About.

Sadhana Forest Kenya is an International NGO working to establish food security through indigenous food forestry and water conservation with the Samburu people. We train local people in tree planting and tree care and plant indigenous food producing trees with them around their homes. Sadhana Forest Kenya established a training and demonstration center in Samburu county in north Kenya where we also host the volunteers. 

Samburu Tribe

Samburu County is an arid and semi-arid area located in northern Kenya in the Rift Valley Province and is inhabited by the Samburu tribe who are closely related to the Maasai tribe. Samburu and Maasai are both part of the Maa language family and share 95% of their language. Neighboring tribes, admiring their beauty and elegance, called them Samburu, meaning “butterfly”. The Samburu call themselves Lokop (or Loikop). The Samburu, light as butterflies, are semi-nomadic pastoralists whose lives have traditionally depended on animal husbandry (cattle, goats, sheep, and camels) for their livelihood. However, due to the impact of unpredictable rainfall patterns, a recent series of droughts, and persistent insecurity due to inter-tribal cattle rustling, the Samburu have become increasingly food insecure. Many Samburus rely on foreign food aid which is both intermittent and nutritionally poor. Eighty-six percent of Samburu County lives below the Kenyan poverty line. As of 2013, the average Samburu lives on less than $0.73 per day. Only 15% of Samburu have access to safe drinking water. Forty-four percent of households collect water from unprotected wells or springs and 26% of get their water from rivers or streams. The average household distance to a nearby water sources is 3.7 km (2.29 mi).

Our Role

Sadhana Forest Kenya is working with the Samburu in their goal towards greater self-sufficiency. This includes decreased dependence on foreign food aid, restoration of the ecosystem, and a sustainable and diversified source of nutrition through indigenous food forestry.

Training

Training will be an essential part of Sadhana Forest Kenya. We plan to construct a training center next to our demonstration site and tree nursery to help train the Samburu people in tree planting, sustainability, food forestry, Permaculture and more. Training in the local language will play a key role in successful and accessible training. After training is received (free of charge) at our training center, the Sadhana Forest Kenya team will go to the homes and plant the food forests together with the people.

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Bookings.

Free / Work-Trade

Sadhana Forest Kenya

Minimum stay: 6 nightsMaximum capacity: 25 people
Food included
In addition to planting/monitoring trees and water conservation works, we have projects within our campus such as a goshala (cow sanctuary), cob construction, permaculture-designed demonstration plots, and developing appropriate technologies. Also, we have daily support tasks such as cooking, cleaning, compost toilet maintenance, and general upkeep of our campus. Your tasks will also depend on the season and the skills you have.  Please be prepared to help wherever needed.

We enjoy 100% whole-food vegan meals. We do our best to source organic/local food where possible.

Sadhana Forest Kenya is a non-profit ecological project that does not generate any income. Therefore, we cannot afford to provide free food for volunteers.  The total cost of food per person is 600 Kenya Shillings(KES) per day, around 6 USD. Please bring with you 600 KES x number of days that you wish to stay.

At Sadhana Forest we are very concerned with peaceful living and sustainability. We find that a vegan diet and lifestyle best supports these ideals. This means that, inside of Sadhana Forest, we only eat plant-based foods, food not from animals nor from animal products. The consumption of animal products is the largest contributing factor to deforestation in the world and we don’t want to reforest with our hands while we are deforesting with our mouths!

Volunteers should not smoke cigarettes, use drugs, or drink alcohol during the entire time of their stay. Only come when this is a realistic lifestyle for you.

We warmly welcome volunteers any time of the year, and always have available space for them.

Key Stats.

Year founded

2012

Size of project site

5 hectares

Languages spoken

  • English

People on site

5 - 45

Dry season

Wet season

Living Conditions.

Sleeping

  • hammocks
  • tent camping

Vegan Food

  • communally cooked meals

Internet

  • None: Off the grid

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