Our Story
“We began small, now we protect nature. Together, we thrive.”
Vision
Creating a world where people and nature coexist in harmony for mutual benefit
Mission
Protecting planet earth's ecosystems with innovation, education, and empowering all to conserve nature for future generations.
Values
- Sustainability
- Collaboration
- Stewardship
- Resilience
Our Story
Established in May 2007
Marungu Hill Conservancy Association (MHCA), a community bio-diversity conservation and eco-tourism project was formed in May 2007 and registered o 5th July 2007 ( Registration number 27772).
Only 9 kms off the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway from Maungu, a famous long distance truck stop, Marungu hill that sits on 3,000 acres of virgin land rises about 1000 metres to meet the sky. It is home to world war hideout caves, a vibrant indigenous bio-diversity ecosystem and rich cultural heritage of the Sagalla people.
The Sagalla people, a subtribe of the Bantu Taita Tribe, found on the Southwestern part of Kenya 140 km north of the
Mombasa, lived on this hill throughout the 18th century.
In 1951 due to increased population growth, demand for more reliable water, more land for crop cultivation, and pasture for domestic animals, people started voluntarily migrating to the lowlands plains. This migration from the hills was initiated by community shrine group members of the indigenous people.
Mzee Jotham Mtima is recorded as the last person to vacate the hill in 1972. Traces and evidence of human settlements on the hill are still evident to date.
The ballooning population on the lowlands where villagers mostly practise subsistence farming started putting pressure on the forest ecosystem.
Poverty and lack of food occasioned by crop failure due to effects of climate change and destruction of the crops by wild
animals especially elephants, contributed to increased illegal logging and charcoal burning in the forest. These activities threatened the forest eco-system.
Due to reduced rainfall, water sources became inadequate, animals and human shared the limited water points, leading to increased incidences of waterborne diseases, such typhoid, dysentery , bilharzia among others. Women and children had to travel long distances in search of water.
In 2007, to protect, conserve, preserve the environment, the ancestral lands and the sacred spiritual shrines, members of
the community formed Marungu Hill Conservancy Association a broad-based community bio-diversity conservation and eco-tourism project.
Marungu Hill Conservation Association has now partnered with Marungu Local Cultural communities, the latter’s members are descendants of people who lived in the area back in the 18th century.
These organisations seek to address the problems of environmental degradation and escalation of poverty amongst the members of the community living around the hills, caused the negative exploitation of the environment.
The area is now under the protection of the members of the community who have employed 8 (eight) rangers and 3 (three) office staff. The main office is located at Marungu Community Social Hall at Kibaoni, Marungu.
The core aim of the project is to address the problem of land degradation, deforestation, and, poverty alleviation to improve livelihood of the members of the community.
Description of the Area
We are located in Marungu, Marungu Location, Nyangala Division, Voi Subcounty, Taita Taveta County , Coast Region.
Marungu Hill Conservancy, covers an area of 3,000 acres comprising a range of hills namely Marasi hill, Bondeni hill, Nyangala hill, Mwanangao hill, Mkamenyi hill, and Kale hill, it also includes the 2.3 Km Tsavo/Rukinga Wildlife Migratory Corridor.
Our area receives approximately 500 mm of rainfall annually. The rainfall pattern is bimodal occurring in March-May ( long rains) and October- December ( short rains).
The main economic activity of the residents of Marungu is subsistence farming that includes ; crops farming such as, cassava, maize, green grams, sorghum, groundnuts, pigeon peas , and livestock rearing such as, bee keeping, cattle, goats, and chicken.
There are diverse sources of energy that members of the community in the project are use; Firewood, Charcoal, Kerosene, Electricity and Solar energy ( Solar power).
An estimated 90% of the population rely on fuel wood energy and charcoal to meet their energy requirements. This has led to felling of trees for firewood and charcoal burning, that has aggravated deforestation and land degradation.
Consequently, the Marungu Hill Conservancy eco-system that comprises of Marungu Hill, Kale-1, Kale-2, Mwachabo, Itinyi, Marasi, Mwanangao/Mkamenyi and Tsavo/Rukinga WIldlife Migratory Corridor , has been adversely affected by human activities over the years.
Other economic activities that members of the community engage in; Men-sand harvesting, making sand bricks, and chilling hill rocks for building stones and ballast. These activities have increased degradation of the environment. Women-Making handicrafts weaving baskets, door mats, table mats, and decors, bead making( jewelry, necklaces, wrist bands etc).
Over the years residents depended on rainwater for domestic uses and livestock watering from various rainwater rock catchment sources such as Mlilonyi, Garawa, Malombo, Mang’ong’onyi, Marasi, Sasenyi and Kale.