We are continually looking for ways and means to encourage a harmonious coexistence between the conservancy and the surrounding wildlife and cultures. To this end we are engaging in a broad range of community activities.

COMMUNITY SCOUTS
With the perpetual potential for conflicts arising between the burgeoning wildlife here on the conservancy and the ever-encroaching farmsteads that surround us, we are continually looking for ways and means to encourage as peaceful co-existence as possible. To this end we have employed 30 Community Scouts around the perimeter and provided 20 A-frame huts in particularly vulnerable areas from which to monitor and discourage wildlife crossing the fence. This initiative has contributed to the farmers on our southern boundary being able to boast bumper harvests and record crop yields for the first time in years.

SUSTAINABLE FENCING
We have also been experimenting with Quiabentia chaceonsis fencing. This thorny, impenetrable member of the cactus family not only provides an effective and environmentally friendly barrier but is also aesthetically more pleasing than the ubiquitous electric fence.

SCHOOLCHILDREN SPONSORSHIPS
The GMF has maintained a sponsorship programme for local school kids through secondary school and university and currently help Paul Mathenge, Patrick Kaos, Simon Yatich, Agnes Ali and Joyce Imana (who also translates Turkana during her holidays for the 4 Generations project). We will also be sponsoring up to ten new students over the course of this year.

SCHOOL BUILDING
The fruition of a two-year building material donation programme, one of three locally, came to fruition in September this year with the ceremonial unveiling of the Gallmann Block at Ndindika Secondary School in the nearby village of Kinamba.

CHARCOAL RETORTS
We have recently taken delivery of the first of our custom built charcoal burners that boast an incredible emission level of zero. Apart from water vapour and a resinous oil, these contraptions are remarkably eco-friendly and can turn anything from maize husks to shoes into charcoal. The potential impact on pollution levels and deforestation, especially if used in conjunction with the fast-growing shrub, leleshwa, are huge.

THE FOUR GENERATIONS PROJECT
Sponsored by The Ford Foundation and The Nando Peretti Foundation, the 4 generations Project is an ambitious project of Sveva Gallmann's. Aimed at staunching the gradual loss of traditional tribal knowledge and encouraging a reconnection with and respect for the natural environment, the project brings together local kids from the main surrounding tribes - Kikuyu, Turkana, Samburu, Nandi, Kalenjin - and inspires them to actively seek out and share the wisdom of their elders. The information is collected and transmitted through a variety of interactive teaching techniques, from inter-generational question-and-answer sessions to role play, nature walks with indigenous herbalists to story-telling. The children (and their grand-parents and great grand- parents) are evidently finding the work enormously rewarding so far and benefiting hugely from the experience. It's hoped the project will gradually expand throughout the region, the country and - possibly - the continent. + Learn More