Our Stories | Kenya

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Conservation efforts are paying off for Grevy's Zebras

In 1882, the Government of Absynnia (now Ethiopia) gifted one of its iconic zebras to President of France Jules Grevy. The exotic animal was then recognized as its own species of zebra and given the name Grevy’s zebra. This species of zebra is identified and differentiated from other zebra species by its fine close-set stripes, white belly, and large ears, among other traits.

Nalan'gu Lokoloto wearing some of the colorful traditional jewelry helping her make a living.

As a member of the Samburu tribe, 30-year-old Nalan’gu Lokoloto is expected to remain at her home in Kalama Conservancy—for days and sometimes weeks—while her husband is out tending to the family’s livestock. She has never attended formal school.

Stanley Kimeli stands proudly next to his improved harvest.

September 2017—Stanley Kimeli has seen his harvest double since joining a local youth group in western Kenya called Kilima Tumaini, or Mount Hope. With only a primary school education, he did not know how to farm profitably before joining the group in 2007.

Although the region is known as the breadbasket of Kenya, local small-scale farmers like Kimeli have not always had the resources or opportunities to compete with larger growers in major commercial agricultural markets.

Elizabeth Wangui stands next to her cows in her newly built animal shelter.

As the morning sun rays hit the Subukia village in Kenya’s Nakuru County, hundreds rise and leave their homes for daily labor. Living among them is Elizabeth Wangombe Wangui, a 47-year-old dairy farmer.

Mutua Kaite and his wife in their maize farm, grown under irrigation thanks to USAID and UN World Food Program (WFP)-supported farmer field schools.

As Mutua Kaite walks along the terraces of his 4-acre farm in southeastern Kenya, he points to the bounty of growing crops. Five years ago, the land was dry and Kaite’s crops suffered.

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