During recent decades the productivity of the pastures of Kuku Group Ranch in Kenya has decreased significantly, reducing the amount of livestock the rangeland can carry. This is affecting the community of Maasai living in the area as it is their main source of income.
These pictures clarify how the smile shaped bunds work. The rainwater is captured...
In partnership with the Naga Foundation, which is now Justdiggit, The Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust (MWCT) has developed a small-scale grass seed bank land restoration project in the area of Moilo on Kuku Group Ranch. The pilot project included a 15 acre grass seed bank which was part of existing MWCT restoration activities in 12,000-acre conservation areas. After a successful pilot a staged re-greening project was started.
...and the vegetation grows back.
By digging bunds, one of the forty water harvesting techniques, the rainwater is caught and has the opportunity to infiltrate in the soil again. This results in the return of vegetation, the restoration of a natural balance and the creation of more rain. There will be 72,000 bunds in total, by digging up 1,200 bunds each week.
The project also doubles as a women empowerment programme. The Maasai women are educated to run the grass seed banks and these lands are developed to harvest grass for fodder and further restoration. By selling the grass they generate income and the yearly income of these women will rise by approximately 50%.
Grass Seeds Banks: Women Empowerment Pilot project to educate women in the harvesting and selling of grass. It’s a means to generate income and return to the vegetation. Women will see their yearly income rise by approximately 50%