CONSERVATION FUND
COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAM
Elephant Neighbors’ Center (ENC) is a Non- profit Organization that was founded with a vision of reinstating the broken while maintaining humans and wildlife coexistence the changing and dynamic society of today. ENC set a mission to protect the African elephant and secure landscapes for elephants outside the protected areas through various initiatives and multi-stakeholder partnerships. ENC goals and objective emphasis on a three-tier approach: that integrate Community knowledge, Environment and Livelihoods elements to resolve key problems and biases facing conservation in Kenya.
Since 2013, we have reached out to over 9000 schools both primary and secondary schools. We have four projects in support of Community Education Program.
YOUTH & CONSERVATION
Over 9,000 schools in Kenya will be receiving a copy of the documentary with plans to screen with uniformity. ENC plans to incorporate all these schools per the regions in the International Calendar on conservation issues, i.e., Wild Wildlife Day, International Elephant Day, among others, and identify activities.
PUBLIC SCREENING
ENC will collaborate with KWS and show wildlife films/documentaries to the public. This will be done in selected market places or church grounds; Tsavo Conservation Area will be the first phase before replicating to other regions.
Community Based Organizations (CBO’s)
ENC will continue engaging local CBO’s in Tsavo Conservation Area (Tsavo West). So far, Taveta sector has been done and ENC is looking into the Northern and Eastern side. These CBO’s will be brought together and an integrated work plan integrated, based on their core activities.
SPORTS & CONSERVATION
ENC plans to engage the youth through sports and in turn improve their attitudes towards wildlife as well as promoting talents. Local soccer and volley ball teams will be established and a trophy will be awarded on completion, dubbed the “Elephant Cup“.
PROJECTS
Kasigau Women Group
Kasigau Women Group are registered as a Community Based Organisation in Taita Taveta County. This group has 520 women of all ages and aims at improving their livelihoods from Kasigau area that borders Tsavo West and East.
The group is currently implementing two projects, namely: basket weaving and (newly) beekeeping. The two projects aim at improving their livelihoods to over 1,000 homesteads within the region. Elephant Neighbors’ Center (ENC), www.elephantcenter.org, acts as a strategy partner with Kasigau Women group and are currently implementing the bee-keeping project supported by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Nairobi.
Through the support of the Embassy, we have been able to construct the bee apiary, i.e., bee house; acquired 60 bee hives; and facilitated sessions on technical skills on governance, mostly on project development and marketing. However, these women need fully-fledged training on project development; they have goodwill and are passionate about environmental conservation as well as improving their livelihoods using their basket weaving business. The success of this project will help reduce human-wildlife conflict in the area. The local communities are quavi-pastoralists and farmers, with haphazard farms that end up being raided by elephants and other wild animals. Additionally, the sale of honey and that of woven baskets, will improve their livelihoods and caution them from practising farming that require them to clear virgin bushes that leave the area open and prone to soil erosion.
Elephant Neighbors’ Center (ENC) seeks to add more environmental and conservation related projects, such as re-seeding for hay business, and construction of guest houses, tapping both local and international tourists who visit Tsavo East and Mount Kasigau; this will act as an alternative source of income for the locals and reduce exploitation of the environment for sustenance.
