Kenya’s Mijikenda people revive sacred homesteads to protect the forest

by Sophie Mbugua on 1 October 2018

• Kenya’s Mijikenda indigenous people have long revered and protected the forests surrounding their ancestral homesteads, known as kayas, which dot the country’s southeastern coast.
• Today, the 45 kayas and their surrounding forests face many threats. Illegal logging, mining, agricultural encroachment, land grabbing, and a spate of murders targeting the very elders who protect them have all worn away at the kayas’ biological and cultural integrity.
• In response, the Mijikenda, with the help of outside NGOs, have launched new efforts to protect the kaya forests, starting with an effort to revitalize their traditional culture among the younger generation.

Read the full article at: 

https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/kenyas-mijikenda-people-revive-sacred-homesteads-to-protect-the-forest/