During the drought of 2009 many Kenyan pastoralists were forced to move with their livestock in search of grazing land. We met Ann and her family in the rangelands outside of Nairobi. This is her story of how the drought has affected her life. This photofilm was part of a duckrabbit training productions for ILRI in Nairobi in August 2010. The audio and production was led by ILRI's Muthoni Njiru, Tezira Lore and Julius Nyangaga (formerly with ILRI). The majority of the photos are by David White of duckrabbit).

Analyzes the output of the Maasai pastoral system by examining three group ranches in the Kajiado District in Kenya, first in terms of output per animal, household cash and subsistence income from livestock for large-and small-scale producers, and second in terms of output per unit of pastoral land.

The ‘WISE-UP to climate’ project aims to demonstrate the value of natural infrastructure as a ‘nature-based solution’ for climate change adaptation and sustainable development. Within the Tana River Basin, both natural and built infrastructure provide livelihood benefits for people. Understanding the interrelationships between the two types of infrastructure is a prerequisite for sustainable water resources development and management. This is particularly true as pressures on water resources intensify and the impacts of climate change increase.

Bernard Bett, Senior Scientist, ILRI, at the side event, “Measuring and Evaluating Resilience in Drylands of East Africa.” IFPRI 2020 conference on Building Resilience for Food and Nutrition Security, May 15-17, 2014, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. More information at http://www.2020resilience.ifpri.info

Discusses biological options available for improvement in the productivity of pastoral systems, particularly referring to problems arising from aridity and under-nutrition, and problems of particular systems such as mortality of young stock, bush encroachment, epidemic diseases and management systems.

A survey was undertaken to understand sheep management, breeding practices and selection criteria for Red Maasai sheep in Maasai pastoralist communities in Kajiado District, Kenya. Differences between North and South Kajiado District were investigated to gain knowledge about farmers having different prerequisites and how it can affect the sheep production. The reason for keeping sheep and the specific breeds show the multiple objectives of the Maasai farmers.