the survival of Amboseli’s ‘super tusker’ elephants and other wildlife like wild dogs, bat-eared foxes, and pangolins, the Maasai community made a strong commitment to protect this land for wildlife conservation and safeguard their pastoral livelihoods.

When women in rural Africa access these rare economic development opportunities, their livelihoods improve, their relationship with wild animals is strengthened, and human-wildlife conflict cases dwindle significantly.

Impact

Kitirua Conservancy has been central to the success of IFAW’s Room to Roam initiative in this transboundary conservation area.

Thanks to the vibrant tourism in the area, Maasai women have been able to earn an income, which has in turn enabled them to educate their children and launch micro-enterprises to supply food rations to rangers in the area.