Advocacy on environmental awareness is yielding positive results in Sipili, where stakeholders in community developments, works with community groups to initiate and develop awareness creation structures to ensure people’s participation ownership and sustainability of projects. A community group called ‘‘Leleshwa ‘A’ youth dam self help group’’, is running a tree planting project at Leleshwa Dam. The project involves a vegetable garden, tree nursery and a tree-planting plot. The group is relatively young: started approximately five months ago and composed of 39 members, the group is gender balanced and well represented in terms of age group.
It has put in place proper management systems including management committees and schedule for election of representatives. The dam is located in a public utility field and the group works in close relationship with the community representatives manning the dam of which some are members.
The group is interested in the following.
1. Environment
The environment stands out as a subject of interest for the group, Mzee Githongo the Chairman of the dam lobbied for the construction of the dam on behalf of the community. The dam has now been added 100 finger lings and soon there will be plentiful supply of proteins for health enhancement and probably generate income for the group.
They have planted one hundred and fifty tree seedlings at the dam thanks to tree is life a strategic partner who sourced for the seedlings on behave of the group. The group also donated a good number. During the planting day, all the members converged at the dam site, which also serves as their meeting place to sow the seedlings in the holes prepared earlier. With more such initiatives the community will finally take a leading role in the environmental conservation and hence helps mitigate the effects of climate change by turning the ‘‘yellow, green’’
2. Networking and Information access.
Knowledge is paramount, in any initiative. That is why the group appreciated the presence of stakeholders; ALIN, T.I.L.T, C.F.A was greatly cherished by the groups members. For the first time, they learned what happens at the Ngarua maarifa center and they greatly appreciated. Mr. Kamau of tree is live had informed them of a call for proposal for community initiatives, I had downloaded the forms and we presented them with the proposal guidelines and application forms so that they can plan to draft and apply for the funds. A representative from the Community Forest Association C.F.A said that an agreement has been reached between the government and C.F.As, on the needs to sensitize communities of their rights and expected roles in the management of forest resources as well as initiation of conservation projects.
On the ALIN’s role of information sharing, Kamau shared with the group how he has been exposed through articles published in the ALIN’s magazine the ‘‘Baobab’’. Kamau receives calls from as far as Tanzania, people seeking to know how he does ‘‘water dowsing’’ and how to make simple biogas installation for small-scale dairy farmers. He has gone to Nguruman, a few kilometers from the Kenya Tanzanian border to train communities on techniques of biogas installation which as he reported was a great success. The group now uses ‘‘green’’ sources of energy for domestic energy needs especially cooking.
To enhance networking and promote the frequent use of ng’arua maarifa centre, the group learnt of the availability services of many services at the ng’arua maarifa center. Most of them had actually come to seek services while some of them especially women rare visitors of the center
3. Resource mobilization
Access to knowledge on the availability of resources was the major priority for the group, the requested for more information materials and promised to act on the proposal guidelines provided by Kamua. Tree is life had assisted the group to source for mangos seedling from as far as Kiambu.
By
Bett Kipsan’g
F.O Ngarua Maarifa
