Participatory 3D Modelling (P3DM) in the Mau Forest, Kenya

The exercise – which has taken place in August 2006 - has been a stepping stone in a long lasting process initiated by the Ogiek Peoples to regain their cultural identity and lost ancestral territories. It has stimulated community cohesion, surfaced lost memories on the environment and traditional ways of living as hunter-gatherers, facilitated inter-generational knowledge exchange and raised awareness on the critical status of the entire Mau Complex in terms of depleted forest cover and affected watershed functions. Ogiek elders concluded that they have now a more holistic understanding of their social, cultural and bio-physical environments. Currently the model covers an area of 528 sq km at a 1:10,000 scale.

In response to a request made by the Elders it will be extended to cover approximately 2,000 sq. km in April 2007. The community has started using the model to define the best way forward in terms of improving the safeguarding of its traditional knowledge, the sustainable management of natural resources and advocacy actions aimed at regaining recognitions of ancestral rights.