Many of the leaders and staff of wildlife conservancies and the philanthropies that fund them are steeped in natural sciences such as zoology and environmental science. Few have business or management backgrounds. Yet few organizations pose more diverse managerial challenges than community-led wildlife conservancies.
First and foremost among the challenges is to protect nature: to align the interests of local communities, to promote conservation and tourism; to organize effective anti-poaching systems; to run tourist operations; to manage logistics and potential emergencies in remote geographies; to hire and nurture personnel; to interact with government at various levels; to raise funding.
In 2018 MSWC conducted a first-of-its-kind survey among 60 Kenyan community conservancies which identified their priority management training needs:
- anti-poaching management
- fundraising
- business plan development
- management planning
- community relations
- conflict management
Based on these identified focal areas, MSWC has:
- Helped to develop and pilot a comprehensive “Training of Trainers” program.
- Promoted and funded “LAMP”, training cohorts of local women.
- Made educational resources widely available; for example MSWC arranged to convert a Conservancy Manager’s Handbook into digital format.
Leadership and Management Training Program (LAMP)
MSWC has financially supported the training of local women in Kenyan conservancies. This LAMP training was the first in northern Kenya dedicated solely to women. These communities are predominately Maasai who sustain themselves through a pastoralist way of life. The women selected are leaders in their respective communities, leading various women associations. The unique LAMP training content has been developed over several years so that it provides learning on essential leadership and management concepts in a visual and practical way, thus making the learning easily accessible to those who are illiterate and lack formal schooling. READ MORE about trainee feedback.
MSWC has funded ex-post interviews of graduating LAMP women participants (see below) in order to grow a data base which, it is hoped, will further encourage conservation organizations and their funders to offer similar management education programs.
1 in every 12 jobs in Kenya is linked to wildlife.
– The nature conservancy
Training of Trainers (ToT)
Over two and a half years, MSWC funded the training of six Kenyan community-based LAMP trainers (ToT). Three are from the coast of Kenya and three from the interior of the country. They graduated in 2024 and are now running LAMP modules or entire programs.