Category: Kenya
Joan’s trip from Kwale to Kilwa: witnessing the benefits of octopus fishery closures and gender diversity
Joan Otengo joined Blue Ventures in March 2023 as the Partner Support Coordinator for Kenya. Joan recently participated in a learning visit to Kilwa, Tanzania with the beach management unit (BMU) members from Kwale, Kenya. Here, she shares her personal...
Meet the communities using data to transform fisheries management
Blue Ventures and partner COMRED held the first community data feedback meeting with people from Kwale County in Kenya to validate fisheries catch and landing data collected from fisheries over three months. The activity was an eye-opener on how communities...
Celebrating fishers on the Kenyan coast
In January this year our partner Bahari Hai organised and hosted a conservation festival in Watamu, a small town on the northern coast of Kenya. They invited us to help with the planning and execution of the activities. Our fisheries...
Building connections to solve conservation issues
This post is the second series featuring some of the first marine conservation leaders taking part in the African Marine Conservation Leadership Programme that Blue Ventures and Maliasili started in 2020. They share their leadership journeys as part of the...
Kenyan communities trial ‘blue loans’ tied to marine conservation
Last year, communities in Kenya’s Kwale County approached our partner COMRED to ask how they could increase local participation in conservation efforts to manage coastal fisheries. Kwale’s coast stretches approximately 250km and is divided into 20 local fisheries management associations....
Somali to Kenya: A learning exchange to share knowledge and forge friendships
As we worked to finalise planning for this learning visit, we were unsure how it would turn out. After a year without guests, when COVID-19 travel restrictions eased late last year, we were excited about hosting representatives of Adeso, Secure...
Community conservation offers hope for sustainable fisheries on the Kenyan coast
The situation It used to be easy for fishing communities on the Kenyan coast to know when the seasons would change, the winds would peak, and the sea would be safe to access because the weather forecasts were more stable....
An exchange visit to Pate Island, Lamu Archipelago – inspiring change in community-led fisheries and conservation
Munje to Pate – the start of learning There was hope and excitement as nine community members, seven men, and two ladies from Munje in southeast Kenya, boarded a shuttle bus for a nine-hour journey to Lamu. Our mission was...
Madam Mwanatumu: taking action and advocating for equality
Through action and change for equality The role of women in the fisheries sector cannot be further emphasized as they are key actors and players in forging connections between fishers and the market. While a fisherman’s role may mainly involve...
Mama Hamisi: an inspiration for women in Kenya’s small-scale fisheries
Once a pastry seller, Mama Hamisi is now an octopus gleaner, seaweed farmer, closure area patroller and community steward in Kibuyuni
Tunasonga kama ngalawa: slow but steady as we navigate the pandemic
Despite the ever-changing impacts of COVID-19, coastal communities in Kenya are learning to adapt
Building a united African voice for marine conservation during a global pandemic
Bringing together leaders working on the frontlines of conservation, the African Marine Conservation Leadership Programme has been on an unexpected journey
Reflections from my balcony: working with community fisheries management groups in Kwale County
Yvonne Muyia, Project Assistant at Blue Ventures’ partner COMRED, reflects on her experience of training three Beach Management Units in coastal Kenya
The community perspective: how COVID-19 is impacting the lives of coastal people in Kenya
Through frequent phone calls, Agatha Ogada, Blue Ventures' Partner Support Technician in Kenya, has been learning what the COVID-19 pandemic means for coastal communities in Kwale County
We found our voice: Pate Island community’s journey in marine conservation
For Pate Island community members celebrating the first octopus fishery closures in Kenya, local fishery management has meant much more than just improving catches