How women are leading the restoration of Kakamega Rainforest

This International Women's Day we’re celebrating restoration projects that are supporting women to not only contribute to community-driven initiatives but also equally benefit from them.

Women-led forest restoration

In Western Kenya, we’re working with Women in Water and Natural Resource Conservation (WWANC) to support local community members with skills and resources to restore and protect Kakamega Forest.

Partnering up with WWANC has been instrumental in encouraging the involvement of women in the project as one of their core activities is women leadership and girl-child mentorship.

They work with over 50 women’s groups across the country to promote conservation awareness and improve livelihoods through reforestation and agroforestry practices.

Situation on the ground

Kakamega Forest is a tropical rainforest that lies within Lake Victoria’s water catchment area. The forest is rich with biodiversity however, the number of native trees is relatively low.

But the ecological integrity of this magnificent forest is under attack. Intensive logging for agricultural use has fragmented the forest, devastating nearby communities as well as local flora and fauna that play a critical role in maintaining the health of the forest.

Harnessing the restorative power of native trees

In partnership with WWANC, we’re supporting community members to plant trees that are native to Kakamega Forest, helping to restore and protect this critical rainforest while supporting biodiversity.

Restoring the forest with native trees will help improve soil and water quality. These native trees will support biodiversity to flourish and attract wild animals for whom Kakamega forest is a key habitat.

And this year, our focus is on Iloro Forest block where we aim to restore 100 hectares of degraded forest by raising and planting 100,000 native tree species.  

Community tree nurseries

When restoration projects reflect the needs and aspirations of communities, they are better able to inspire and support communities to successfully restore and maintain productive, healthy and diverse landscapes.

For this project, women are the main project beneficiaries and carry out essential activities through their roles as project scouts and tree nursery attendants while others worked on hole digging, tree planting and after care.

An essential element of this project is the establishment of three tree nurseries where community members can produce a wide range of native tree species that will increase the number of native species within Kakamega Forest.

We’re also supporting them to establish tree nurseries within their own farms so that they can diversify their income sources. In this way, the project is all rounded, supporting women to provide for themselves and their families.

Making a positive difference

We recently visited our partners and it was amazing to see the positive energy on the ground six months into the project.

And for the women we’re working with the difference is already being felt. Some of them have told us that they are now able to put food on the table and are being respected by their husbands.

So, we could say that this project empowers families and communities because more money is coming into the household and keeping children in school as families can now afford to pay school fees.

Happy International Women’s Day!

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