By Liz Anyango
Kajiado, Kenya: Her smile was radiant, a reflection of her deep connection to the land. When I asked Mama Ngameri Timayo about the impact of their work to restore degraded land, her response was simple yet profound: “I am giving a Smile to Earth. I am giving a Smile to our land.”
It was March 23, 2023, during the global Earth Hour Celebration, and I had the privilege of meeting Mama Ngameri, a resident of Kimana in Kajiado County and a member of the Amboseli Land Owners Conservation Association (ALOCA), an umbrella consortium of seven community conservancies born from the division of the Kimana Group Ranch.
The community conservancy is adjacent to Amboseli National Park and very close to the Kenya–Tanzania border in Oloitokitok – a critical area for transboundary wildlife management, acting as an important ecosystem wildlife corridor and dispersal area.
She is part of a group of over 120 women who are on a mission to restore 300 hectares of degraded community-owned land. With a clear vision and determined hands, they dig and construct soil walls on the barren land, without any ground vegetation.
These structures, known as “earth smiles” due to their distinctive smiley shape, serve a crucial purpose in reclaiming what was once a vibrant grassland savannah.
Measuring 2.5 meters in length and 5 meters in width, the semi-circular bunds, the size of a small elephant, are positioned strategically on slopes with the ‘closed’ side facing downhill, efficiently collecting and slowing down water runoff, preventing erosion and flash floods.
The runoff water, which would otherwise wash away over the dry, barren ground, is then captured and allowed to absorb into the soil, promoting fertility and enhancing the land’s capacity to retain water.
The impact of these earth smiles extends far beyond water conservation. By quickly restoring vegetation through indigenous perennial grass seeding or tree planting, these structures significantly boost biodiversity, benefiting nature and people.
“The growth of grass will not only provide sustenance for our livestock but has also attracted various wildlife species. It is a sight to behold to see animals peacefully coexisting with us, thanks to the efforts of this project WWF-Kenya agreed to support,” Ngameri Timayo highlighted.
While the women are given a small stipend, they say that the money is not the motivation. They are driven by the impact of investing in current and future needs by ensuring their ancestral land is not only healthy but also wealthy.
Purity Seya, a member of ALOCA, details the methodology: “First, we dig the bunds; then we plant the grass seeds, we water them and cover them to protect them from animals. Our weekly routine involves three days of digging and two days dedicated to watering the bunds.”
“It is hard work, but I am proud to be part of this women-led initiative. It is more than just a job. We are employed by nature, and I have witnessed firsthand the transformative power of green jobs. It is an opportunity for us to thrive and build a better future for generations to come,” Ngameri interjected.
By growing grass inside the bunds, these women have opened doors to economic empowerment. The transformation has not only revitalized their lands into flourishing green ecosystems but also generated income.
“Before we started this work, we spent a lot of time engaging with scientists, conducting research, documenting, and walking across the landscape with them so they could see the original grasses of this area. When they came to help us, they had a better understanding of the type of grass that was needed. People settled here without planning their grazing areas due to a lack of understanding. Livestock were concentrated in one place, and with the increase in the population of people, livestock, and wild animals, the area has been heavily utilized. The grass has disappeared, and when it rains, the water runs off. You can see that this area has slopes, and this is how the water runs downhill quickly, which prevents the land from retaining enough water, leading to it drying out,” Samuel Ole Kaangi, the chairman of ALOCA, explained.
As Naserian Natayan explains, “The recent drought has affected me. I had lost 3 out of my 10 cows. But now I have hope with this initiative because once the grass grows, we can feed it to our cattle and also sell it, which means our children can go to school.”
“Furthermore, the surplus grass we will produce will allow us to generate additional income by selling it. This not only will support our families but also fund community development initiatives, including education for our children. It’s heartening to see our children being able to attend school without the worry of financial constraints. In hindsight, I can’t help but feel grateful for the grass cultivation project.” Added Seya
The women of ALOCA are rewriting the story of their land, one earth smiles at a time, by reversing the degradation of their land, which grapples with environmental threats such as habitat degradation, water scarcity, and the impacts of climate change.
“In Kajiado County, about 80% of the rangelands are degraded,” said Dr. John Kioko a scientist and wildlife ecologist at World-Wide Fund for Nature Kenya (WWF-Kenya), an environmental conservation organization that is supporting the women-led project financially through the Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) – Loitokitok project and technically in collaboration with Justdiggit and Big Life Foundation.
Thanks to funding from The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety, and Consumer Protection(IKI-BMUV).
The community has now adopted the same climate action innovative solution in their homesteads and in farms adjacent to residential areas, enhancing the microclimate.
Joseph Parmuat, the chief of Kimana and secretary of ALOCA, sheds light on the traditional wisdom guiding their efforts. “Traditionally, the Maasai have their own grass banks where we set aside a separate small area for grazing during hard times and we agree no cattle or goats would stop here,” he explains.
“What we call Olopololi, grazing blocks set aside for livestock adjacent to their homes, largely for the vulnerable livestock such as calves, lactating animals, and sick animals. So, this area near their homes will serve such purposes,” added Dr. Kioko.
The grazing systems of the Pastoral Maasai community, according to Dr. Kioko, mimic the natural cycles within the rangelands, and one of them is the seasonal grass growth pattern.
During the dry season, the grass biomass is really low, and therefore there is a need for livestock to move into other areas. Changes in land use, land tenure, and the amount of space available for grazing have, however, declined.
“So, the traditional grazing system is no longer viable and has generally declined. We have to look at what other interventions can still help us manage the rangelands, which we have realized have become highly degraded and the traditional grazing system has collapsed. We need to bring back their resilience. So, one of the ways is through the bunds, and the way that bunds are being designed is that we want the community to be involved, and we want the community to consider these as one of their dry season grazing areas. The community looks at it as a way of improving the productivity of their land. So we are trying to have a mechanism which encourages the growth of more resilient, more perennial grass species,” Kioko noted.
Once the perennial grasses are planted to enhance increased forage production for wildlife and livestock, the surplus grass will be harvested, baled, and stored for the dry season or sold for income generation.
This creates a climate-resilient, nature-based enterprise for the ALOCA community. Through their efforts, Mama Ngameri and her fellow women champions are not just rebuilding the land; they are revitalizing hope for a sustainable future, what they say is a win-win for people, nature, and the economy.
