In central Kenya, the semi-nomadic Samburu community has been forced to adapt to the devastating effects of climate change. An NGO has provided funding to help them overcome drought and even find a new way to thrive.
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00:00 Strong hands, fertile soil and water.
00:03 A simple starter kit that will help many trees grow.
00:07 It's part of a project here on the edge of the Kirisea forest in central Kenya
00:12 that is putting the Samburu community at the heart of protecting their environment
00:17 and also helping them earn a living.
00:21 "The tree nurseries have been a real benefit to us.
00:27 We can earn money, so we can pay school fees for our children.
00:33 Or we can start up businesses."
00:36 Traditionally semi-nomadic, the Samburu people sought out water and grazing land
00:41 for their goats and cattle, their primary source of income.
00:45 But dry, drought-prone conditions, made worse due to climate change,
00:49 forced many to move into the forest.
00:52 The community first made money chopping down trees and making charcoal instead.
00:58 It destroyed around a third of the forest, putting both the people at risk
01:02 and the water relied on across an otherwise arid Samburu region.
01:07 "We were having to trek five kilometres to fetch water."
01:13 The Samburu families voluntarily left the forest.
01:17 Funding from the government and NGOs helped the community adapt to their new reality,
01:22 driven by global warming,
01:24 and found an organisation to help protect the forest.
01:29 As well as earning from seedlings they've planted so far,
01:33 the community also earns around 30,000 euros a year from harvesting honey.
01:40 "We've seen our problems and we say the best way to solve this problem
01:44 is to move out of the forest and we take care of our forest
01:48 so that our forest can take care of us."
01:50 Slowly but surely, the flora and fauna are flourishing again,
01:54 with help from a community learning to cope with change
01:57 and to build a new future for themselves.