South-west Mau Communities Forge hive of opportunities

By Chemtai Kirui|phillykirui@gmail.com

As the local community takes ownership of South-west Mau’s forest, there are signs of environmental recovery after years of deforestation. Progress is being made in sustainable beekeeping practices, which provide alternative livelihoods and reduce forest dwellers’ dependence on destructive activities.

Grace Chepkemoi Kogei smiles shyly as Kass Media’s camera is adjusted to film her. She is ready to share a story about her beekeeping venture—yet when the countdown hits 3-2-1 and the recording starts, her voice takes on a tone of conviction as she speaks directly to the reporter.

“I didn’t know much about beekeeping to begin with. I’m realizing I was doing many things wrong,” she says. “Now, I am learning the right way to keep bees and get honey.”

Chepkemoi is one of 50 members of the Ndoinet Community Forest Association undergoing a week-long training in commercial beekeeping in Molo constituency, Nakuru county.

The training is provided by the National Beekeeping Institute under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock as part of a pioneering accord between local communities and the government, facilitated by Rhino Ark charitable trust in partnership with the Darwin Initiative—a UK government program that funds projects aimed at conserving biodiversity and supporting local communities.

In recent years, efforts for the restoration of the Mau forests have intensified, focusing on supporting improved forest management and sustainable utilization.

“Before we were taught about conservation practices, we used to engage in logging in the Mau Forest. We would cut down trees to make beehives,” recalls beekeeper Joseah Mutai from Kipkoris village, Kuresoi North constituency. “Now, we’re learning better methods to access honey without cutting down trees.”

Between 1984 and 2020, exploitation of forest resources in Mau due to activities such as firewood collection and livestock grazing caused up to 25% deforestation in the Mau Forest, endangering this critical ecosystem and exacerbating local poverty. Recognizing the ecological importance of the country’s largest water catchment area, Rhino Ark’s conservation initiatives continue to engage communities. These efforts are aimed at reducing pressure on the forest and promoting sustainable practices.

“Farmers have been encroaching on forests because they lack viable alternative livelihoods,” explains Benson Njoroge, a trainer from the National Beekeeping Institute. “This is why this training is vital. We are here to provide the community with alternatives. Instead of destroying the environment, they can benefit long-term by practicing sustainable beekeeping.”

Community Engagement

Chepkemoi told Kass Media that her interest in beekeeping began when she observed her neighbor’s hives.

“My neighbor was very helpful in showing me how to do beekeeping better. Once I set up my own hive, I managed to harvest 10 kg of honey,” she said. “I sold this honey for KES 800, as each kilogram fetches about KES 100.”

With the additional knowledge derived from the specialized training program, Chepkemoi, a former teacher, is hopeful she will learn enough to be able to practice beekeeping as a source of income to best provide for her family.

“Since we began the training, my mind has been opened,” Chepkemoi said. “I’m confident that when I go home, I’ll know how to care for the bees properly so they can do their job well. With this training, I’m thinking about how to earn good money from the honey I collect.”

The Ndoinet community’s empowerment project addresses the dual challenges of poverty and environmental degradation. Implemented through initiatives such as rebuilding the Community Forest Association, enhancing beekeeping practices, and establishing a trained surveillance unit, this project aims to demonstrate the importance of sustainable forest management.

“We are sensitizing the community about the importance of the forest and demonstrating how sustainable forest management can provide long-term benefits without depleting resources,” says Bernard Kibet, a field officer at Rhino Ark Kenya, based in the Southwest Mau Ecosystem. “By adopting non-extractive measures, we are not only preserving the ecosystem but also creating new economic opportunities for the local communities.”

Kibet said that this knowledge is aimed at transforming how the community views the benefits of bees beyond honey and get other valuable products such as beeswax and propolis, which have good market worth, thereby improving the livelihoods of farmers like Chepkemoi.

Previously, women like Chepkemoi did not pursue beekeeping as a venture. Traditionally, beehives were placed high in trees, requiring beekeepers to climb up or fell large trees to retrieve them, posing dangers and causing environmental damage. As a result, women often waited for honey to be brought home for household consumption.

Today, beekeeping no longer needs to be limited by gender roles in the area, yet the number of women involved remains low—only five out of fifty members attending training sessions are women. Mercy Chelule, a farmer from Chenugu village in Kuresoi South, attributes this disparity to many women in her community being unaware that beekeeping is now accessible and no longer taboo.

“With new technology and safety equipment, we can safely set up beehives at home and earn money to support our children’s education,” Chelule said.

With access to alternative income streams and information about conservation, forest dwellers are abandoning the livelihoods that fueled decades of deforestation. To ensure cooperation between the community and the government, a joint surveillance unit was formed from five community-based organizations (CBOs) in the area. They are working closely with rangers from the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) to curb illegal activities in the forest.

“Nowadays, people understand their roles in the environment better, and we talk to them often about how to live well with the forest,” said Cheruiyot Yegon George, a member of the South-west Mau Joint Surveillance Unit. George is one of six team members selected from local CBOs and received paramilitary training to collaborate closely with Kenya Forest Service rangers on forest surveillance.

He said that being part of the forest community themselves, they serve as a crucial link between the local residents and the government, which makes forest protection more effective.

“Our main job is rescuing trapped animals and stopping charcoal burning and livestock overgrazing in the forest,” he said, adding that it took a lot of community discussions for people to understand the value of conservation and reduce exploitation.

Already, the local environment is starting to recover.

“If you walk around the South-west Mau, you’ll see how much the forest has improved. There’s less and less destruction reported every day,” George said.

He said the current effort is to persuade the community not to allow their cows to roam freely in the forest.

“We’ve noticed some livestock being kept in fenced areas and are fed there,” said George.

The impact of decades of deforestation on the Mau, especially the cultural shift towards educating communities about non-extractive harvesting methods, may take time to fully manifest. However, as Benard Kibet pointed out, providing access to information and support, closely collaborating with the community, and demonstrating alternative livelihood options are increasingly engaging communities in conservation efforts.

“We have already rehabilitated 30 hectares of the forest by planting 33,000 indigenous seedlings,” Kibet said. “Currently, the CFAs manage a nursery with 20,000 seedlings and are being trained to oversee it once our project concludes, ensuring continuity in conservation efforts.”

Reforestation in the Mau Forest is crucial not only for its inhabitants but also for the broader ecosystem. With numerous rivers such as the Mara, Njoro, and Ewaso Nyiro originating in the Mau, and feeding six lakes including Lake Victoria, Nakuru, Turkana, Baringo, Naivasha, and Natron in Tanzania, this water tower provides essential water and nourishment for millions of people. The rehabilitation of the Mau will alleviate water stress for these populations and, in theory, reduce poverty and biodiversity loss.

Path Ahead:

“We have been trained on how to manage and care for the bees and collect the honey as well as establishment and nurturing of tree nurseries,” said Daniel Maritim, the Chairperson of Ndoinet CFA, which now has 490 active members. “Now as a member group, our work is to sensitize the community about the long-term effect of forest conservation.”

By providing the community with improved knowledge, this specialized training program is viewed as a transformative initiative aimed at sustainable development for the members of the Mau Complex. Now that they have been impacted with knowledge through the training, the projection is for the group to have better harvests and that the beekeepers are also free from financial stresses that may have made them less able to focus on their business and more likely to turn to the forest for quick returns.

“Providing alternative sources of income is crucial for ensuring people’s well-being. It effectively balances forest conservation with human livelihoods, encouraging the adoption of non-extractive measures,” said Njoroge, the group’s trainer.