Situated in Southern Kenya along the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro is the Kuku Group Ranch. The 400-square-mile ranch owned by the Maasai tribe contains villages, acacia scrub forests, dryland savannah, lava flows, wetlands and springs.
In partnership with the Ranch, the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust (MWCT) strives to conserve the Maasai tribe’s way of life, their lands and the sustainability of their water systems, forests, and grasslands by providing health, education and conservation services. Conflicts between people and wildlife (lions, elephants, wildebeest), water shortages, sub-division of land and urban migration are threats to the tribe’s livelihood, the region’s culture and ecosystem health.
MWCT seeks to grow its organization for addressing both local community and region-wide challenges. AECOM has partnered with MWCT to provide an evolving pro bono program that includes:
- Strategic organizational planning;
- Conservation strategy;
- Business and marketing guidance; and
- Baseline data recommendations.
AECOM’s New York office launched the pro-bono assistance through the facilitation of a two-day strategic planning workshop which included MWCT staff and key partners, such as Google, Yale University and Harvard University. The workshop seeded a series of actions including production of a marketing and business plan assessment as well as production of a framework for an environmental and social baseline inventory.
AECOM will continue to provide regular consultations for MWCT and host future progress planning workshops over the long-term.