The Kesho Trust works to facilitate and support community led activities that foster positive relationships between local communities and their natural environment and help safeguard the biodiversity around protected areas. Relationships between protected areas and local communities frequently suffer from a lack of mutual understanding and collaborative efforts to resolve issues. The Kesho Trust recognizes and works to improve this important interface. In doing so, we place a high priority on environmental education along with expanding environmentally compatible livelihood options and enterprises. These priorities focus on: improving the efficiency of land and natural resource utilization primarily related to agriculture and water supply; building effective community based natural resource governance mechanisms; and, supporting community based tourism.
We are a Canadian charitable organisation established in 2005. Strong connections in Tanzania led to the establishment of our first overseas program in 2006 when we registered Kesho Trust (Tz) as a local NGO.
LT&C sees in the Kesho Trust a competent partner making local communities both supportive to and benefitting from protected areas. With a first common workshop involving the local community at the Saadani national park in Tanzania we will set a first example of working together and aiming for synergy.