The Basecamp Foundation is a not-for- profit organisation whose vision is to provide tourism-based solutions for conservation and sustainable development in tourist destinations. It was born out of Basecamp Explorers practical experience in championing a sustainable tourism concept that acknowledges the significance of local people and conservation in destination development. The Foundation provides a link between non-economic (people and planet) and economic activities of the Basecamp Explorer. Ten years ago, climate change was not a concern for the tourism industry. While countries and industries had to rethink their activities to meet the requirements of the Kyoto protocol, it was “business as usual” for the tourism industry. The Basecamp Explorer then made a conscious decision not to do “business as usual”. Supported by the Foundation, it leased 20 hectares of land and started planting trees around its camp in Maasai Mara as a sign of commitment to responsible tourism and to encourage local landowners to invest in trees as an enterprise and for conservation. Alongside planting trees, Basecamp invested in solar energy for lighting and water heating needs and an elaborate system for managing liquid and solid waste through reduction, reuse and recycling. Initially, it made no business sense. Soon tourism found itself in the limelight as a polluter. Basecamp continued to plant trees but transformed its thinking to use trees to offset missions from guest travel. Fifteen trees are planted for every foreign guest. Basecamp believes in its current efforts to lease 20,000 hectares of land in Maasai Mara, and manage it in a way that benefits local landowners and the environment is an adaptation programme relevant to REDD. The philosophy “do what you can instead of complaining about what you can’t do!” is what guides the Foundation.

BERMA is a local NGO that is undertaking the following: Natural resource management, Environmental conservation and Ecological farming practices. Some of their activities include:
a. Operation and management of farm based modest forest nurseries. These are as income generating activities as well as for supply of the seedlings to local farmers and public institutions particularly schools for afforestation. The organization’s priority is on the indigenous and environmentally friendly species such as makhamia lutea, croton megalacarpus and bischofia javanica. BERMA also have fruit tree seedlings such as improved varieties passion fruits, mangoes and citrus for sale.

b. BERMA also concentrate on rehabilitation of the destroyed wetland sites by planting and restoring some of the original vegetative cover such as papyrus and the overall greening of the villages in Butula District by encouraging each homestead to allocate 10.0 percent of its farm area
to trees.

c. In agriculture the organization’s efforts are directed towards ecological farming practices which have impressive capacities in soil and water conservation. These include bio- intensive, raised bed, basin, tumbukiza and agro forestry. This also involves advocacy and promotion in the production of the climatically resilient indigenous food such as millets, sorghums, pulses, bambara nuts, sweet potatoes, cassava and local seed varieties of maize and indigenous vegetables. Other innovative projects in the pipeline include installation of small scale biogas digester units for use in production of cooking energy instead of charcoal or wood fuel at the house hold levels, solar driers within the homesteads, production and use of charcoal briquettes instead of charcoal or wood fuel.

The Centre for Water and Governance (CWG) works with communities at the grassroots level for project ownership and sustainability. The communities have been involved in activities such as tree planting, building terraces to address soil erosion, using organic manure on their farms, attending trainings on water conservation, hygiene and sanitation and water governance, drilling of boreholes, irrigation and construction of water dams and protecting water sources. CWG works in Mombasa, Kilifi, Taita Taveta, Machakos, Makueni, Turkana, Matungulu, Kaloleni, Kwale and Nakuru.
Affiliations: Coast Water Service Board

Climate Excellence is an international climate change not-for-profit organization. In Africa, it operates as Climate XL Africa and globally as Climate XL Inc. The organization is equipped with climate analysts and strategists; championing sustainable environmental practices and climate change combating methods in Africa and globally. Its mission is to be a dynamic and reliable source of information and networking node for business and technology solutions for adapting to and mitigation of the effects of negative climate change.

The Coastal Rural Support Programme was formed to increase rural community resilience to climate change in the Coastal Region. It is involved in integrated watershed management and conservation, promotion of forest enterprises, use of efficient cooking stoves, introduction of appropriate technology and farming techniques through farmer field schools, introduction of drought resistant crops in the semi-arid areas. The projects are in Kinango (Kwale county), Kaloleni and Ganze (Kilifi County). Source of Funding: Aga Khan Foundation, CIDA, GVEP, USAID, PSAKFE, and DFiD
Affiliations: Ministry of Agriculture, KFS, KARI, KEFRI, MEMR