Living Forest Curriculum with the Ogiek

  In  2025 and January 2026, the  Centre for v on b Corporations (SOMO)  and environmental journalist  Chris Lang  (of  REDD-Monitor ) released significant findings regarding what they describe as a "carbon land grab" in Kenya . ​Their investigation highlights how the global carbon market is rapidly commodifying Kenyan land, often at the expense of local communities and indigenous rights. ​Key Findings from the SOMO Investigation ​According to SOMO’s database and report, the scale of carbon project expansion is unprecedented: ​ Massive Land Coverage:  Land-based carbon offset projects now cover more than  5.4 million hectares  in Kenya—an area nearly equivalent to the country’s total arable land. ​ Concentrated Control:  Just three projects account for over  65%  of the total land area under carbon offsets. ​ Smallholder Vulnerability:  While many projects are located on smallholder land, the oversight and control oft...

The Carbon Land Grab: Kenya’s New Frontier of Dispossession ​By Linda Dabo/AI Reporter  January 5, 2026 ​As thxe global race for "Net Zero" intensifies, a new scramble for Africa is unfolding—not for gold or oil, but for the very air above its soil. A landmark investigation released today by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) and environmental journalist Chris Lang reveals the staggering scale of what they call the "carbon land grab" in Kenya. ​The report paints a sobering picture of a nation where vast swaths of territory are being commodified for the benefit of Global North corporations, often at the expense of the indigenous and pastoralist communities who have protected these lands for generations. ​Mapping the Scramble ​According to SOMO’s latest data, land-based carbon offset projects now cover more than 5.4 million hectares in Kenya. To put that in perspective, this area is nearly equivalent to the country’s total arable land. ​The c...

    The Shadow of the Mau: Will Kenya’s New Carbon Laws Save or Sink the Ogiek? ​ By Linda Dabo -AI Reporter January 5, 2026 ​While Kenya’s government touts its new  Climate Change (Carbon Markets) Regulations 2024  as a masterclass in green governance, for the Ogiek people of the Mau Forest, the law feels less like a shield and more like a closing trap. ​The Ogiek—ancestral hunter-gatherers and the traditional custodians of East Africa’s largest water tower—now find themselves at the center of a high-stakes legal and environmental tug-of-war. As the global demand for carbon credits surges, the very trees the Ogiek have protected for millennia have been transformed into "carbon assets," putting their right to exist in their homeland under unprecedented threat. ​ The 2024 Regulations: Protection or Paperwork? ​On paper, the 2024 Regulations and the  Climate Change (Amendment) Act 2023  introduced several safeguards designed to prevent exploitation: ​ Mandato...

  The Original Permaculturists: How the Ogiek Prove Nature Doesn’t Need a Plow ​While modern gardeners and "Bioneers" gather at conferences to discuss the future of perennial agriculture and carbon sequestration, a blueprint for perfect ecological harmony has existed for centuries in the heart of East Africa. The Ogiek people of the Mau Forest in Kenya don’t attend workshops on soil health or buy heirloom seeds. In fact, they don't "plant" anything at all—yet they manage one of the most productive ecosystems on the planet. ​ Stewardship vs. Engineering ​In the Western "perennial gardening" movement, the goal is often to design and engineer a landscape that mimics nature. We use shovels, mulch, and biochar to force a system into balance. For the Ogiek, the approach is the inverse: they don't engineer the forest; they evolve with it. Their "agriculture" is a system of ancestral stewardship rather than human-centric production. ​Instead of c...

Below is a presentation by Simon Nadungwenkop-Parkesui, for an audience of advocates, ecologists, agriculturalist, farmers, organic farmers, Permaculture enthusiasts, and  gardeners. ​ The Forest is Our Body: Lessons from the Ogiek ​ Subtitle : Centuries of Perennial Living Without the Plow Presenter : Simon Nadungwenkop-Parkesui, Ogiek Community Initiative Leader ​ Slide 1: Introduction – We Are Not Visitors ​ Core Message : The Ogiek are the "caretakers of all." ​ Content : The Mau Forest in Kenya is not a "wilderness"; it is a managed landscape. ​The Ogiek identity is inseparable from the trees. ​ Notes : "While the world searches for 'nature-based solutions,' we are a people who are the solution. We didn't move to the forest; we are its roots." ​ Slide 2: The Myth of Planting & The "No-Plow" Reality ​ Core Message : Agriculture does not require breaking the earth. ​ Content : Direct Comparison: Western perennial gardening des...

The article below integrates the history of the Green Revolution, the resulting socio-economic crisis in India, and the modern return to regenerative, Indigenous-rooted practices. ​The Great Agricultural Paradox: From the "Green Revolution" to a Regenerative Resurrection ​In the mid-20th century, a global movement known as the Green Revolution promised to end world hunger through modern science. Armed with high-yielding seed varieties, synthetic fertilizers, and chemical pesticides, it achieved a massive short-term spike in food production. However, decades later, the bill for this "miracle" has come due—and it is being paid in degraded soil, depleted water, and human lives. ​ 1. The Mirage of High Yields ​The Green Revolution was built on a fundamental misunderstanding of the land. It treated the farm as a factory where "inputs" (chemicals) automatically equaled "outputs" (grain). ​The Chemical Treadmill: Initially, yields soared. But synthetic ...