STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF OGIEK PEOPLES’ DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (OPDP) AT  THE 79th ORDINARY SESSION OF THE AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND  PEOPLES RIGHTS ON 14 MAY – 3RD JUNE 2024 

Chairperson, Honourable Commissioners, state delegates, ladies and gentlemen.  Chairperson, We, the Ogiek Peoples Development Program (OPDP), bring forth this statement to the African  Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to highlight the dire situation faced by the indigenous Ogiek  community, who reside in and have long-standing ancestral ties to the Mau Forest Complex in Kenya. […]

REDEFINING THE PLACE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, WOMEN AND YOUTH IN THE CLIMATE CHANGE AND LAND GOVERNANCE SPACE IN AFRICA    

Participants of the Indigenous women and youth training on climate change and land governance in Burundi, March 2024 The Regional Platform on Indigenous peoples (RP 5) is one of the member-led multi-stakeholder networks supported by the International Land Coalition(ILC) whose goal is to work towards securing the territorial rights of Indigenous Peoples in Africa. The […]

LAUNCH OF THE WOMEN SOCIO-ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT PROJECT IN  PARTNERSHIP WITH USAID, FSC-IF, IPARD AND FSC.

The CECM Youth, Gender, Culture, Sports and Social Services handing over the Project to the Gender Officer OPDP, Ms. Eunice Chepkemoi alongside the CO Gender Nakuru County, Hon. Gladys Kamuren and a representative from the Ogiek women. Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program (OPDP) on 8th Monday,2024 launched a project on promoting socio-economic empowerment among Ogiek women […]

Ogiek Cultural Festival

Reflecting on the 5th Ogiek Cultural Festival

With heartfelt gratitude and a profound sense of shared accomplishment, we pause to reflect upon the recently concluded 5th Ogiek Cultural Festival. This extraordinary event, themed “Ogiek Cultural Linkage with Nature,” served as a lasting testament to Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program (OPDP) resolute commitment to cultural preservation, the cultivation of unity, and the empowerment of […]

United for Land Rights: Ogiek Community celebrates 6th Anniversary of Landmark Ruling by the African Court

United for Land Rights: Ogiek Community celebrates 6th Anniversary of Landmark Ruling by the African Court

Six years ago; May 26th, 2017, the Ogiek community achieved a historic legal victory when the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights recognized their rights to their ancestral lands in Kenya’s Mau Forest Complex. This ruling affirmed their status as Indigenous Peoples[1] and their role as custodians of the Mau ecosystem. On May 26th, […]

Herbalism; the Ogiek art of saving lives and conserving forests

Herbalism; the Ogiek art of saving lives and conserving forests In the last few years, Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program (OPDP), has been spearheading the Ogiek community in culture preservation and development. With support from the Global Environmental Facility Small Grants Program (SGP) OPDP is implementing a biodiversity conservation project: Conserving biodiversity through preserving Ogiek Traditional […]

SECURING INDIGENOUS PEOPLES LAND AND TERRITORIAL RIGHTS IN AFRICA

CBI 5 members during the workshop SECURING INDIGENOUS PEOPLES LAND AND TERRITORIAL RIGHTS IN AFRICA The International Land Coalition (ILC) is a global membership network whose main objective is to attain people-centred land governance through its 10 commitment priority areas of focus known as Commitment Based Initiatives (CBIs). One of these areas of focus is […]

Turning Ogiek youth into competitive Kenyan citizens

Turning Ogiek youth into competitive Kenyan citizens

Many of Ogiek youth are yet to establish careers in either formal or informal sector due to limited access to information and resources. This is despite of being part of generation regarded as crucial to driving the development agenda in Kenya. The present government has prioritized food security, manufacturing, affordable housing and universal health as […]

Ogiek’s inaugural participation in International Museum Day,2019 celebrations

For the first time, members of Ogiek community participated in commemorating this year’s International National Museums Day at the Hyrax Museum Hill in Nakuru, Kenya. The May 17,2019 event, selected 17 Ogiek were given the opportunity to exhibit the cultural artifacts including tools they used for hunting such as kotyek(arrows) and beekeeping namely mwenget(beehive), motoget(honeybag) and gesungut(honeystore).  They were among […]