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Kenya

REGION: Kamatira Forest, West Pokot
RESTORATION SITE PARTNER: Pastoral Communities Empowerment Programme (PACEP)
ECOSYSTEM: Forest
RESTORATION COVERAGE: 2.02 hectares
In the patriarchal society of the indigenous Pokot people, women’s roles are vital yet often marginalized, leaving them with little influence in resource management and governance decisions. Additionally, women bear a disproportionate burden from biodiversity loss and climate change impacts. Rural and indigenous women, whose livelihoods depend heavily on natural resources, suffer the most when these resources are degraded or depleted.

Overview

Located in Kamatira Forest, West Pokot County, Kenya, the restoration area sits at an elevation of 1,856 meters southwest of Chepareria, near the northeast of Charangani Hills. Inhabited predominantly by the Pokot indigenous community, most of whom are agro-pastoralists, the forest serves as a crucial water catchment and medicinal resource for the Pokot South communities. The biodiversity in the area provides essential ecosystem services such as pollination, seed dispersal, climate regulation, carbon sequestration, pest and disease control, and human health regulation. These services indirectly support food, fibre, and water production and influence processes like primary production, nutrient recycling, and soil formation. Efforts to conserve and restore biodiversity in this area can enhance carbon sequestration, contributing to climate change mitigation and ultimately improving the well-being of the local communities amidst changing climatic conditions.

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From L to R: Rose, REFACOF, Cameroon; Mrinali, Director, Women4Biodiversity; Shruti, Programme Officer, Women4Biodiversity; Sumina, Media and Comms Officer, Women4Biodiversity; Rodah, PACEP, Kenya; and Blondine, REFACOF, Cameroon ready to start the journey to West Pokot.

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A tree nursery of eucalyptus and other tree saplings that the women's group have started to grow for economic sustenance

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An indigenous herb from the Kamatira region

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Women in the Lower Kamatira region prepare the mud to build Jikos, an ingenious multi-purpose stove created by the women.

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The last steps of creating Jikos

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One type of Jikos without the separate area for incubating chickens

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A more common design of Jikos with the above area for cooking and the below-separated area for chickens

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A group photo with the women of Lower Kamatira

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A group photo with the community members in Upper Kamatira

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Community consultation about the project

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A tree sapling in the hands of a community member

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Tree saplings in the hands of a community member

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A group photo with the community members at a cave that holds a high cultural and religous value for them

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An aerial view of the Kamatira Forest in West Pokot

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An aerial view of the Kamatira Forest in West Pokot

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An aerial view of Chepareria, West Pokot home to the Kamatira Forest

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One of the many indigenous plants seen in the Kamatira Forest, which holds cultural and medicinal value

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One of the many indigenous plants seen in the Kamatira Forest, which holds cultural and medicinal value

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Cut marks are seen on the bark of a tree in the Kamatira Forest. The locals collect the sap and sell it in the market. However, this process harms the health of the trees as it increases rotting from the inside.

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Consultation with community members at the Kamatira Forest where Women4Biodiversity's Programme Officer talked about the conservation process, updates and challenges

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Rose and Rodah talking about community mapping process

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A community mapping exercise

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A community mapping exercise

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An indigenous herb found only in the Kamatira Forest

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A last group photo with the community Elders, members and others.

Proposed outputs

Amplifying women’s voices for a sustainable future: By providing space for women’s experiences, knowledge, innovations and practices together to build a platform of collective actions.

Empowering women to bring change: By advancing women’s empowerment through skills sharing to equip them with expertise to assert their rights as decision-makers, advocates and leaders, in particular to issues related to biodiversity conservation and sustainable use and development.

Building gender-just solutions: By advocating for environmental policies, plans and practices that are gender-responsive as well as environmentally, socially and culturally fair, and implemented effectively at all levels of engagement.

Bridging the gap between science and policy: By highlighting the importance of gender considerations in environmental decision-making and identifying areas where action is needed to build synergies across global environmental conventions.

Activity in Kenya

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Voices of Restoration: Highlights from the Restoration Site Writeshop in Nairobi

Text by Sumina Subba, Communications Officer, Women4Biodiversity Photos by Sumina Subba and Deepika Nandan, Visual Communications Officer, Women4Biodiversity “I can’t believe how fast these five days have passed!”, exclaimed Ivannia…
15.08.24

Observing Desertification and Drought Day 2024: Celebrating the environmentally sustainable practices adopted by the women in Kamatira, West Pokot, Kenya

On Desertification and Drought Day, we are celebrating the inspiring women from Kamatira who are fighting drought through sustainable practices that nourish their land.
17.06.24

‘JIKOS’ — A creation of necessity building a road to economic freedom for the women of Kamatira in Kenya

A photo story on how Jikos is created by the women of the Kamatira region in West Pokot, Kenya.
6.12.23