Community Conservation

Community Conservation

In A Rocha Kenya (ARK), we believe that every community has a responsibility to their environment. It is in this spirit that we build the capacity of communities and facilitate them to initiate activities that sustainably utilize their environment.

Arabuko-Sokoke Schools and Ecotourism Scheme (ASSETS)

Beyond the white sands and coral reefs of the Malindi-Watamu coastline, lies Arabuko-Sokoke Forest (ASF) and Mida Creek. Arabuko-Sokoke Forest is the largest remnant of a dry coastal forest which originally stretched from Somalia down to Mozambique.

ASSETS provides eco-scholarships for secondary school children living adjacent to Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and Mida Creek. The project also helps to protect the environment as all beneficiaries take part in conservation activities including tree planting, snare removal from the forest and environmental education.

Dakatcha Nature Reserve

Dakatcha Woodland KBA is critical forest for the conservation of 13 IUCN Red Listed species. It is currently being cleared for charcoal and agriculture at an alarming rate. A Rocha Kenya is purchasing land to create a Nature Reserve and safeguard this indigenous forest and its threatened wildlife.

We are working with local churches, farmers and schools in this area around the reserve to engage them in habitat protection and restoration, and provide sustainable income-generating activities.

Advocacy and Community Empowerment

Community Forest Associations have sprung into advocacy action after a series of training with A Rocha Kenya and working as well as walking (literally and figuratively).

Having completed their training by mid-June 2014, the three CFAs- Gede, Jilore, and Sokoke, which cover Arabuko Sokoke Forest were challenged to raise their voices for the forest and speak against the illegal activities taking part in the forest by engaging in various advocacy initiatives geared towards relieving the immense pressure the forest is facing especially from illegal loggers.

Farming God's way

A Rocha Kenya’s ecosystem-based “Farming God’s Way” is a tool for everyone with a patch of ground to plant and grow food in a way that responds to God’s call to take care of His creation. Modelled on a more widely known farming method called ‘Conservation Agriculture’, Farming God’s Way (FGW) looks to replicate on our farms how ‘God farms his farm’ – i.e. a forest.

Shopping Basket