The work of the first full month with Ermis has been busy as usual. Life in Nakuru has settled into routines nicely and also new things to learn and explore seem to be coming up frequently.

The workplans of the communities arrived in the beginning of the month. After the realistic initiatives from the various suggestions of the community members were chosen, I assisted in typing them. We have also been working with the budgets together with Bancy and Julius. It seems that the communities will not only complete the eco-calendar and cyber – tracking, but they will also work with improving the sustainability of their livelihoods. Another positive progress is that the advocacy process for the Mukogodo forest has been started by another local organization. Forest Management Agreement, which I typed, too, is currently being finalized. In the future also the Yaaku – community will be involved in the planning. All the planned activities will start when the workplans and budgets are finalized.

The work with JUMP is going on, too. I have received many positive responses from Finland supporting the initiative, but commenting that nothing can be started without the final program and budget. Thus, we have been working with them for the last weeks. I am waiting for mine and Grace’s suggestions to be commented on.

Meanwhile, I have also had time to start my bachelor’s thesis project. Before leaving Finland last autumn I agreed with my supervisors in my university that I would complete my bachelor’s thesis during my stay in Tanzania and Kenya, at least to get enough studying credits for the year. However, not before now I finally found both the motivation and possibility to do it. Work with Ermis is very challenging so I feel that determined studying of the subjects I work with helps me with the projects. I will write my thesis about the ways how Indigenous knowledge and the communities have been studied and how the knowledge has been used. I will especially concentrate on the knowledge of women, although I still have to talk about the subject with my professors. So far I have just been reading but I also contacted a few professors here and hope to meet them about research material in the future.

At least I haven’t been ought to stay all the time in the office. Last Saturday I attended another project which Ermis is participating called International Climate Challenge. It was an excellent project on Education for Sustainable Development. Different schools around the country have been challenged to a competition, where the students plan and implement a practical project to mitigate the negative effects of climate change in their region.

I was very positively surprised how practical, creative and effective solutions all the schools have made up. Their projects really emphasized the everyday problems they were facing because of drought, deforestation and other related hazards. So they had really understood what is climate change about and how can their solutions reduce poverty, too, which often is one big reason behind environmental destruction. The competition included also a presentation part, where the drama, dance and other forms of performances presented by the students to illustrate the issues were just enjoyable!

Finally, I received a small task on again another project which deals with improving cooperation between stakeholders within Mau forest area. I have been browsing through all the weblinks of Mau and related issues to be catalogued into a Spatial Data Infrastructure, which Ermis is establishing.

After all these activities, there has not been much time for myself only. On Sundays I have taken a habit of going for long walks to the surroundings, sometimes on my own and sometimes with Julius’ family members, who have been very welcoming for me as a total stranger to the town. They have invited me to their home even on many evenings after work and I really appreciate their hospitality. The children are so funny you can’t stay grumpy no matter how tired you’d be after a long day! And apart from the dust Nakuru seems a very nice place and I’ve found already several nice spots to relax after the long week’s work.

All in all I have enjoyed myself a lot here in Kenya. The work which Erms is doing is very valuable and the other people in the office are just great. Even if all this has been very new to me, I know I can always ask anybody whenever I need support. It also seems that the culture here is closer to Finland than the Tanzanian one, which I experienced for half a year before coming here. I have just been very relieved to get along with kenyans so easily and feel so much like home in here.