Focal Areas: Culture, Social Harmony, Environment, Livelihoods and Women Empowerment.

We collaborate with a number of communities in Northern Kenya to strengthen their own capacity to effectively revive, document and transmit their cultural heritage. Kivulini Trust works with grassroots partner organizations to promote cultural identity and support inter-ethnic exchange and dialogue, and to promote culturally appropriate education to enhance cultural expression.

We value endogenous approach to environmental conservation and local resource management and promote opportunities for sustainable and diversified livelihood options.

 Culture

Kivulini Trust believes that cultural diversity provides an important foundation for building community harmony, promoting socio-economic development and a sense of national pride.   We value rich indigenous knowledge and spiritual beliefs that has been integral to community well being. We support celebration of cultural diversity and joint initiatives between communities to enhance restoration of cultural connection among marginalized minority ethnic communities in northern Kenya.

We work with local partners to enhance, mainstream and support application of traditional knowledge, wisdom and practice through documentation and transmission. 

Social Harmony

We believe that peace and social harmony is a prerequisite for development and prosperity. Kivulini acknowledges that there are more socio-cultural, historical and political factors that unite the communities in northern Kenya compared to the small differences that have hitherto been seen as the causes of perennial conflicts.

With the help of local partners, our aim is to create a forum for open discussion and dialogue between pastoralist communities of Northern Kenya and all other parties interested in regional development. In particular we aim to facilitate and encourage continuous dialogue between pastoralist communities and their legislators, administrators, Government, all economic sectors and other interested parties.

Further, we strive to promote peace and harmony within and between pastoralist communities of Northern Kenya through forums and exchanges that encourage shared values and shared burdens.

Environment

Kivulini Trust believes that sustainable use of natural resources is the key to community development. The overarching goal is to improve the ability of the local people to benefit from the environment and promote resource ownership by the pastoral communities of northern Kenya.

Kivulini aims to improve the stake of pastoral communities in environmental management through creation of awareness on sustainable utilization and enhance biodiversity conservation through community based natural resource management.

Livelihood

Kivulini Trust supports the improvement of the social and economic status of pastoralist communities in the Trust area - through capacity building for sustainable livelihoods leading to self-reliance. We acknowledge the great untapped potential in pastoral production as a major livelihood option in a largely arid environment of northern Kenya.

In collaboration with our local and international partners our aim is to improve pastoral production to achieve food sufficiency. In addition we support other non pastoral livelihood options and to explore opportunities for livelihood diversification, including ecotourism, cultural tourism and sustainable exploitation of natural resources.

Women Empowerment

Kivulini Trust is committed to the social, cultural, economic and political empowerment of women through community-based and culture sensitive approaches. The project will enhance women’s initiatives to improve their socio-economic status in society through support of micro-enterprise ventures and increased participation in community development. This includes raised awareness among women on and actualization of their rights to equality and equity

This will be realized through training of women paralegals,  organizing women rights forums to address cultural practices that adversely affect women – including FGM, underage marriages and gender based violence and right to inherit and own property/land rights.

In addition, Kivulini will work with local traditional institutions as a means to promote a community driven process that enjoys community-wide support. The overarching goal here is the repeal of discriminative customary laws and practices that work against the girl child and women in general.