How one community in Kenya is adapting to climate change

DW (English)

In central Kenya, the semi-nomadic Samburu community has been forced to adapt to the devastating effects of climate change. An NGO has provided funding to help them overcome drought and even find a new way to thrive.

Transcript

00:00 Strong hands, fertile soil and water.

00:03 A simple starter kit that will help many trees grow.

00:07 It's part of a project here on the edge of the Kirisea forest in central Kenya

00:12 that is putting the Samburu community at the heart of protecting their environment

00:17 and also helping them earn a living.

00:21 "The tree nurseries have been a real benefit to us.

00:27 We can earn money, so we can pay school fees for our children.

00:33 Or we can start up businesses."

00:36 Traditionally semi-nomadic, the Samburu people sought out water and grazing land

00:41 for their goats and cattle, their primary source of income.

00:45 But dry, drought-prone conditions, made worse due to climate change,

00:49 forced many to move into the forest.

00:52 The community first made money chopping down trees and making charcoal instead.

00:58 It destroyed around a third of the forest, putting both the people at risk

01:02 and the water relied on across an otherwise arid Samburu region.

01:07 "We were having to trek five kilometres to fetch water."

01:13 The Samburu families voluntarily left the forest.

01:17 Funding from the government and NGOs helped the community adapt to their new reality,

01:22 driven by global warming,

01:24 and found an organisation to help protect the forest.

01:29 As well as earning from seedlings they've planted so far,

01:33 the community also earns around 30,000 euros a year from harvesting honey.

01:40 "We've seen our problems and we say the best way to solve this problem

01:44 is to move out of the forest and we take care of our forest

01:48 so that our forest can take care of us."

01:50 Slowly but surely, the flora and fauna are flourishing again,

01:54 with help from a community learning to cope with change

01:57 and to build a new future for themselves.

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