Grounded in the Grassroots
By Joyce Makau, LGT Impact Fellow at Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (MMWCA), Kenya
When I began my LGT Venture Fellowship with the Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (MMWCA), I saw it as an opportunity to apply my experience in conservation and strategic planning to help develop a ten year strategy. What I did not anticipate was how this experience would become a journey of learning, humility, and rediscovery, one that reshaped how I view community led conservation.
Over the past three months, I worked with MMWCA to craft its Ten Year Strategy (2026 to 2036), a roadmap designed to guide community conservancies across the Greater Mara landscape toward stronger governance, sustainable livelihoods, and resilient ecosystems. At first, I thought my contribution would be largely technical — aligning objectives, frameworks, and indicators. But I soon realized that the true essence of strategy lies in understanding people: their values, stories, and aspirations for the land they protect.
Working in the Mara landscape comes with its own kind of luxury. While most people’s office view is a screen and a coffee cup, mine sometimes included elephants wandering gracefully in the distance, giraffes chewing nonchalantly beside the road, or the occasional zebra traffic jam. You quickly learn that in the Mara, meetings often pause when a troop of baboons decides to be your uninvited audience. It is hard to take yourself too seriously when a warthog snorts mid-sentence.
As I spent time in the Mara, I witnessed firsthand how local ownership defines the success of conservation. Communities are not just stakeholders; they are custodians of heritage and hope, balancing their daily realities while safeguarding wildlife and landscapes for future generations. Every interaction with conservancy leaders reminded me that conservation is not an external intervention; it is a living relationship between people and nature.
What stood out most was how locally rooted organizations like MMWCA derive strength from trust, consistency, and shared purpose. Their impact grows from relationships built over years of showing up, listening, and working side by side with communities. This grounded approach turns challenges into collaboration and vision into reality. Through this fellowship, I have learned that strategy is not just about analysis; it is about empathy and connection. Data and frameworks matter, but it is people, their belief in the process, and their ownership of outcomes that make lasting change possible.
This journey has deepened my conviction that conservation must be people centered, and that investing in local capacity is the most powerful way to build resilience. When communities lead, conservation moves beyond projects; it becomes a way of life. I am deeply grateful to LGT Venture Philanthropy for the opportunity to walk this path of learning and purpose, and to the MMWCA team for their mentorship, collaboration, and trust.
Every day in the Mara reminds me that true conservation starts with the people who live closest to the land. And if you are lucky, it also comes with a front row seat to the most spectacular wildlife show on Earth — no tickets required, just an open heart and a very good pair of binoculars.