- Maasai women dig pits and the community decides when to sell the seeds for income in the Sh20 million project
- About 200 women dig for Sh150 a bund in the Amboseli ecosystem. Pits slow water so it infiltrates the ground
At the heart of the Amboseli ecosystem, Sikeita Laisa, 56, hums in low tones, temporarily forgetting about the discomfort caused by a scorching sun.
Laisa says she cannot hide her joy.
“We now have an opportunity to contribute positively not only to the restoration of our environment but also to earn a living,” she tells the Star.
Laisa is among a group of more than 200 women digging out half-moon bunds, earning Sh150 per bund at Amboseli Local Community Conservation Area.
ALOOCA is a critical conservation area rich in biodiversity.
It is the former Kimana Group Ranch, and although it has been subdivided, land owners and conservancies have agreed to manage the land as a whole.[]
The region faces environmental threats, including habitat degradation, water scarcity and climate change impacts.
Half-moon bunds being put up in the area are designed to conserve water and prevent soil erosion.
A bund is an embankment or that forms the perimeter and floor of a compound or basin and retains water or other liquid.
Bunds are effective in enhancing soil fertility, restoring degraded lands and mitigating the impacts of climate change.
Laisa says the little cash they are paid after digging out half-moon bunds goes a long way in feeding and clothing their families and supports their school-going children.
Laisa said she used to have livestock but they died in the drought due to lack of pasture as well as water.
“I’m happy to be among women digging out these bunds, as we will plant grass in them to sustain our livestock during a dry spell,” she says.
Large areas can be greened quickly by digging bunds, which significantly impact biodiversity, nature, people and the climate.
The semi-circular shape of the bunds is an optimal balance between the amount of water captured and the labour requirements.
Water ‘bundles’ are usually 2.5 metres long and five metres wide — about the size of a small elephant.
They are dug on slopes, with the ‘closed’ side of the earth smiling and directed downhill.
This way they can capture the water running downhill.
The water bunds do not only capture the rainwater, they also make sure that the water running downhill in between the water bunds is slowed down.
The water also has a chance to enter the soil in between the bunds.
The project at the Amboseli ecosystem is a partnership between Big Life Foundation, World Wide Fund for Nature-Kenya and Justdiggit.
Big Life Foundation restoration officer Ernest Lenkoina said it is necessary to restore degraded areas within the ecosystem.
“We try and bring back life to the rangelands because we have been having plenty of land that we are protecting and trying to make sustainable, but we are realising that a lot of it is degraded,” he says.
Lenkoina says, together with partners, they are trying to make it as ecologically viable as possible, adding that what benefits livestock benefits wildlife.
WWF-K programme coordinator for the Amboseli-Chyulu sub-landscape, John Kioko, said initiatives that increase climate resilience also improve community incomes.
“The aim of this project is to restore 20,000 hectares, 5,000 of which are going to be done directly, meaning through interventions like half-moon bunds,” he said.
It seeks to increase vegetation and show that communities can come together and better protect the earth, with the help of stakeholders.
Kioko said the project is also being undertaken with the growth of grass.
“We are calling it grass banks as the women have set aside an area where they are growing grass for their livestock but also for income generation. They will harvest grass seeds to sell, meaning they have increased income at the group and at the individual level,” he said.
The grass banks are areas set aside near homes for vulnerable livestock that do not go far to look for pasture, such as sick animals and calves.
Kioko said the community is provided with labor, and they are provided with seeds and fences where needed.
They are shown how to harvest seeds before they are packed in bags and sold for Sh100 or Sh200, depending on the on the species.
Grass is also harvested before the community decides whether to sell or keep it for their livestock.
Kioko said they are choosing species that are adaptable, durable and indigenous to the area for high survival rates.
The species include buffelgrass (cenchrus ciliaris) and African lovegrass (eragrostis superba), among others.
Kioko said the bigger picture of the project is to mitigate the impact of climate change and build community and land resilience to the impacts of climate change.
He said restoration is long term.
“Last season, we did a thousand of these bunds with our partners in ALOOCA, Big Life and Justdiggit. The grass has established and we can see evidence of water settling in the area. That means we have improved moisture, organic matter in the area. It is likely these areas have much more biodiversity,” Kioko said.
Justdiggit project manager Samwel Jakinda said they restore degraded lands using nature-based solutions.
“We mostly use rain water harvesting interventions as prime tool of restoration. Our intervention is just to slow down the movement of water so that it infiltrate the ground.”
Jakinda said they plant grass seeds in areas where soils are heavily degraded.
He said they secure seeds from women who have organised themselves into groups, grow grass, harvest seeds, and sell them to Justdiggit.
“We buy the seeds, and it helps to improve their household incomes. At the same time, we use the seeds to restore degraded lands.”
Jakinda said they have 741 acres (300ha) under restoration using soil bunds and other rain harvesting techniques like stone lines and water retention ditches.