Enonkishu Conservancy

Enonkishu Conservancy is a cooperative of pastoralist families living on the edge of the Mara Ecosystem. With 6,000 acres the group is committed to sustainable rangelands management and balancing the needs of livestock and wildlife. Commercial enterprises such as Mara Beef, Mara Training Centre and bee-keeping contribute to improved economic livelihoods. The preservation of Maasai culture is also emphasised.

Kenya’s Maasai Mara ecosystem is home to approximately 25% of the country’s wildlife. However, 70% of the wildlife resides in unprotected areas outside of the National Reserve within adjacent local communities. As part of the greater Serengeti, the world’s largest wildlife migration ends in the Mara with over one million wildebeest in migration making local areas key wildlife dispersal and corridor zones.

These communities have experienced rapid development stemming from a long reign of land subdivision and a history of socio-economic challenges. Within  the  past  century, transition from nomadic to sedentary pastoralism put land ownership front and centre, creating a wave of regime change often ending in unequal distribution of wealth, loss of land autonomy and overall distrust in communal land-ownership. An exploitation of natural resources and an upsurge of fenced private land ownership severely impacted wildlife migratory patterns.

It was clear that existing fragmented land management was resulting in a loss of natural resources requiring a novel approach for managing the land. The conservancy model was developed to address unequal distributions of wealth, a rapidly growing Maasai population as well as the  exploitation  of Kenya’s wildlife. Through conservancies, pastoralists  who relied solely on  livestock  could  capitalize on the demand for wild areas and diversify their incomes through  the  tourism  sector. Members lease their individually owned plots on  a per-acre basis joining to form the conservancies earning monthly rent and benefiting from a communal grazing plan. In addition,  revenue supports  the building  of schools as well as medical centres providing major incentives for continued cooperation.