Ujuzi Manyattani: The MashinaniWORKS Programme Creating a Brighter Future for Morans

Evans Echwa, from Nakuprat-Gotu Community Conservancy, Isiolo County.

Evans Echwa, a 26-year-old moran from Nakuprat-Gotu Community Conservancy in Isiolo County, prided himself in herding his family’s cattle. Banditry attacks, however, and prolonged drought made preserving the herd an uphill task. He found himself moving with the cattle further and further from home in search of pasture, sometimes covering distances of up to 100 kilometres.

Echwa’s biggest fear materialised when a severe drought wiped out the entire herd, leaving his pastoralist family with no alternative source of income. With the herd gone, the future was bleak. In a desperate attempt to restore the lost livestock, Echwa joined a group of morans in a daring cattle raid on a neighbouring community.

During the raid, he sustained gunshot wounds and barely made it out alive, while some of his peers paid the ultimate price. While reflecting on the cataclysmic failure of the raid, Echwa resolved to build a better future for himself, one devoid of violence. In 2021, he learned that MashinaniWORKS’ Ujuzi Manyattani Programme was conducting a sensitisation meeting in his Conservancy, and offering practical vocational training that could help him turn things around for himself and his family.

Despite his initial apprehension, he applied for training by the Programme and was pleasantly surprised when he was selected. The next three months became a transformative journey for Echwa as he immersed himself in Ujuzi Manyattani’s intensive motorcycle repair course, and steadily acquired the skill. After successfully completing the course, the Programme issued him a brandnew toolkit when he graduated in April 2022, enabling him to launch his own motorcycle repair business.

Echwa and his fellow Ujuzi Manyattani trainees during a two-day Yamaha motorcycle training in 2022 courtesy of Toyota Kenya

Echwa established his garage in Kiwanja Village in Nakuprat-Gotu Conservancy. He views his business as an instrument for driving positive change. “Having my own garage has improved my ability to focus. I no longer go on livestock raids to survive. My priority is expanding my business and helping my family and community more,” he shares.

Echwa is one of 962 graduates who have undergone vocational training through Ujuzi Manyattani since the Programme’s inception in 2019.

By offering vocational training in marketable skills, the Programme promotes entrepreneurship and livelihood diversification, increasing indigenous communities’ resilience against climate change. Ujuzi Manyattani is supported by USAID through both the Local Works and the Scaling Sustainability and Resilience for Community Conservancies Programmes, the Royal Danish Embassy through the Danish International Development Agency, the French Development Agency, ICEP, The Nature Conservancy and the Embassy of Sweden through the IMARA Programme.