By Melisa Mong’ina
Laikipia, Kenya: As the first rays of sunlight broke over the horizon, the chilly morning air whispered through the semi-arid landscapes of Laikipia County. A group of journalists, bundled in jackets to fend off the early morning cold, embarked on their field visit, eager to witness how young people are taking charge. Leading their communities in efforts to regreen degraded lands by digging semi-circular bunds to prevent soil erosion and promote the growth of more grass.
Land degradation has posed a major challenge in Naibunga, Laikipia County, and Oldonyiro, Isiolo County. Both pastoralist communities have struggled to find adequate grass for their livestock for years. In response to this, local youths were motivated to seek solutions that could benefit their local communities.
The soft glow of the sunrise illuminated the rugged terrain, casting a warm light on the extensive stretches of degraded land that had long suffered from erosion and lack of grass. The journalists navigated through the lands, captivated by the sight of young and old community members who were already busy at work digging semi-circular bunds.
With the support of the Wyss Academy for Nature, they came up with a land restoration project aimed at creating semi-circular bunds on the degraded lands. This initiative is expected to not only promote the growth of more grass for their livestock but also help reduce water runoff and promote soil moisture retention.
Naibunga Community had already done the implementation of the semi-circular bunds and they recognized its significance on their lands. This early experience inspired them to dig additional bunds across their fields.
In contrast, the residents of Oldonyiro in Isiolo County were constructing semi-circular bunds for the first time, aiming to restore their land’s productivity. Their motivation stemmed from the knowledge they acquired during the training.
The Digging of Semi-Circular Bunds in Naibunga
Menita Kupano, a 27-year-old young man who is the co-founder and project manager of Green Earth Warriors, a youth-led organization located in Naibunga, Laikipia County, shared that land restoration and the pacification of land is their main objective.
He described the organization’s efforts to improve land through a technique known as semi-circular bunds, which is designed to reduce water runoff, promote soil moisture retention, and encourage plant growth.
“Our organization mainly focuses on land restoration and the pacification of land. For Inland restoration, we are using a technique called semi-circular bunds, which are also known as half-moon, or smiling earth, to slow down the runoff, allowing filtration, and soil moisture retention so that the grasses or other botanist plants may sprout with ease,” shared Kupano.
Due to a lack of grass for their livestock and a severe drought led to the loss of manyanimals, food scarcity, and also impacted children’s education, the young people thought it was wise to come up with a solution that would be beneficial to their people. This crisis prompted the organization to work on restoring degraded land, where erosion had been preventing water from infiltrating the soil.
“We are mainly pastoralists, and we only depend on livestock. There was a prolonged drought between the years 2020 to 2022 that made the community lose a lot of livestock, children’s education was impacted, and there was also food scarcity. This issue motivated us to start working toward restoring these degraded areas, and at long last, we met with the Wyss Academy Foundation, who also had the same idea as us,” narrated Kupano.
Initially, the project faced some resistance, as the community was skeptical of new techniques like the semi-circular bunds. However, after seeing the positive impacts such as improved soil quality and plant growth they began to accept the project and became willing to be part of it by some even build Semi-circular bunds at their homes.
“We started with piloting, though the community was not accepting it because they needed it, but because of desperation, especially after the loss of their livestocks due to the drought which also caused food scarcity. After setting the six pilot sites, they now started doing great, and we believe that the lands will now receive traction,” Kupano stated.
Kupano discussed the challenge of engaging young people, particularly Gen Z, in environmental initiatives. He and his team began by engaging the community directly and motivating the youth to participate in conservation work. As youths, they initially tried various activities, such as tree planting, but later focused on the semi-circular bunds after a failed attempt to restore the soil.
“We noticed that the community was facing a lot of challenges, and it was our duty as young people to safeguard the future of the coming generation,” stated Kupano.
“So we decided to go and engage with them to see how we can be able to have a safe environment. We were doing some conservation, planting trees but it didn’t work. We decided to come to this step with the support of Wyss Academy and took control of the property as the youth.”
With time, they began seeing more youth involvement and the initiative gained traction, especially after they involved women in the project. Women made up 70% of the workers who constructed the initial bunds. He highlighted that women played a crucial role in the success of the project and empowering them, along with youth groups, was key to its progress.
“We have engaged several youth groups in this project,” shared Kupano.
“Initially, we started by engaging women and 70% of them dug the first 5,123 semi-circular bunds in the six sites that we had piloted. This made us see them as a catalyst of change, and it prompted us to empower them fully together with the youth. As of now, we have around 30 women groups and several other organized youth groups doing the same project as us.”
Kupano elaborated that they offered training to these youths and women before proceeding with the project. The training covered practical skills, such as constructing the semi-circular bunds and monitoring their progress. Additionally, participants received training on governance and management, ensuring that the restoration work is sustainable and well-managed.
“We mostly train them on how to create the semi-circular bunds, how to receive them, and even how to monitor them as they grow. We have also given them the governance aspect of it so that we can not only restore and manage it but restore and ensure that it reaches its success story,” said Kupano.
Kupano noted that they expect positive environmental impacts from the implementation of the semi-circular bunds. These impacts include the return of diverse plant species, healthier livestock, and the potential for wildlife, including elephants, to return to the area.
“The positive environmental aspect that we expect is seeing a landscape where one can be able to find all the grass species, diverse plant species, healthier livestock, and having potential wildlife returning to the area,” shared Kupano.
He shared the success stories from the project which include greener landscapes, the return of wildlife, and increased community satisfaction. The project has gained significant attention, and now many households are implementing their semi-circular bunds around their homesteads.
“We have a lot of success stories from this project, including having a green environment, the return of wild animals, and community satisfaction due to the development of semi-circular bunds. The project has received traction and everyone now wants to do the restoration at the household level,” noted Kupano.
Future Plans, Monitoring, and Evaluation of the Project in Naibunga Community Kupano mentioned that Greenearth Warriors has managed to implement around 20,000 semi- circular bunds and they are planning to reach 100,000 by the end of the year. This tremendous growth is due to the training provided to youth groups and community members by Wyss Academy.
“Our organization was able to create 20,000 semi-circular bunds, and we have pledged to reach 100,000 by the end of this year because we have leveraged the training skills that we acquired to other community members, groups, and also to other organizations,” said Kupano
He shared that as young people they also have many upcoming project that would be beneficial to their communities. Kupano explained the various methods they use to monitor the success of restoration projects, including ecological monitoring, soil sensors, and the use of citizen science.
“We have many future projects planned beyond land restoration,” shared Kupano.
“To monitor the semi-circular bunds, we use various techniques. One is ecological monitoring, which checks the presence of plants, animals, and insects. We also use soil sensors to track soil temperature and moisture. Additionally, we involve community members in citizen science to observe and report returning wildlife and plant species resulting from our restoration efforts.”
The Digging of Semi-Circular Bunds in Oldonyiro, Isiolo County
Stella Napanmorito, a 25-year-old Women Representative for Oldonyiro Conservancies (Nanapa, Narupa, Naapu, and Nanapsho), shared that land degradation was their main drive to start the semi-circular bunds initiative and they aimed to make the land useful and productive for them and their livestocks.
“Our lands were degraded and one could only spot tall trees. This issue prompted us to start the semi-circular bunds initiative so that we may restore our lands and make them productive,” shared Stella.
She shared her experience being a young leader who steers different groups that mostly consist of old people. To her, these roles made her realize that the youths had a voice in a community that used to be led by elders. This showed the capabilities that young people had in the communities.
“As a young leader, taking charge of leading my community has made me realise that young People have voices in their communities and they can make a difference if given a chance. This also portrays the capabilities that we have as the youths,” said Stella.
Stella and her fellow youths ensured that the community was well trained and acquired the necessary knowledge and skills needed before the implementation of the semi-circular bunds project.
“They first underwent some training on how to create these semi-circular bunds and got to learn its importance on their lands. This project is not something you can just decide to wake up one day and do it, one must go through a certain training and acquire the knowledge and skills needed,” emphasized Stella.
She highlighted that they educated their peers on the importance of helping the community, particularly their parents in doing initiatives that would be beneficial for all of them.
“We educate the youth on the importance of helping their parents and the community at large in doing these initiatives. We also encourage them not to feel embarrassed when helping their parents/guardians,” stated Stella.
The implementation of these bunds will prevent livestock from migrating to other communities in search of pasture, and the lands will be restored thus becoming more useful to the people of Oldonyiro.
“I believe that this project will lead to the growth of more grass species on our land and this will prevent our livestock from migrating to other communities in search of pasture,” she said.
The growth of grass will also enable the community to be able to cut and store their grass at home, preventing them from buying outside. It will also enable them to sell the seeds acquired from the grass, leading to the generation of more income.
“When the grass grows, our people will be able to cut and store them in their homesteads, thus preventing them from buying outside our community. The seeds from the grass will also be sold to other communities, leading to the generation of more income,” she highlighted.
Advice to Young People and Community Engagement Stella advised young people to get involved in working together with the community so as to be able to earn a living out of it because as young adults, it is not right to rely on parents each time. She also urged them not to feel embarrassed working with their parents in the field.
“It is good to get involved in such an initiative with the community and also working together with your parents. This will enable you to earn a living and be able to depend on yourself. Don’t feel shy when working with your parents or the community,” urged Stella.
Kupano emphasized the importance of using acquired knowledge to benefit local communities, suggesting that the knowledge learned in school should be shared with those who can benefit from it, particularly in local areas facing specific challenges.
“I had a passion for conservation, and since my studies aligned with conservation science, I realized that seeking larger job opportunities in the cities wasn’t necessary. Instead, I chose to return to my community to make a difference” said Kupano.
He further expressed the importance of communities experiencing the impact of education and innovation, stressing that cities might not have the capacity to support everyone thus encouraging youth to return to their communities to share the knowledge they gained at school.
“I urge my peers to let the knowledge benefit their community. Let them see your impact because cities cannot fit us all. So let’s go back to the communities and help them using the knowledge we acquired from school,” urged Kupano.
Wyss Academy’s Support to the Youth and Communities
According to Sheila Funnell, Head of Impact and Innovation, Wyss Academy for Nature, based. in the East Africa Hub in Nanyuki, Kenya, the main goal of the project is to increase pasture production in the region, particularly in degraded rangelands.
“The semi-circular bund initiative is about increasing pasture production in this landscape. It is a technique that is used to enhance water stored within the soil,” she noted.
Adding “That the Semi-circular bunds are designed to slow down water runoff and allow for better water infiltration into the soil, which helps restore the land and support grass growth”Sheila said.
This technique is mostly beneficial in areas where land degradation has hindered pasture production. The project also seeks to link pasture production to income generation for local communities.
“Semi-circular bunds slow down water runoff and, due to the nature in which they’re built, they allow water to infiltrate into the ground. The idea is to restore degraded rangelands because you would apply this technique on land that is degraded and, as a result, grow grass; it will also link pasture production to income generation for local communities,” stated Funnell.
This project was first initiated in Laikipia in response to a request made by the Green Earth Warriors, a youth group concerned about the degradation of local rangelands. The group recognized the negative impact of this degradation on both their community and the environment. Wyss Academy offered support to the youth group by providing technical expertise and partnering with Just Dig It to help implement the bund technique.
“The semi-circular bunds were dug as a result of a request by a youth group, the Green Earth Warriors, who had a vision to restore degraded rangelands and improve the well-being of their community for the future. Wyss Academy’s role was to support the youth group in having the technical capabilities to restore the land. This was through a partnership with Just Dig It,” she explained.
Funnell highlighted that the youth group, who are the primary drivers of the project, were trained by Just Dig It to learn the technical aspects of creating semi-circular bunds. This training empowered them to become knowledge bearers and trainers within their community.
“Before the semi-circular bunds were dug, the youth group was seen as the owners of this project and also had the responsibility to share the knowledge around the technique. The expertise brought on by Just Dig It was passed on to the youth group through intensive training sessions and they became knowledge bearers of the technique and were able then to train beyond themselves,” she shared.
Over the past two years, the youth group has been actively involved in educating other groups, such as women’s groups and additional youth groups, on how to implement the technique.
The ongoing role as trainers has allowed the initiative to spread beyond its original scope.
“The youths became trainers of trainees within their community and this was started two years ago and they are still really active today training their wider community, other youth groups, women’s groups, and other groups within the landscape to implement the activity,” said Funnell.
Funnell highlighted that the community, particularly the youth group, is committed to maintaining the intervention, but the governance systems need to be robust to ensure lasting impact.
“We are ensuring that the governance systems are strong enough to support the intervention and ensure its sustainability, It is not just us, but certainly the youth group and community members are also working towards it. So, as a real, authentic motivation by the community groups to maintain the intervention,” Funnell stated.
Despite the challenges, Funnell highlighted several successes. One of the key successes is the increased grass production in areas where semi-circular bunds have been implemented, particularly in Laikipia. Another success is the youth group’s ownership of the project and their continued commitment to its success.
“There has been an increase in grass production where the semi-circular bunds were dug. So, that in itself is a big achievement. Another huge success is the youth group itself in owning that intervention and continuing to carry it forward with such determination” stated Funnell.
