Join us in conserving landscape where indigenous people and wildlife can thrive for multiple generations to come!
The Sarara Foundation is working to protect the 850,000-acre Matthews Forest Range, located in the heart of Northern Kenya, the wildlife and Indigenous Samburu who call this land their home.
Indigenous communities are the custodians of some of the largest remaining wilderness left in Africa, including many key endangered species.
By empowering Indigenous Peoples to manage biodiversity in their own territories, we create a more sustained and cost effective solution to protect 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity
The Challenge Indigenous Communities face today:
- 80% of the world's remaining diversity is protected by just 6% of the world's population, all of whom are Indigenous Peoples.
- 70% of Africa’s wildlife exists outside of national parks and reserves.
- Most of Africa’s remaining biodiversity is co-habited by wildlife and Indigenous Peoples
- Preserving biodiversity is key to turning around the climate crisis, as these areas are major carbon sinks.
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The cycle of poverty in Indigenous Peoples are deepening due to biodiversity loss, climate change, loss of indigenous identity and critical watershed damage.
Our Impact and Programs
Education and Healthcare:
The Sarara Foundation is heavily investing in a sustainable and opportunity-rich future for the next generation of indigenous communities of Northern Kenya.
- Sarara developed a first of its kind Nomadic Montessori Education system to access difficult to reach communities.
- Our Nomadic Healthcare Program specialises in Paediatric and Maternal care reaching over 1,100 mothers and 3,000 children a year.
Enterprise Development
Through sustainable enterprise development and key partnerships, we endeavour to empower the indigenous Samburu community through economic stimulus programs.
- Milk to Market program where Samburu women sell excess goat milk, not required by their families, to Reteti Elephant Sanctuary
- Bead works program involves over 50 women who produce beaded items sold in the Sarara Eco Lodge’s tourism shop
- Sarara has built three eco lodges wholly owned by the community surmounting to fifty beds, which currently employ 125 people from the local community,
Wildlife and Conservation
Sarara’s conservation approach focuses on human environmental impact and human-wildlife conflict. Special emphasis is placed on managing the effects of rapid population increase and resulting issues with pollution, biodiversity, natural resources and wildlife
- Sarara actively supports the management of 39 orphan elephants housed at the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary.
- Sarara has overseen the return of a free ranging population of near 6,000 elephant to the Mathews Range.
- Sarara oversees the protection of the largest herd of Reticulated Giraffe in Africa numbering over 480 individuals
- Active rangeland restoration plan
Never has there been a time when the need for people and nature to live in harmonious co-existence is of more paramount importance. This is the philosophy that drives the core of the work we at the foundation do.
Meeting critical human needs now creates a future for both wildlife and people, breaking the cycle of poverty before it truly sets in, is perhaps the most important thing we can do.
With gratitude,
Joffy & Jeremy Bastard
http://sararafoundation.org
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One of our three Montesorri pre-schools in within Namunyak Conservancy.
A Montesorri classrooms immediately stands out!
The formidable Nurse Dorcas, the Head of our Healthcare Program measuring a pregnant mamma's HB level. Previously mammas would have to walk 30km over a mountain pass to the nearest clinic.
Mammas waiting to see Nurse Parito. He is a Samburu who grew up here in Namunyak Conservancy. He is also fluent in Italian and French!
Milk Mammas selling goat milk to Reteti Elephant Sanctuary. There are no over 450 milk mammas in the program!
Reteti keepers pouring the goat milk into the pasteurisers. It takes only 6 hours for the milk to go from the goat, all the way to the elephant's bottle for feeding!
The Sarara Foundation also supports 75 wildlife rangers who patrols and monitors wildlife across the 850,000 acre Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy.
Namunyak Community Conservancy in Northern Kenya.
Samburu Warriors