I’m happy to say that our involvement with the Friends of Kinangop Plateau (FoKP), the Kinangop Grasslands, and the Endangered Sharpe’s Longclaw is continual and ongoing (for those new readers who know nothing about this particular involvement have a quick look at the ‘gateway page’ we’ve created for to get the full story). Much of it is of course ‘behind the scenes’, and a great example is a recent article which has just appeared in the Fall 2009 (Vol 16, No 3) newsletter of a specialist weaving group called Weave for a Real Peace (WARP).

Why would this matter? On its website WARP describes itself “as a catalyst for improving the quality of life of textile artisans in communities-in-need. We provide information and networking opportunities to individuals and organizations who value the social, cultural, historic, and artistic importance of textiles around the world”. In other words they are exactly the sort of organisation that could greatly benefit the FoKP-run Njabini Wool-spinning Workshop that I’ve visited a couple of times, and written about eg here and here.

Linda Temple, the editor of the WARP newsletter, has kindly given me permission to reproduce the article (which, incidentally, I’d originally offered to write, but Luca Borghesio and I both felt it would be more useful if Njabini’s Sammy Bakari wrote it himself with our and weaver and Kenyan resident Janice Knausenberger’s input), as well as an editorial she wrote which looks at the how the connections and links were made which resulted in the newsletter article being written in the first place. I’ve then added my own brief thoughts on roughly the same subject below these.

Spinning and Weaving Project Helps Save Threatened Birds in Kenya
Samuel Ngang’a Bakari, Luca Borghesio, Janice Knausenberger

Did you know that wool spinning and weaving can help protect endangered birds living in Kenya’s unique highland grasslands? This is what the Njabini Wool Spinning and Weaving Workshop of Njabini, Kenya is trying to do.

The Kinangop highland grasslands of central Kenya are a globally important biodiversity area. The grasslands are home to two seriously threatened birds, Sharpe’s Longclaw and Aberdare Cisticola, as well as a suite of other rare species of flora and fauna.

Kinangop’s grasslands were originally inhabited by nomadic Maasai pastoralists, but since the 1960s the grasslands have been increasingly settled by farmers and now more than 80% of all the indigenous grasslands in Kinangop Plateau have been converted to crop cultivation or plantations of eucalyptus and other non-indigenous trees. The remaining natural grasslands are owned by farmers with very low incomes who steadily convert them to cultivation, where the endangered species cannot survive. Since very little of Kenya’s highland grassland is protected inside Reserves or National Parks, it is clear that an effective and sustainable conservation strategy for these unique grasslands must include economic benefits to the local owners.

Sheep farming was a major source of income in the Kinangop Plateau for many years until the 1990s, when market prices of wool products dropped significantly. Farmers had to turn to crop cultivation to meet their needs. The developed land was inadequate to meet needs, so the farmers were forced to convert more and more grasslands to crop cultivation. This means that the small areas of natural grassland are the last refuge for a large number of species of flora and fauna. The birds might be the best known – but by no means are they the only ones.

The Friends of Kinangop Plateau (FOKP), a community-based conservation group, came up with a far-sighted strategy to protect the grasslands while at the same time trying to ensure that the people who live on them also benefit. FOKP runs a Wool Spinning and Weaving Workshop to address these problems. The workshop is located in Njabini village, at the southern edge of Kinangop Plateau, and is run by a core of 15 women aged between 20 and 30 years, and six men aged between 22 and 37. For eight of them, this is their core income-generating activity and they work on a full time basis. The Njabini workshop buys wool from the farmers of Kinangop Plateau, and has successfully persuaded several farmers to continue to rear sheep in the natural grasslands, rather than cultivating the land. The workshop has for the past 4-5 years added value to the wool, which is mostly from Corriedale sheep, through carding, dying, and spinning it into yarns. The yarns are produced in various sizes and mostly sold to weaving workshops in Nairobi. Additional income has come by selling handwoven carpets and mats, which are made using the traditional frame loom. Bags and knitted items, such as socks, gloves, and scarves, are also made and sold locally.

The largest challenge now facing the Njabini Workshop and the survival of the grasslands comes from the global recession. Most significantly, buyers have severely cut their purchase of yarns, the major source of income for the workshop in the past. The Njabini workshop is now focusing on improving the quality and uniqueness of their wool products, particularly their rugs. In addition to pursuing marketing opportunities throughout Kenya, the Njabini Wool Spinning and Weaving Workshop’s goal is to produce products that meet and exceed the standards for export.

The members of the Njabini Workshop take their responsibility to their community and the environment very seriously. They know their success is crucial in motivating farmers to retain the livestock and preserve the pastures that also are the habitat of the threatened wildlife. The Njabini Wool Spinning and Weaving Workshop is a locally conceived project with the aim of providing a win-win situation for the farmers, the conservationist, and the local people. The future success of the workshop will depend on its ability to expand beyond the local markets with its quality products.

Janice can be reached by US mail at Unit 8900 Box 7233, DPO, AE 09831-4102; by phone at 254/733-776846; or by email at janice@jgkdesigns.com. Luca Borghesio, of the Department of Biological Siciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, can be contacted at borghesio@gmail.com; Samuel Ngang’a Bakari, of the FoKP-Njabini Wool-spinning Workshop in South Kinangop, Kenya (“Sammy”), can be reached at sbakari2004@yahoo.com

For more information about WARP, go to http://www.weavearealpeace.org.

One WARP Connection
Editorial by Linda Temple

A few months ago, WARP member Alice Hickox wrote of a blog she reads: “I was wondering if this story, from a birdwatching blog (http://10000birds.com/labelled-with-love.htm) would be of interest to WARP members? It is about an effort in Africa to save habitat for a rare bird by encouraging farmers to raise sheep and produce wool products by dyeing, spinning and weaving the wool.”

I contacted 10,000 Birds and Charlie Moores responded. He was quite interested in knowing more about the WARP network, so I directed him to the WARP website. He also enthusiastically consented to write an article for the Fall newsletter. A week or two later, he got back in touch confirming contact info for Janice Knausenberger, whose article in the Spring issue about her work
with another Kenyan group had interested him.

With the deadline for newsletter articles fast approaching, I contacted Charlie [who, with Luca, had decided that Sammy Bakari should write the article] to see how the article was coming. He copied me on an email to “Sammy,” asking if the article was complete.

Meanwhile, I got a note from Janice asking if she could submit an article about a new group she’s working with in Njabini, Kenya. She sent the article to me, and the group sounded curiously
similar to the cooperative Charlie had written of. I asked Janice for clarification. She related how Luca Borghesio, of the Department of Biological Siciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Samuel Ngang’a Bakari (“Sammy”), of the FoKP-Njabini Wool Spinning Workshop in South Kinangop, Kenya, had contacted her about the possibility of doing consultation work. They also asked if she would be willing to edit an article for the WARP newsletter. She had never heard of Charlie Moores [who has, Linda, who has..?].

Turns out Alice’s suggestion resulted in

• the 10,000 Birds contact reading the Spring newsletter on the website, and
• reading Janice’s article, then
• getting in touch with the Kenyan project manager, who
• got in touch with Janice, who
• consented to consult with the group (and edit the article for the WARP newsletter).

Janice knew nothing of all this activity until I told her. A perfect example of the WARP network in action!

A perfect example,too, of the sort of community-based conservation action that every single one of us is capable of organising (or ’stumbling into’ for the less organised amongst us). Conservation really isn’t something that has to be left to large, well-funded organisations. Individuals connecting with other individuals can set events rolling in ways that its almost impossible to predict. An email that you send - possibly that you send thinking that no-one will be interested in or that no-one will respond to - can form the backbone of a whole new campaign. A chance meeting, a question asked, a smile and a handshake - sometimes that’s all it takes for yet another connection to be made. On our own we may feel that we can’t possibly achieve anything at all, that we can not possibly make a difference. But we’re most certainly not alone and when we come together we most certainly can make a difference. We just need to make that connection first…

10,000 Birds is proud to support the efforts being made to protect the Kinangop Grasslands and Sharpe’s Longclaw by -

      - The Friends of Kinangop Plateau

      - Dr Muchai Muchane and the National Museums of Kenya

      - Nature Kenya (the BirdLife International partner in Kenya)

Would you support the work we’re doing by having this 200×252 pixel badge on your site (like eg Bubo Listing and The Birder’s Report)? Either download it straight from this page or mail us and we’ll send it you.

Please link the badge to our ‘gateway page’ at http://10000birds.com/FOKP/

Thankyou.