Pastoralists in Kenya

Providing anticipatory cash transfers to pastoralist communities in Kenya

A woman fills a barrel at a watering point in Kula Mawe, Isiolo County. There is a small charge for the water, but it's to help the survival of both livestock and humans during the ongoing drought. Source: The New Humanitarian

Pastoralists are people whose primary source of income and food is livestock and livestock products. Pastoralist communities live a nomadic lifestyle which entails grazing animals on open-access pastures and migrating with them in response to seasonal variations. Changing weather patterns induced by climate change are threatening the livelihoods of pastoralist communities in the eastern Horn of Africa. The region is experiencing one of the worst droughts which already resulted in the loss of over 7 million livestock and put millions at risk of starvation in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. The goal of this campaign is to provide financial support to enrolled pastoralists in select Kenyan counties if the pasture conditions, as measured by remote-sensed technology, are deemed distressful. The cover amount intends to subsidize the provision of food for one livestock animal over a period of six months.

🔗 Campaign links

• Campaign #1 during March-April-May 2023 rainy season

• Campaign #2 during October-November-December 2023 rainy season, in collaboration with Mercy Corps Ventures

• Campaign #3 during March-April-May 2024 rainy season