Residents in human-wildlife conflicts hotspot areas in Taita Taveta are now venturing into eco-tourism by striving to live in harmony with wildlife to reap big from conservation.
Currently, the residents are experiencing increased cases of invasions by wildlife especially elephants from the neighbouring Tsavo National Park.
The 2021 census report shows that the elephant population in Tsavo increased to 14,964 from 12,866 in 2017.
Due to the growing farms and settlements around the park that are increasingly obstructing wildlife corridors, roaming space for the wildlife has become harder to find forcing them to invade community areas.
The ecosystem has also been severely affected by impacts of climate change, characterised by prolonged drought, unreliable rains, and extreme temperatures.
The elephants have become a menace in the area, destroying crops, trees, property and injuring residents.
The communities no longer practice crop farming due to the increasing competition for available water and pasture with wildlife.
The resident's desire to co-exist with wildlife, protect the environment and promote their culture and in the end improve their livelihoods has led to the establishment of tourism attraction centres to benefit from the wildlife.
In Ngolia, for example, the residents have established Kirombo Cultural Centre where the residents showcase their culture through dances, traditional food and take the guests through nature walks in the neighbouring forests and hills.
The chairperson of the project Brown Juma said the residents realised that there is a better way to co-exist with the wildlife that has been roaming in their homesteads and even benefit from them through eco-tourism.
"We saw the economic value of wildlife conservation and that is why we decided to establish this centre to benefit from them instead of always waiting for compensation from the government which is never forthcoming," he said.
Through the centre, the residents will get direct and indirect employment opportunities.
"The opportunities are many starting with working here, suppliers, guides, dancers among others. All these opportunities will target the local community," he said
Through a partnership with Wildlife Worldwide Fund (WWF), the Sh50 million cultural centre located in Mwakajo village is nearing completion.
"At first this sounded like an unattainable dream because we did not understand how we can live with elephants. We have however lived with them for years so it's a matter of loving them," said another resident Grace Mghoi.
The facility will also offer accommodation to guests who will be touring the site. The guests will also enjoy climbing Mwakajo hill which hosts the famous Naamini rock.
Ms Mghoi said the rock has a significant history to the locals as it used to be a shrine to the community.
The elders used to conduct their traditional rituals to bring rainfall and evert calamities for the area.
The government and conservationists have been urging the residents to embrace wildlife conservation and co-exist with wildlife to benefit and also boost the tourism industry.
WWF programme coordinator, Rodgers Ndetei said it was time for residents to rethink the presence of wildlife in the area and take advantage of the situation.
Instead of the locals lamenting about the destruction, he said, they should create opportunities through such ventures.
"The question is how we should co-exist with wildlife so that we can benefit from the wildlife. Co-existence between humans and wildlife is the best practice worldwide but this can be achieved through integrated planning," Mr Ndetei said.
Ngolia is among the areas that are currently facing hunger due to the ongoing drought. Most residents did not harvest any farm produce following the frequent invasions by elephants.
He said despite his efforts to seek compensation for those affected by wildlife, the government has remained silent in tackling increased human-wildlife conflicts in the area.
He said the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has also neglected its role in ensuring that wildlife remains within the protected area.
"However, if we devise ways to benefit from this menace then it will be a sigh of relief to residents," he said.
