Eco-No-Mads.org
Join us to Revive the Savannah!
*all photos are from the site
The Samburu tribe is one of 42 tribes in Kenya.
In N'kilois village, which is 50km north-west of mount kenya, a small population of families are living a remarkably traditional and untouched way of life.
One hour drive from the nearest town, it was not long ago a forested-savanna, but overgrazing, drought and unsustainable logging turned it into a semi-degraded dryland-savana.
The Samburu have been pure pastoralists for generations, meaning they only consumed milk, meat, and blood. They have never practiced agriculture; therefore, these lands have never been plowed. In fact, just 20-30 years ago, most people of this community had never consumed any vegetable plant food in their life!
A severe drought in 2022 saw no rainfall for a YEAR AND A HALF (usually there are two rainy seasons per year). More than half of their livestock died.
it’s important to understand that their livestock is literally almost ALL they have.
This has persuaded them to consider and appreciate other ways of getting food. mostly buying plant foods such as maize and beans in the town. which is of course a problem of itself as this village traditionally depends very little on monetary exchange.
Meet Priscilla. She grew up here. First she learned about permaculture and became a certified permaculture trainer, then she trained countless people and communities across Kenya (while empowering women to become financially and emotionally free). Her dream to bring back the knowledge she has gathered to her home village is now coming true. She has received 6 acres from the community and started the “Pastoralist Syntropic Dryland Center”
Join the Community
The goals of the Center:
Seeds are already being gathered by the community. next we want to start an indigenous tree nursery - the Heart of the project - from which the restoration takes place.
indigenous ways of life are becoming extinct worldwide. and this one is in danger too. we aim to document and preserve the samburu's cultural heritage. their songs, arts, crafts, language, knowledge ect...
Create finincial streams for locals to earn a living while restoring their landscape and preserving their culture, rather than looking for jobs in the city and abandoning their heritage. Safari experiences, cultural tours and immersions, and selling crafts are main candidates for this work
As you shall read bellow, this has been a pressing issue, which we intend to adress from the root. there's a short-term and a long term plan we are concieving
To record and measure the effects of different Restoration Techniques in order to determine their effectiveness in the context of Savannah Landscapes. This will not only support the scientific community for further understanding, but will potentially become a model that can be replicated in other Savannahs (or even other ecosystems alltogether)
To train the community with vital techniques for sustainable living, including rainwater harvesting, holistic grazing approach, creating ponds for groundwater recharge, establishing kitchen gardens, and composting.
For that We must construct a Tree Nursery and a modern solar powered Bore-Well to alliviate the water scarcity. These 2 things- Nursery and Well are the eco-catalysts for regenerating this land. However...
The Elephants in the room
The center is now already 1.5 years old, but most of their work has been continually demolished by a herd of Elephants.
They destroyed the garden multiple times, recently uprooted and ate the trees, and broke the water tank that was used to harvest rain-water. While these challenges have put a huge strain of despair on Priscilla and the community, they are very determined to keep going until they achieve their goals.
For that reason - the Bore-Well the Tree Nursery have at first to be protected - We need to surround the 6 acres (a very small patch in this vast savannah) with a solar electric fence - until the conditions change enough so that the elephants will no longer have the need to assert themselves for resources.
It’s very important for us to say- WE LOVE THE ELEPHANTS. These magnificent creatures are only in search of food and water while their habitat has been degrading. If we change the conditions that cause conflict, the conflict will just disappear.
This is why we plan to channel some water from the well to a pond outside of the fence in order for the elephants to have a source of drinking water which is not in competition with the people, a struggle that caused the death of 5 people in the past few years.
We strongly believe that to see this project as a success, it must benefit the elephants, the people, and the ecosystem at large. This patch of protected land will also allow planted trees to mature without being eaten by the livestock and wildlife.
Let's make this happen! We are using Chuffed.org to raise 22K Euros (originally dollars, but since we work with a european NGO it had to be euros, so we decided to raise a little more :). to get the solar electric fence, bore-well, construct the nursery and the pond.
If we succeed in this fundraiser, the project will have overcome main hurdles in its establishment.
It is up to all of us to assert the importance of protecting and restoring lands which have remained untouched by industrial development.
"I do not think the measure of a civilization is how tall its buildings of concrete are, but rather how well its people have learned to relate to their environment and fellow humans." - Sun Bear, Chippewa