Wildlife Works Blog

Wildlife Works’ First Nursery

Posted by wlwsWP on April 3, 2012 No comments

As the number of our employees grows, so do the families we support through their employment with Wildlife Works in Kenya. In January 2012, we opened our first onsite children’s nursery for our young parents, so they would have a place for their children to continue to grow and learn while they work to help support their family. Twenty parents are bringing their children to the nursery on a daily basis, and it is wonderful to see all the smiling faces every morning as they arrive.

Mothers Bringing Their Children to the Nursery

There are currently twenty-one kids, ranging in ages from 2 to 5, attending the nursery. With that many children and the range of ages, they are split into two classes. There are eleven kids in one class and ten in the other. This ensures that each child is getting the attention and care they need throughout the day, while also providing a safe place to learn and play with their friends.

A Teacher and Some of the Children in One of the Classrooms

At the nursery, the children’s daily lessons consist of mathematics, language, social studies, science, life skills, creative time, and music which the children truly love. Among their more academic schedule, there are other activities to ensure the children are active and healthy. First thing every morning, the teachers check the health of the kids and since the medical dispensary is within the same compound as the nursery, it is convenient to get any necessary medicine for them that same day.

One of the Children Working on Language Lessons

The children also have physical education (PE) which is a time for them to exercise and have fun playing various games, like leapfrog, dancing, swinging or a good ole race around the compound. After PE, the children have a break for some snacks and time to relax before starting the afternoon’s lessons. Their day ends with lunch and everyone’s favorite from being a kid, naptime. As the children are resting, the teachers are preparing for the next day and getting the kids ready for when their parents come to pick them up from the nursery.

Children Swinging and Playing Footie

It is truly amazing to see each of these children’s faces light up as they arrive at the nursery each day, and just as amazing to understand how much the parents appreciate being able to leave their children at the nursery, knowing that their children are safe and learning while they go off to work and support their families. As the families continue to strive and grow so will the nursery, and we are so thankful to be able to provide a means of education and healthy living for the children.

A Teacher with All the Children at the Nursery

Rose and George, Hailing from Deep Sea Slum in Nairobi Join the Wildlife Works Team in Kenya

Posted by wlwsWP on March 29, 2012 No comments

By Joyce Hu, Creative Director

Although our core work is building rural communities, we can’t avert our eyes and hearts from the struggling urban communities in major cities around the world. Nairobi is home to some of Africa’s largest urban slums, where millions of people live without basic needs like running water, electricity or daily meals.

On my most recent trip to Kenya, I was introduced to two bright, young adults from Deep Sea, a slum in Nairobi named for its sloping landscape that makes walking out of it a steep hike through the maze of metal corrugation and open wastewater ditches.

George, an aspiring photo journalist, and Rose, an aspiring journalist, (both 21) had already been on a few reporting assignments thanks to their dedicated education sponsor, Afrika Si, an Italian NGO that built a middle school in Deep Sea. Because of Afrika Si, George and Rose are university prepped. We were considering them for the dual position of field content documenters. My first meeting with them was in Nairobi, where they invited me to their home.

From the moment I met them and we began to talk, Rose and George’s intelligence, sincerity and graciousness made an instant impression on me. Having come from such desperate means, these two young adults are driven, articulate and clear-headed about the vision of their future. I nearly hired them on the spot!

Still not sure how urban dwellers would fare in the bush, I invited them to shadow us on our fashion collection’s photoshoot in our project area at Rukinga. George assisted the photographer and Rose assisted on all the production details.

After spending four days with them and seeing their integrity and dedicated work ethic, we were more than happy to make them an official offer. Starting in June, they will be working full-time and paid a fair wage with Wildlife Works in Rukinga – George with a camera and Rose with pen and paper in hand, following every story that comes out of our project area.

Rose wrote in an essay, “Life in a slum is not easy especially when you are raised by a single parent. When I started school in 1998 in class one, life was not easy. Most of the time I used to be sent back home to buy learning materials I did not have and to bring school fees back. When I reached home I could not even tell my mother why I had been sent home because the situation at home was worse, sometimes we used to go without eating food for same days, to us it was not a big deal since we had adapted to that condition.”

We feel blessed to be able to provide George and Rose with an opportunity to develop their talents and keep them on the path to a brighter future.

Please welcome them to the Wildlife Works team. They will be integral in collecting our stories from the field so we can share them with you!

Update on Ijema Funan, Injured Ranger

Posted by wlwsWP on February 1, 2012 No comments

Ijema was discharged from the hospital last week and for the first time since the surgery is showing no signs of fever. This is fantastic news, as it means that the antibiotics are fighting off any infection.

In fact, Ijema actually felt strong enough to go and do a bit of shopping on his own in the local town of Voi to pick up some bits and bobs. He’s been surprised and somewhat overwhelmed by the amount of visitors he has received, which have kept him pretty busy while trying to rest and recover. He is looking a lot better, and doctors seem pleased with the progress so far, but everyone knows it’s going to be a long healing process.

Wildlife Works continues to spare no expense to care for the health of Ijema and support both families through this tragedy; however, if you would like to make a donation to show support for and help these families continue to recover, you can do so at the following Webpage: Donations for the Family of Abdi Abdullahi Mohammed and for Ijema Funan.

All of us at Wildlife Works would like to thank you for your outreach and support during this terrible tragedy and throughout the healing process. Donations will be collected until Valentine’s Day, 14 February 2012. The donations and your messages will be delivered personally in March by the VP of African Operations, Rob Dodson, who has been overseeing Ijema and both families’ recovery.

Elephant Poachers Kill Wildlife Works Conservation Ranger and Critically Injure Another

Posted by wlwsWP on January 16, 2012 No comments

As vigilant as we are when it comes to protecting our community and the wildlife surrounding us, tragedy still finds us at times. On Friday, January 13th, elephant poachers opened fired on our unarmed conservation rangers who were patrolling the Kasigau Corridor project area in Kenya. One of our rangers, Abdullahi Mohammed, was fatally shot and another ranger, Ijema Funan, was injured by the gunfire.

At the time, our rangers, along with members of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), were tracking the poachers after discovering a wounded elephant in the protected project area. “This is the first time in 15 years that any of our rangers have been killed in the line of duty, and it reflects an escalation in violence caused by the increasing demand for ivory in the far eastern markets, especially China,” said Wildlife Works founder, Mike Korchinsky.

Wildlife Works Rangers

With each passing day, we hear good news following this senseless act of violence. Two of the gang of three elephant poachers were arrested in Makinnon Road on Sunday afternoon, January 15, and they are helping us with the ongoing investigation as well as providing us with essential information concerning the shooting.

One of the two arrested men led our rangers and the Kenyan Police to the place where the rifle and ammunition had been buried. The rifle was wrapped in a pair of trousers and buried under a bush on Taita Ranch, which must have been the route the poachers took to exit the sanctuary after the fatal contact. We believe this is the rifle that shot at our rangers two days ago because it was recently fired and kept in very good condition.

The rifle that was found buried under a bush on Taita Ranch

Although this is not the end of this chapter, we feel confident that justice will prevail, as we continue to work diligently to ensure that everyone is caught and security is restored within the Kasigau Corridor. As we continue our investigation, we are happy to report that Ijema, the injured Wildlife Works ranger, is comfortable, eating well, and seems to be on his way to a full recovery.

In the aftermath and as we move forward, our VP of African Operations, Rob Dodson, would like to thank all of the Wildlife Works staff in Kenya for the countless hours you are putting in to ensure that justice is being served and the community remains safe and secure. He would also like to thank Eric, who led the operation to find the buried weapon, along with his team – Elem, Moses, Eregai and the rest of the rangers who have barely slept over the last 72 hours.

Rob and the Wildlife Works Rangers with the rifle that was found

“This appalling and heart wrenching incident underscores the real threat to the community and wildlife of this region. As long as an illegal market for ivory remains, they are in grave danger, so we will continue to support brave Kenyans in their struggle to protect their local environment. We will never forget the sacrifice that Abdullahi Mohammed, Ijema Funan and their families made today in the name of wildlife conservation.” – Mike Korchinsky, founder and CEO of Wildlife Works

Restoring Rukinga

Posted by wlwsWP on December 9, 2011 No comments

Rukinga, the home of Wildlife Works in Kenya, has seen many human-influenced changes to its landscape. Once a pristine wilderness with a small hunter-gatherer population, the last century or so has been witness to a depletion of natural resources due to an increase in population and the transformation into a cattle ranch. Now, Wildlife Works is working with the people of Rukinga to restore the land to its former glory as a paradise for a huge range of fauna and flora.

Up close and personal with an acacia tree.

The end of the 19th century saw the construction of the Mombasa-Uganda railway, which runs within a kilometre of the north-eastern boundary of the wildlife sanctuary. Throughout the construction, an abundance of resources, such as trees was stripped away from the land to fuel the construction of the “Iron Snake”, which is what the locals called the railway at the time. Due to its new-found accessibility, the land was then used as prime hunting ground for many years, dramatically reducing the wildlife in the area. After its hunting heyday, the land was left more open to cattle herders before being converted into Rukinga Ranch in 1972.

As well as losing the majority of the wildlife, the failing cattle ranch slowly lost a good share of trees to charcoal production, and parts of the land were severely degraded by overgrazing until Wildlife Works took over in 1998. For more than a decade, Wildlife Works has been steadily restoring this cattle ranch back into a haven for wildlife. Cleaning up and regenerating Rukinga is part of the key to the balance of the area, as it is one of the ranches that make up the Kasigau Corridor, a crucial wildlife corridor between two of Kenya’s National Parks: Tsavo East and Tsavo West.

Aerial view of our surrounding protection area.

The first steps in the restoration process were to remove the cattle enclosures, unwanted fences, the cattle dips, and decaying water butts that were dotted throughout the 80,000 acres of Rukinga. Also, the massive amounts of rubbish, such as old tires, unused piping and metal barrels, that appeared everywhere needed to be removed. Along with cleaning up the wildlife sanctuary, Wildlife Works and the local community are working to reforest the degraded areas of Rukinga by planting indigenous hardwood trees. The team has now decided to take their regenerating efforts one step further from planting indigenous trees to removing invasive plant species.

First, in the metaphorical cross-hairs, is Opuntia engelmannii – a spiky cactus introduced from Mexico and the southern states by colonists.

Small clusters of Opuntia - How big your spines are!

Opuntia was planted on many ranches and farms in Kenya to create dense hedgerows which were sometimes used to protect cattle from predators. It was also used around the outside of houses for ornamental purposes, as well as to help prevent unwanted visitors at your window! It was popular because it grows quickly, is resilient, and is fairly efficient as a barrier due to its one-inch-long spines growing from its pads. After spreading from the Marungu Hills at the north-east of the ranch, the cactus is now growing all over Rukinga which prevents indigenous shrubs from growing.

There are several stages in the removal of Opuntia engelmannii, which grow in clusters. First, the plants are cut down and then cut into smaller pieces, after which herbicide is carefully applied to the stumps.

Bernard and Rob painting herbicide on the stumps

The shredded remains of the plant are placed in a hole two feet deep and buried. Opuntia, however, continues to fight every step along the way, and the properties that made Opuntia useful on farms are some of the reasons why it is so incredibly difficult to prevent it from propagating – let alone removing it completely! So, the biggest issue with Opuntia is its incredible ability to grow back after being cut down, and not just from the roots, but also from pads that may have dropped or have been removed from the plant. This means that when cutting down the cactus, you have to be very meticulous and pick up every piece of the plant, as well as very efficient at painting herbicide on every part of the remaining root.

As mentioned earlier, Opuntia grows quickly, which is why we have taken the GPS coordinates of each cluster, and they are checked on a regular basis to ensure we are curbing any regrowth. This may sound extreme, but it is necessary if we are to ensure it is removed from the wildlife sanctuary.

Opuntia regenerating from a small, fallen and broken pad

At the moment, the road seems long when it comes to envisioning an Opuntia-free Rukinga. We are constantly trying new methods of removing it as environmentally-friendly and efficiently as possible. In the meantime, we are finding methods in which to use the Opuntia that we are cutting down in various ways that help to restore the sanctuary and benefit the community at the same time. But that’s another story…

Meet Betty, Wildlife Works’ Enterprising Soap Maker

Posted by wlwsWP on November 12, 2011 No comments

By: Cara Braund- Conservation Intern- 12th November 2011

In an area such as the Kasigau Corridor, where there are thousands of people out of regular work, Wildlife Works has been instrumental in providing jobs for hundreds of people in different sectors of the company. In order to reach as many families as possible, one important factor has been the diverse range of employment available. If you’re not made to be a cutter or sewer in the eco-factory, maybe you could be a ranger, or put those green fingers to use in the greenhouse or use your knowledge of mechanics in the workshop. Furthermore, by training local residents in the different parts of our work, we are not only increasing their future prospects but also raising their sense of self-value.

As Wildlife Works grows, we’re keen to gradually expand our areas of work for maximum job creation for existing members of the community, giving them a greater skill-set and steady income. With this in mind, Wildlife Works has taken on running its own soap-making factory. It is currently a very small operation, with the focus on producing high quality soaps with individuality.

MEET BETTY KITIRO

The principal employee of our soap factory is Betty Kitiro, a twenty five year-old from Jura, a village in the Kasigau corridor. Once she had completed school, Betty came to volunteer at Wildlife Works in April 2007 and was trained in soap-making. After less than year, she became a full time employee and now shows great initiative in experimenting with different ingredients to create fun and fragrant soaps for Kenyans and international tourists alike.

Betty is currently producing five core varieties of soap, with the key ingredients coming from local sources. We are very happy to be able to provide a boost in income for small-scale producers of aloe, limes, jojoba seeds, myrrh, loofah pods, honey and oranges. To add extra essence of the region, the soaps are generally simply packaged in elephant dung paper made at Rukinga or sisal baskets made by local women. At the moment the soaps are primarily sold to hotels in Kenya, providing their guests with a little something from Tsavo.

Our hope is that the soaps will become even more popular than they already are, providing more people with earnings in the area and improving their quality of life.

Inquiries about wholesale orders can be made to ask (at) wildlifeworks (dot) com.

Traditional Roofing in Kenya

Posted by wlwsWP on October 18, 2011 No comments

By: Scolastica Fundi – Eco-factory assistant – 18th October 2011

Our pilot REDD project area at Rukinga, Kenya, Wildlife Works’ growth has been tremendous within this last year. We are erecting seven new building all using traditional materials and techniques.

Here we show traditional roofing called Makuti in the building of our new dining room. Makuti are bunches weaved leaves from a coconut plant caked Mnazi in Swahili. They are mostly found in coastal region of Kenya. Kenyan coastal people like the Mijikenda tribe mostly do Makuti production.

PROCESS OF MAKING MAKUTI:

STEP 1: The coconut plant leaves are harvested when they turn brown

STEP 2: The leaves are soaked in water to facilitate easy folding.

STEP 3: Sticks are cut according to the appropriate size for building.

For example, 30cm sticks are used for folding over the makuti.

STEP 4: The leaves are stitched over the sticks using back stitching method.

STEP 5: The makuti are carefully packed in bundles and stored safely.

STEP 6: When roofing, the makuti are first tied to the roofing structure from the bottom going upwards, to the topline of the roof using a sisal fiber. The makuti are laid down in a way that they overlap at a distance of 4 inches to avoid water dripping inside the house.

The advantages of using makuti are that they have efficient cooling effect than other roofs and are the cheapest way of roofing in Kenyan coast.

Stay tuned for more eco building techniques from the Kenyan bush.

POACHERS-Caught on camera on Wildlife Works Rukinga Sanctuary

Posted by wlwsWP on October 17, 2011 1 comment

By: CARA BRAUND- Conservation Intern- 17th October 2011

As part of their efforts to track biodiversity levels on Rukinga and the rest of the project area, the Biodiversity Division have been testing out camera traps to photograph unsuspecting wildlife in their natural habitat.

The first six test cameras are on day and night and the first trials have been going well, with elephants, lesser kudu, giraffe, kongoni civets and even aardwolf being captured.

Wildlife Works camera captures a captivating image of an aardwolf.

The team got a bit of a surprise, however, when checking the recent results of their work. Mixed among the shots of buffalo and kudu was the image of several men walking through the bush several hours after dark, as well as a clear image of one man with a torch and a machete.

Whilst illegally travelling by foot on Rukinga, the group had inadvertently stepped past one of the traps, providing the Wildlife Works team with evidence of their likely attempts to poach wildlife on the sanctuary.

A poacher, unknowingly caught on camera, holding a machete.

The photographs will now be used to identify the man in one of the photographs, at which point he will receive a fine for trespassing. Due to the fact that poaching wildlife is only indicated, not proven in the picture, it’s likely he will only receive a stern warning about his activities rather than be arrested.

The hope is that due to his photographic capture and subsequent warning, the man in the photograph will make a bid to change his ways, especially when combined with ongoing efforts to improve the quality of life in the community.

As a twist on similar situations, Wildlife Works has made the not-uncommon decision to hire poachers in the past as a way of combating the problem. As long as the person passes the test in terms of fitness and dedication, they can be excellent additions to the anti-poaching team by way of their skill-set in tracking and knowledge of the trade!

Elephants freely roaming in there natural habitat. Another great example of the images taken by Wildlife Works camera traps.

Needless to say the Biodiversity Division is fairly happy that their monitoring of wildlife in the area has lead to the tracking of poachers. At Wildlife Works we are particularly pleased to know that the use of technology in addition to rangers can be effective in reducing poaching. As well as producing hard evidence of the illegal activity for the authorities, it means that the rangers themselves will be in less physical danger in relation to fighting illegal activity in the area.

I wonder what we’ll see next time?

Wildlife Works Crew to the Rescue, One Baby Elephant at a Time

Posted by wlwsWP on October 6, 2011 1 comment

By: CARA BRAUND- Conservation Intern- 5th October 2011

Monday mornings aren’t always the most exciting in many offices, but this Monday at Wildlife Works proved to be a little different than usual! We received a phone call from one of our rangers saying that an elephant had become stuck in a muddy rock catchment on our neighbouring ranch. Apparently the creature was only around two years old, and had been stuck for over 24 hours.With none of her family members in sight, it was important we help her out of her predicament as soon as possible before she became too dehydrated.

The team raced to Kivuko rock and made their way up to the rock catchment, unsure of what to expect. Upon seeing the young elephant, some team members thought that she may have already died due to how far she had become stuck and her lack of movement. Thankfully she was still with us and so we set about setting her free!

The first stage was to free up around the elephant’s head and as many of her limbs as possible. This required most of the team to get stuck into the mixture of mud, poo and goodness-knows-what-else to dig with shovels and bare hands. Due to the elephant’s size and the relevant size of our team, there was no way manpower alone was going to be enough to get the poor creature out of her predicament.

As soon as we had the opportunity, we slipped a rope and strap underneath its chest and attached this to a car tow hitch. Having a large car on the side of a rock wasn’t an easy set-up, but with gentle teasing and pulling (thanks to our skilled operators!) in several different directions, the lucky elephant was gradually eased to the side of its muddy hole.

Understandably, the elephant was extremely exhausted and dehydrated but seemed to be fairly calm given the circumstances. The team gently washed the muddy mixture off her, especially from her mouth where it had accumulated over her time in the swamp.

She was then able to drink freely, and took her time to get as much water on board as she was still unable to get herself up. As we were unsure that the elephant would be okay by herself, we were glad when the team from the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust arrived to lend their expertise to the situation. Both teams came together to coax the young elephant back to her feet, and although rather unsteady at first (not surprising given her ordeal during the previous 24 hours) she was back up and eating and drinking in no time at all!

The rangers in the area will be keeping an eye out on the animal in the hopes that her family will come back to her in the next few days. In the meantime, the team is making a plan to clean out the rock catchment to improve the quality of the rainwater and to stop any other unsuspecting elephants getting trapped!

Statement made in Kenya to Heighten Awareness on Elephant Poaching

Posted by wlwsWP on August 2, 2011 No comments

Article by Jason Straziuso, Independent Newspaper

Kenya has publicly burnt elephant ivory worth £10m – at Manyani, Tsavo National Park – in an attempt to focus attention on rising poaching deaths. President Mwai Kibaki personally wielded the torch to light the bonfire of 335 confiscated tusks and 41,000 ivory trinkets.

He told several hundred people gathered at a rural Kenya Wildlife Service training facility: ”Through the disposal of contraband ivory, we seek to formally demonstrate to the world our determination to eliminate all forms of illegal trade in ivory.”We must all appreciate the negative effects of illegal trade to our national economies. We cannot afford to sit back and allow criminal networks to destroy our common future.”

Elephant numbers are much healthier today than in the recent past, but conservationists say a second crisis is looming as poachers seek to satisfy China’s appetite for ivory.

Iain Douglas-Hamilton founder of Save the Elephants said he hoped people would see Kenya’s latest ivory destruction as further warning that elephants are again being hunted. The economic loss from the burning was part of the message. ”This is a clear signal that it’s worth a lot more money than you could get on the market. We have to stop the buying if we want to stop the killing,” he said. “I’m not totally pessimistic. I think the Chinese can be converted.”

A global ban on the ivory trade in 1989 briefly halted the elephants’ demise. But the ban’s initial success has been undermined by booming Asian economies and increasing demand for land. Africa had 1.3 million elephants in the 1970s but has only 500,000 today.

Wildlife Works Blog

Wildlife Works’ First Nursery

Rose and George, Hailing from Deep Sea Slum in Nairobi Join the Wildlife Works Team in Kenya

Update on Ijema Funan, Injured Ranger

Elephant Poachers Kill Wildlife Works Conservation Ranger and Critically Injure Another

Restoring Rukinga

Meet Betty, Wildlife Works’ Enterprising Soap Maker

Traditional Roofing in Kenya

POACHERS-Caught on camera on Wildlife Works Rukinga Sanctuary

Wildlife Works Crew to the Rescue, One Baby Elephant at a Time

Statement made in Kenya to Heighten Awareness on Elephant Poaching

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta

WHAT IS WILDLIFE WORKS?