Our Programs
Our Programs
Conserving Nature, Empowering Communities – We work hand-in-hand with communities to conserve wildlife, restore rangelands, and nurture sustainable livelihoods that protect our shared future.
Wildlife Protection
Sera Conservancy employs locally recruited community scouts and elite anti-poaching teams dedicated to protecting wildlife and safeguarding fragile ecosystems. These scouts are not only protectors but also trusted conservation ambassadors, linking the community to the wildlife that defines their landscape and ensuring safety for both people and animals.
Sera’s anti-poaching unit, trained by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Law Enforcement Academy in Manyani, includes armed NPRs equipped with vehicles, canines, and drones, with occasional aerial support for patrols. Their presence has transformed what was once a poaching hotspot into a safe haven for endangered species.
The Wildlife and Culture Harmony Project complements these efforts by integrating conservation with tourism and cultural pride. Through this initiative, community members receive training in wildlife monitoring, poaching prevention, and habitat restoration. It promotes community-based tourism by celebrating Samburu heritage – through traditional ceremonies, storytelling, and local craftsmanship – while engaging youth in conservation clubs and outdoor expeditions. Local guides and trackers are employed in ecotourism ventures such as wildlife safaris and rhino tracking, ensuring communities directly benefit from and participate in protecting their natural and cultural heritage.
Conservancy Governance
Good governance lies at the heart of effective conservation. Sera’s leadership team participates in the Leadership and Management program (LAMP) – a transformational process designed to enlighten, equip, and empower Indigenous and local leaders to manage land and wildlife responsibly.
Through modular training sessions, LAMP strengthens the capacity of Sera’s board and management in governance oversight, financial accountability, and long-term strategic planning. The program builds confidence, transparency, and inclusivity, ensuring that Sera remains a strong and self-reliant conservancy capable of stewarding its natural and financial resources for future generations.
Community Livelihoods and Enterprise
Sera’s Community Livelihoods and Enterprise Program, known locally as Ujuzi Manyattani, empowers women, youth, and pastoralists to build self-reliance while advancing conservation. The program supports training in ecotourism, guiding, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy, enabling community members to develop enterprises that align with and sustain the natural environment. Participants also learn sustainable practices such as eco-friendly agriculture, improved livestock management, and regenerative use of natural resources, linking livelihoods directly to land stewardship.
Alongside skills development, Sera invests in essential services that strengthen community wellbeing and resilience. Through partnerships and carbon funding, the program supports education through bursaries and classroom construction; improves access to healthcare through emergency medical aid and hospital support; and enhances water security through borehole drilling, rainwater harvesting, and pipeline rehabilitation.
Together, these efforts create opportunity, dignity, and long-term stability, helping communities to thrive economically while safeguarding the landscapes that sustain them.
Peacebuilding
Peace and conservation are inseparable in northern Kenya, where prolonged droughts and dwindling resources often fuel conflict. Sera’s peacebuilding program focuses on a community-led approach that promotes dialogue, understanding, and nonviolent conflict resolution.
Working with neighbouring conservancies such as Biliqo-Bulesa, Melako, and Kalama, Sera facilitates peace dialogues that bring together elders, morans, women, and herders to address cross-border tensions and livestock disputes. The program also supports integrated grazing committee meetings, joint patrols, and early warning systems in coordination with county and national government structures.
By empowering peace champions and strengthening cooperation across communities, Sera helps ensure that conservation success is underpinned by lasting stability and trust.
Rangeland Management
Healthy rangelands are the foundation of both wildlife and pastoral livelihoods. Sera’s Rangeland Management program restores degraded landscapes through community-led planning and sustainable grazing practices that balance the needs of livestock, wildlife, and people.
The program promotes rotational grazing to prevent overuse, supports tree planting campaigns to restore native vegetation and prevent erosion, and manages invasive plant species through coordinated community action. It also enhances water security by developing and maintaining shared water points for wildlife and livestock.
In addition, fire management training teaches communities to use controlled burns safely, revitalising pasturelands while reducing the risk of destructive wildfires. Together, these interventions strengthen the long-term productivity, biodiversity, and resilience of Sera’s rangelands.
Carbon Credits
Through the Community Carbon Initiative, Sera is contributing to climate change mitigation while generating tangible benefits for local communities. The program promotes carbon sequestration through large-scale planting of indigenous trees, soil restoration, and sustainable land management practices such as agroforestry and rotational grazing.
Working in partnership with specialized organizations, Sera facilitates the registration and verification of carbon credits to ensure transparent revenue generation and equitable community benefit-sharing. The initiative also raises awareness on climate change and builds local capacity for monitoring, data collection, and reporting on carbon performance.
By protecting and restoring rangelands, and capturing atmospheric carbon, Sera is building both ecological resilience and a sustainable economic future for its people.
