Peace and Reconciliation Kenya Project #64610

Help Kenyan Pastoralists Build Climate Resilience

by The Advocacy Project

Summary

This startup will enable Children Peace Initiative (CPI) to talk peace and climate with herders from the Ilchamus and Pokot tribes in Northwest Kenya. Both tribes compete for pasture-land and water, which are also under growing pressure from climate change. Under CPI's direction, the meetings (known as "Fora Outreach Camps") will help the herders agree on a plan to share resources during drought and in the process reduce the pressure to fight. CPI and AP will promote the model internationally.

$3,000
total goal

$1,250
remaining

10
donors

1
monthly donor

7
months

Challenge

IlChamus and Pokot herders have raided each other's cattle for years, causing deaths, displacement and interruptions in education. The crisis has worsened in recent years as drought has moved into the region, accelerated by climate change, and forced herders to graze their cattle on land used by the other tribe. The problem is made worse by the size of herds which are unsustainable but central to pastoralist culture. Kenya and its international friends are urgently looking for new ideas.

Solution

CPI's Fora Outreach Camps will build on a 2022 experiment and help herders from the two tribes to air grievances, describe the pressure from climate, and produce a practical plan to share resources during emergencies, especially drought. CPI will draw on the herders' knowledge of their own environment, while making the case for better management of resources and a reduction in the size of herds. After a decade of organizing peace camps for pastoralist children, CPI is confident of success.

Long-Term Impact

CPI has worked with pastoral communities for 13 years and developed a deep understanding of pastoralist life and customs. The Fora Outreach Camps will draw on this and - if successful - create a model that can be replicated with other tribes. CPI also hopes the camps will attract technical expertise and interest to the Kenyan government and the World Bank, which are both urgently seeking new ways to address the growing threat from climate and tribal tensions in the Northwest.