Lucy Lemashisha: The Face of Resilience for Kenya's Maasai Community

The document details how Lucy Lemashisha and the Rural Women Network (RWN) established the Climate Resilience and Learning Center in Kajiado County, Kenya, to combat the effects of recurrent drought and famine on the Maasai community. By promoting climate-smart agriculture, rainwater harvesting, and alternative income sources, the initiative has improved food security and shifted patriarchal power dynamics, enabling women to take leadership roles in climate justice and local governance.

• Recurrent drought and famine in Kajiado County have severely impacted the Maasai community, particularly women and children, by decimating livestock and causing the highest percentage of childhood malnutrition in the county. The shift to erratic rainfall has also increased human-wildlife conflicts as animals move from national parks into Maasai pastures.
• Established in 2014, the Climate Resilience and Learning Center supports community-driven adaptation through the 'Trainers of Farmers' (ToFs) model. Over 560 women have been trained in climate-smart and conservation agriculture, beekeeping, small-scale farming of crops and livestock, and improved beadwork for sale to tourists.
• The initiative has challenged traditional patriarchal structures in the Maasai community, leading to women occupying leadership positions and appointments on county government task committees, including those focused on climate justice and the prevention of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
• Several barriers hinder the scaling of the center's impact, including a lack of sustainable funding for expert engagement, low literacy levels requiring the translation of English materials into local languages, and a lack of available public sector extension and advisory services.

APA

Kariuki, P., & Kamangu, C. M. (2022). Lucy Lemashisha: The Face of Resilience for Kenya's Maasai Community. Global Resilience Partnership. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/lucy-lemashisha-the-face-of-resilience-for-kenyas-maasai-community/

Chicago

Kariuki, Pauline, and Charles Mbuthia Kamangu. Lucy Lemashisha: The Face of Resilience for Kenya's Maasai Community. Global Resilience Partnership, 2022. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/lucy-lemashisha-the-face-of-resilience-for-kenyas-maasai-community/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kariuki |first1=Pauline |last2=Kamangu |first2=Charles Mbuthia |title=Lucy Lemashisha: The Face of Resilience for Kenya's Maasai Community |publisher=Global Resilience Partnership |date=8 September 2022 |url=https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/lucy-lemashisha-the-face-of-resilience-for-kenyas-maasai-community/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kariuki2022lucy, author = {Kariuki, Pauline and Kamangu, Charles Mbuthia}, title = {{Lucy Lemashisha: The Face of Resilience for Kenya's Maasai Community}}, institution = {Global Resilience Partnership}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/lucy-lemashisha-the-face-of-resilience-for-kenyas-maasai-community/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }