Nestled between the Rombo and Mbririkani Ranches, the Kuku Group Ranch is a savannah landscape and critical wildlife corridor between the Amboseli and Tsavo National Parks. The area is home to more than 29,000 Maasai people. In recent years, the Kuku ranch’s population has grown exponentially, at the same time, the area is increasingly affected by unpredictable rainfall and decreasing topsoil quality due to climate change. Some parts of the region now only receive 400 mm of rainfall annually. These factors have led to increasingly rapid erosion and degradation of pasturelands for the Maasai community to live and farm on. Consequently, agricultural and livestock productivity have decreased dramatically, affecting many Maasai livelihoods across the savannah landscape. Historic overgrazing of the land by cattle coupled with the effects of climate change are drying up the land and reducing its productive capacity, causing water and food scarcity, increasing poverty, and leading to a loss of biodiversity.
The Kuku Group Ranch is undertaking a project alongside Justdiggit that aims to regenerate and revitalize the land to bring it back to its productive and functional former self, to safeguard the livelihoods of the Maasai community and allow them to realize environmental benefits of the land. A number of different interventions are being implemented on the ranch that will improve soil health, prevent erosion, and increase water retention. Grazing management (Olopololi), stone lines, and, most importantly, water bund interventions are being practiced in the community. These interventions are especially helpful in retaining rainwater, allowing it to seep into the soil rather than being washed away. Grass seed banks are also being constructed on the ranch, after an initial pilot study was conducted in the Moilo area wherein 15 acres of pastureland was fenced off to serve the local community. As part of the East African Hydrologic Corridor, a total of 150,000 semi-circular bunds – or ‘rainwater harvesting bunds’ – and 5 grass seed banks are being dug. This will contribute to the regreening of 1077 ha of degraded land and the restoration of vegetation across the Kuku Group Ranch.
This project is providing local communities with employment, as many local Maasai are involved in the digging of bunds and creation and management of stone lines and grass seed banks. This has provided many Maasai families with a source of income and has enabled them to send their children to school. The 5 grass seed banks are currently managed and maintained by ~90 Maasai women. These women are responsible for growing, harvesting, and selling the grass/hay seeds of these banks, providing an additional economic opportunity for the community. The grasses create a green oasis on degraded pasturelands, and surplus hay can be harvested and used as fodder for livestock in dry seasons. Furthermore, as part of the grazing management plan designed collaboratively by Justdiggit, the Maasai, and local partners, community rangers were hired to guard restored areas and the surrounding lands. This has provided additional opportunities for the local community.
If you want to learn more about the interventions you have seen practiced in these videos, check out the intervention pages for Grazing Management, Stone Lines, Grass Seed Banks, and Semi-Circular Bunds!
Location: Kuku, Kajiado County, Kenya
