Lake Bogoria Tree Rescue Hub
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In August 2024, Guardians Worldwide set up a Tree Rescue Hub in Majimoto, a small village near Lake Bogoria, Kenya. The work is led by Josephine Konga, an indigenous Endorois woman and teacher, and leader of the Bogoria Indigenous Women’s Council, which champions women’s and girl’s rights in the area.
Josephine Konga from Bogoria Women's Council explains how the Guardians Worldwide Lake Bogoria Tree Rescue Hub is making a difference in her community.
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Lake Bogoria Tree Rescue Hub is accelerating urgent climate action, by rescuing native trees that can help with place-based climate adaptation, and which are integral to Endorois peoples’ way of life. The aim of the work is to give local women a livelihood, by giving them work and also resources for the selling of materials needed for traditional medicine, food and crafts-making.
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Sapling Rescue
The hub is in very early stages and is currently operating from Josephine’s farm. We are seeking funds to facilitate training in climate resilient agroforestry, especially to develop 20 local women so they can learn skills to help them cope with salination of soils, salt-resistant crops, and species that can help combat lake inundation (mangroves).
We are also hoping to secure funding to allow for a recovery of traditional women's knowledge around tree and plant medicine, and relationships between local knowledge and planetary health.
Growing Medicinal Trees
​​The TRH is seeking to create an Apothecary Garden, which will specifically nurture trees and plants that have indigenous medicinal properties, and which are vital to the preservation of women oral histories and heritage. The work is also helping promote inter-generational knowledge transmission, as we are engaging young girls in the use of plant medicine. This is key, as the knowledge is at serious risk of being lost. Medicinal trees collected so far include Kuryonde (Vepris nobilis) which cures colds and rashes and Muchukwa (Berchemia discolor), which cures running stomach-ache.​
Reforestation
Currently over 200 saplings have been rescued from roadsides, farmlands and nearby homesteads, where they would otherwise be eaten by cows or destroyed by human activity. Josephine has been actively choosing to walk everywhere, so that she can always be on the lookout to rescue a sapling if she sees it, carrying her trusty tube to rescue and transport the sapling back to the hub.
The hope is to eventually have 5,000 saplings of many indigenous species that can be nurtured and then transplanted, when the trees are strong enough to survive, to be placed in various plots that are being prepared for plantation, including a site near the lake to stop innundation.
We are growing trees that are rescued from places where they are not expected to grow, or else from seed. All trees in the hub are native, and have important social and cultural value for the women of Majimoto.
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Kibulwe: this tree acts aa a water purification treatment, as it can both remove impurities from the water and fluoride. This is vital to combat issues of Lake water rising which is alkaline and altering the PH levels of all soils surrounding the lake. Planting these trees along nearby rivers and streams and at the top of water sources can combat the salt-water inundation.
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Arwe (Tamarindus indica) acts as season indicator like when it starts to flower, it shows that the rains are coming, prompting people to prepare the lands for planting seasons.
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Koloswe (Terminalia brownie) is an evergreen, and thus provides year-round, vital shade and can also provide feed for animals (from the leaves) in the dry seasons.
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Ngoswo (Balanitesaegyptiaca) source of shelter during hot days and animal feeds during droughts
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Sitewo (Grewia bicolar) This is used as a natural detergent i.e. soap for washing clothes.
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Accacia– Helps with increasing strong winds, breaking the strength and force of the wind and preventing damage.
Our Approach
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We follow a rights based approach to reforestation. That means we prioritize human rights and rights of nature in everything we do.
The Right to Land
A forest starts from with the land. We promote territorial rights as well as the right to clean soils and waters. Collective lands and community access to land is vital to our understanding of forest as community.
The Right to Seed
We believe that communities have a right to seed and future growth. It is especially important that communities have stores of native species, and that seed diversity is secured for future food stability and protection of biodiversity.
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The Right to Growth
We support the right to grow life-- to cultivate, to nurture, to enliven and to invigorate land and community without the risk of degradation, debilitation and destruction for the sake of economic interests.
The Right to Lifecycles
Our approach finally requires support of a woodland’s existing efforts at regeneration through life cycles; nitrogen, water, soil and food cycles especially.
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