About Konservation!

We are a not-for-profit organization that aspires to present a different perspective of conservation in Africa.

The word Konservation is derived from the Chichewa word Konza – an indigenous language spoken by the Bantu people of East and Southern Africa.

Konza encapsulates the ambition to solve problems.

In this context, Konservation serves to make young people realize that they have the capacity to tackle emerging problems in rural communities by implementing community development projects. The ethos of our work is to sustainably develop rural-based communities as a means to achieve environmental conservation.

Konservation has ongoing grassroots projects in south-west Kenya that raise awareness about climate change, promote regenerative agriculture, empower women and increase access to clean energy technologies.
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Projects Tell Our Story

Rural spaces inspire and drive our grassroots initiatives.
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The Team

Unelker Maoga

Dailash Lagat

Daniel Holod

Sylvia Kwamboka

Ismini Ethridge

Dr. Priscah Moige

Joeta Ndwiga

Samantha Landsman

Unelker Maoga

Founder & Director

Unelker is a conservationist and community developer. She holds a CRSE. in Sustainable Innovation Design from Aalto University and is an MSc Environment and Development student at the University of Edinburgh. She has expertise in awareness, research, design hinking and market-based incentives in conservation. She has previously worked in wildlife conservation and her interest in people, conservation and rural community development led her to establish Konservation. Unelker is also a One Young World Ambassador, Youth Climate Leaders fellow, National Geographic Explorer and a WWF Africa Youth Awards in Conservation champion.

Dailash Lagat

Project Lead – Climate Change Education

Dailash is a conservation champion and educator. She holds a BSc in Environmental Conservation from the University of Nairobi. She has experience in research, awareness, communication, strategy and proposal development and training. As a Conservation Leadership Program recipient, she supported the formulation of the Local Engagement and Empowerment Strategy by BirdLife in Africa. She works to persistently mentor children to become problem solvers and critical thinkers  and is the Project Lead of our Climate Change Education project. She is also a co-founder at Evamor Africa, a conservation social enterprise based in Kenya.

Daniel Holod

Project Lead – Chagua Project

Daniel Holod is a recent graduate of the University of Oxford’s MSc in Environmental Management and MBA. He has a keen interest in the innovative implementations of sustainable practices among business enterprises and development projects. The pursuit of these interests led him to manage climate-resilient projects in East Africa, Europe, and Southeast Asia in both the public and private sectors. He has worked in analyzing the impacts of sustainable agriculture programs among smallholder farmers in developing communities, who are already feeling the impacts of climate change.

Sylvia Kwamboka

Project Lead – Infused Bath & Balms

Sylvia is a mathematician who is passionate about social entrepreneurship. She holds a BSc. Actuarial Science from the University of Nairobi and has professional experience in business operations, project development and management. She is dedication to women empowerment, entrepreneurship and innovation, recognised for her work by Edinburgh Innovations. As a trained aromatherapist, Sylvia is the Project Lead of our Inuka Project and the Founder and Managing Director of Infused: Bath and Balms, a start-up in the natural cosmetic enterprise that manufactures, distributes and trains women how to make handcraft natural body products.

Ismini Ethridge

Strategy and Development – Chagua Project

Ismini received her BSc in Global Development from Cornell University. She has worked on a number of pro-bono consulting projects with social enterprises around the world, and conducted research on comparative models for rural electrification in the Himalayan region. Her work in Columbia University’s Center for Sustainable Development led her to support the Director on a number of initiatives revolving around the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She is particularly interested in the intersection of land use, sustainable food systems, and public health and is Head of Strategy and Development at our Regenerative Agriculture project.

Dr. Priscah Moige

Project Lead – Oral Health Education

Priscah is an enthusiastic humanitarian interested in the field and science of health together with the well-being of the society. She is a general dentist with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Nairobi.
She is a One Health Ambassador who is very knowledgeable in community engagement and research. Her strong belief in the interconnection between human, animal and environmental health has seen her participate in many multidisciplinary teams towards the cause of provision of high quality healthcare at a national and global level.

 

Joeta Ndwiga

Project Lead – Women and Energy

Joeta is currently pursuing her M.A. in Development Studies at the University of Passau. She has a keen interest in sustainable food systems and social sustainability and inclusion. Her professional expertise includes capacity building and training of Water Users Association and farmers groups, implementation of Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs), and land acquisition and involuntary resettlement, and review of the social impacts of development projects. Her experience in project implementation and management has given her the opportunity to work in national and county governments to support irrigation programs and activities in Kenya.

Samantha Landsman

Communications Intern

Samantha is a current undergraduate student at Cornell University where she is receiving her B.S. in Development Sociology. Her concentration lies in climate change and agro-ecology, and is conducting research on indigenous environmental and political climate adaptation methods in Indonesia. She has a strong interest in sustainable development and social justice, and her professional experience has revolved around the implementation of agro-ecological methods to increase farmer-market connection, climate mitigation, and food security. Her work in environmental protection has allowed her to work in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.