We are changing African landscapes and communities through holistic and sustainable livestock grazing management.
Overview
Rangeland Solutions is an innovative not-for-profit social business with the
mission to provide sustainable income-generating opportunities to pastoralists
in Africa, by introducing sustainable rangeland management techniques to restore
the local ecosystem and increase the productivity of the land and livestock.
Working through community-based field staff, Rangeland
Solutions partners with pastoralist groups to provide them the resources(e.g. grass seeds & dam),
training and support they need to implement Holistic Management, a livestock management system. This unique approach to rangeland management has been shown to
rehabilitate habitats by reducing overgrazing and erosion and enhancing natural
processes (water/nutrient cycling), thereby increasing land productivity and generating significantly
higher rates of beef production.
Overall, our approach has the potential to
significantly improve the livelihoods of pastoralists, who are often some of
the poorest and most marginalized members of society, while reversing the
processes of desertification and climate change, which threaten our planet.
Pilot Project
In March 2014, Rangeland Solutions raised funds and launched
a pilot project in the village of Olekimunke (100 km south of Nairobi), with a
group of 15 pastoral families. With the funds, we purchased grass seeds for
reseeding, built a dam for the community, and provided training on Holistic
Management.
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Clockwise from top left: Construction of dam. Sacks
of grass seeds for reseeding. Community
meeting for pilot project. Community training on Holistic Management.
To date, our pilot has been so successful that three times
the number of participants want to sign up than we can currently accommodate. So with
phase one of our project in full swing, we are poised to expand our pilot by 30
more families this fall. This will include providing additional grass seeds, dams and training on Holistic Management. But we need your help to raise the funds!
The pilot is already bringing opportunity to
Olekimunke and the families are now on their way to creating a more sustainable
livelihood. We hope to take what we learn from the project to create a
replicable model that can be introduced throughout Kenya and the rest of
Africa.
See what our program participants have to say about Rangeland Solutions:
Team Members
Rangeland
Solutions has over 30 years of combined experience working in the livestock sector and
with pastoralists.
Taylor Tully (Executive Director)-Mr. Tully has been studying and
working in East Africa since 2009. He has
worked closely with pastoralist, managing and directing a not-for-profit.
Michael Kibue (Director of Livestock Marketing)-Mr.
Kibue has more than 18 years of working experience in commercial enterprises,
specializing in mobilizing and training rural community enterprises.
Isaac Nemuta
(Director of Field Operations)-Mr. Nemuta has worked in the livestock sector
for over 12 years, with experience training pastoralists in livestock
production techniques.
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Clockwise from top left: Taylor Tully, Michael Kibue, Isaac Nemuta
The Problem...
The livestock
sector is an important global player with significant and
wide-ranging social, economic and environmental impacts.
Significant
Source of Income/Livelihood
-
Livelihoods for 1 billion of the world’s poor
- 40% of global agriculture GDP
- Largest anthropogenic
user of land (30% of Earth's surface)
Negative
Environmental Impacts
- Degraded 20% of global rangelands
- 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions (larger than global transportation sector)
- Biodiversity loss, deforestation, pollution
Kenya is a clear illustration:
- Employs 10 million people and provides livelihoods for 95% of families in arid regions
- 64.3% of land is degraded due to overgrazing and other human activities
- Pastoralists lack access to capital, services and markets
The Solution
Holistic
Management is a livestock
management system, developed by Allan Savory, that helps pastoralists better
manage agricultural resources. In this system, land is managed on a large-scale
and livestock are grazed in concentrated groups, mimicking wild herds, and
moved daily within demarcated areas.
Impacts
-
Rehabilitates habitats
- Enhances natural processes
(nutrient/water cycling)
- Prevents overgrazing and erosion
Benefits
- Increases beef production by at least 50%
- Carbon sequestration (1.0-2.4 tons of carbon per hectare per year)
Our Model
Rangeland Solutions provide vital, yet often inaccessible
services to small-scale livestock producers.
Working through community-based field staff, Rangeland Solutions
partners with pastoralist groups and provides the financing, resources (e.g.
grass seeds & dam) and training to implement Holistic Management (at no cost to the pastoralist).
Rangeland
Solutions also acts as a transactional intermediary in the livestock marketing
chain, thereby helping pastoralists receive better prices for their livestock
and addressing the missing linkages between small-scale producers and
larger-scale commercial markets.
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In exchange for these services, Rangeland
Solutions will earn commissions on facilitated livestock
sales and will have the rights to own cattle that are managed - free of charge
- by the PPGs. This approach allows Rangeland Solutions to recoup its initial
investment and share in the benefits of improved livestock yields.
Model Impacts
Financial
Our model provides a financially sustainable and credible pathway to scale
up Holistic Management and make it more accessible to pastoralists. We aim to
be financially self-sustaining in 2 years.
Social/Environmental
Within five years
we project to:
- Reach 3,000 pastoralist families
- Create more than 20 jobs
- Sequester 75,000 metric
tons of carbon
- Reduce soil erosion by
77%
- Generate $750,000 in
social and environmental returns
Donation Perks
