Community Outreach

Elephants don’t exist in isolation, and neither does their future. Wherever Save the Elephants works, from the plains of Samburu to the farms of Tsavo, that future is shaped just as much by the people living alongside elephants as by the elephants themselves. This is why STE works closely with local communities, supporting them through education, empowerment, healthcare, and storytelling.

In Samburu, women are at the heart of conservation through the Mama Tembo initiative. Local women are trained as wildlife monitors, using their deep knowledge of the landscape to track elephant movements and help protect the wildlife corridors their communities rely on, transforming indigenous knowledge into recognised roles in conservation.

In Sagalla, Tsavo, that same spirit of empowerment takes a different shape. STE, together with the Wild Lives Foundation, helped the Mlambeni Basket Weavers, a microenterprise group of 40 women, realise their dream of opening an eco-enterprise centre of their own. Officially opened on International Women’s Day in 2021, the Mlambeni Ndovu Women’s Eco-Enterprise Centre gave the group a permanent space to weave baskets, sew bags and masks, run workshops, and sell their goods. The centre now stands as an independent, women-run enterprise, a lasting legacy of that early support.

STE’s Community Health Project in the same area takes a wider view of wellbeing, with the One Health approach pairing healthcare delivery with sustainable living practices and coexistence training, recognising that a healthy, supported community is best placed to live peacefully alongside elephants.

Storytelling is another powerful way of bringing people closer to conservation. Through its support of the Elephant Queen Outreach Programme, STE has helped bring an award-winning documentary to schools and communities across Kenya, inspiring thousands of people, young and old, changing their attitudes and enabling them to see the elephants they share the landscape with in a new way.

The projects may look different from place to place, but they all share the same belief: protecting elephants starts by winning the hearts and minds of the people living closest to them.