Who’s Encroaching On Whom?
An article on the BBC News website on 25th August 2010 had the headline “The criminal baboons terrorising South Africa”, and goes on to describe the baboons of the Cape Peninsula as “intruders”. This got us at the Handshake thinking about the now-widespread problem of human-wildlife conflict, and the rights and wrongs of criminalising the [...]
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Dinner – Kenyan style
25. August 2010
The Handshake had the privilege of having dinner within a Kenyan home on Monday night. Laurence one of the founders of the Handshake received a call from one of his old university friends, Ombaye, who invited all the 20 people involved in this tour for dinner. Ombaye Getui is a graduate of Lampeter University in [...]
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Primate research in Kakamega
24. August 2010
Kakamega forest in western Kenya is the only place in the entire country where rainforest can be found. This habitat once traversed the entirety of central Africa from east to west. The main factor in the disappearance of this habitat is deforestation. Kakamega forest is now a safe haven for Kenya’s remaining native primates. Colobus [...]
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Irura Woman’s Self Help Group
23. August 2010
For much of us that live either in North America or Great Britain clean water is simply at our disposal. With the turn of the tap we are able to drink, clean, and cook to our hearts desire. Maybe even take a ten minute shower or a nice bubble bath. Here in rural Kenya, the [...]
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Kakamega Forest Again Program
23. August 2010
Kakamega rainforest is all that remains of a vast rainforest that stretched over Kenya and into Uganda; it is now only 230 square km in size. Much of the rainforest has been destroyed in order to utilise the land for financial gain, farming being the main economic benefit for local people. KEEP (Kakamega Environmental Education Program) [...]
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Kakamega Community Health Volunteers Initiative
23. August 2010
In 2005, a small group of people in Kakamega East District formed the Community Health Volunteers Initiative, having noticed that many in their community were struggling with HIV and AIDS and needed help to cope with their situation. The group began by visiting homes around the district and offering support, medication and food to those in [...]
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Sweetwater’s Chimpanzee Sanctuary Conservation Education
10. August 2010
We first arrived at Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary early on the Tuesday morning. The Education Team was excited with about the opportunity to see such a majestic primate up-close and to learn about them. We soon discovered on arrival about some of the chimps backgrounds. Some had been rescued from the pet trade, orphaned because their mothers [...]
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Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary
10. August 2010
Our visit to the PASA-accredited Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary began with a guided tour from Antony Kamau, one of the sanctuary’s caregivers. Antony described to us the sanctuary’s origins; it was set up as a collaboration between the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya Wildlife Service and the Jane Goodall Institute in 1993, to care for a group of [...]
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Ellesmere Conservation Centre
8. August 2010
Sunday Sunday was an busy day for the handshake members especially those in the research team who, after participating in the team building exercises departed the Fisherman’s camp to visit the Ellesmere Center. Ellesmere was the home of the famous husband and wife duo, Joy and George Adamson, whom gained recognition for constant conservation work in Kenya. Joy and George have [...]
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Photograph Scavenger Hunt
8. August 2010
Sunday morning started with another team building exercise following on from the marshmallow challenge the day previous. We were divided into groups of three, each armed with some form of camera, and provided with a list of things to capture within a thirty minute timeframe. The list (in no particular order) went as follows: A Stone Animal, A [...]
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27. August 2010
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