Pardamat Conservation Area is occupied by the Maasai community. They are world-famous for attachment to their culture and traditions. The conservancy adopts an integration model which encourages preservation and advancement of this peculiar and threatened culture.
As we look forward to being a tourist destination, our other attraction beside wildlife is the Maasai culture.
Predator proof bomas
Pardamat, though settled is a wild area especially because of the surrounding hills. Predators such as lions are in the area and sometimes attack livestock. In a bid to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts the conservancy has availed predator-proof bomas to its members. These are mainly for cows and they are made up of metal stands and chain-link through which lions and other predators cannot go.
The community appreciates this effort as the bomas have served the purpose for their acquisition. We wish to provide all our landowners with the bomas. However, this goal is yet to be attained. The main challenge is funding.
The livestock enterprise project
PCA is wholly dependent on donor funding thus a danger with regard to sustainability. To take care of its future a livestock project was started in March 2018. The pilot project, however, benefitted the landowners more.
They brought in their steers for fattening and only paid the conservancy 2000 shillings upon sale. This has made real our integration as well as income generation objectives. It has also helped in creating employment opportunities.
Fencing materials
At PCA and other Mara conservancies, fencing is a menace. Nevertheless, through the effort, we have been able to convince 14 landowners to bring down their fences at a compensation fee. The materials, therefore, become ours which we are at liberty to use in constructive and conservation-friendly ways.
In order to enhance the community’s appreciation and value for wildlife, we chip in to assist in their projects whenever we can. The fencing poles are given to schools and dispensaries that aspire to fence in facilities or plant trees that could be eaten by goats.
