ASAL Research & Resilience Programme · Kenya

Advancing Resilience. Restoring Nature. Sustaining Peace.

Building resilient communities across Kenya's arid and semi-arid lands through evidence, culture, and community-led action.

Impact at a Glance · 2023 – 2026

10

Wards Covered

across Isiolo County

2,000+

People Reached

eco-champions & community members

500+

Peace Actors

engaged in dialogue

23

Policies Developed

governance & safeguarding

60%

Women & Youth

in all programmes

ASREP Africa team and community members gathered in the Isiolo landscape

Isiolo County, Kenya

Who We Are

Locally Led. Evidence Driven. Community Rooted.

Kenya's arid and semi-arid lands cover approximately 84% of the country's landmass and are home to some of its most climate-vulnerable, conflict-prone, and historically underserved communities.

ASREP Africa — the ASAL Research & Resilience Programme — was founded in 2023 and is headquartered in Isiolo County. We are a locally-led organisation committed to building resilience at the intersection of climate, peace, and governance across Kenya's ASALs.

Through evidence-based programmes, indigenous knowledge systems, and deep community partnerships, we deliver change that endures.

Nature-Based Solutions
Peacebuilding
Research & Evidence
Community Partnership
Learn More About Us

What We Do

Six Pathways to a Resilient ASAL

Our integrated programmes address the interconnected challenges of climate vulnerability, conflict, weak governance, and economic marginalisation.

Waso Eco-Champions planting indigenous trees in Isiolo County

Climate Resilience & NbS

Restoring degraded landscapes through nature-based solutions. The Waso Eco-Champs programme has planted 10,000 indigenous trees across 10 wards of Isiolo County.

10,000 trees planted · 2,000 eco-champions

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Inter-community peace dialogue convened by ASREP in Northern Kenya

Peacebuilding & Social Cohesion

Fostering dialogue across pastoral and farming communities to resolve resource conflicts and strengthen inter-community bonds through the Isiolo Peace Actors Forum.

500+ peace actors engaged · 60% women & youth

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ASREP researcher with community elders during indigenous knowledge documentation

Research & Knowledge

Documenting indigenous knowledge and generating evidence to inform policy. The ASAL IK Vault Series debut — 'Cows, Women & Land' — entered policy discourse nationally.

ASAL IK Vault Series · Borana Oromo Knowledge

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KSG Under the Tree civic education session with community members

Civic Governance & Youth

Deepening citizen engagement through the KSG 'Under the Tree' Series — piloted in Isiolo and now scaling across all 47 Kenyan counties via a landmark KSG partnership.

KSG pilot → 47-county national rollout

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Biodiversity restoration and wildlife conservation in ASAL Kenya

Biodiversity Restoration

Protecting iconic ASAL wildlife and ecosystems through community-led conservation. ASREP represented Isiolo County in national biodiversity strategy development with SDZWA-K.

SDZWA-K partner · Isiolo County strategy

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Community eco-entrepreneurship training and livelihoods programme

Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment

Creating sustainable income pathways through eco-entrepreneurship, green skills, and market linkages. Over 40 participants in the inaugural eco-entrepreneurship webinar.

40+ participants · Eco-entrepreneurship 2025

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In the Borana Oromo Indigenous culture, three things stand above all else: Cows. Women. Land. Nothing in the universe rivals their value.

ASAL Indigenous Knowledge Vault Series

Debut Release — Borana Oromo Heritage, Isiolo County, Kenya

Latest Stories

News & Impact from the Field

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ASREP Africa joins the Global Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP)
Partnerships

ASREP Joins the Global Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP)

ASREP Africa has joined the Global Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP), the world's leading peacebuilding network of 300+ organizations across 181 countries — a strategic milestone that expands ASREP's global partnerships and reinforces its commitment to locally-led peacebuilding, climate security, indigenous knowledge, and resilient livelihoods across Africa's drylands.

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Newspaper clipping of the op-ed by Dida Fayo, Executive Director and Lead Researcher of ASREP Africa, titled 'Ewaso Nyiro River is dying and Kenya cannot afford to look away', published in a Kenyan daily's climate change section
Media Coverage

Ewaso Ny'iro River Is Dying: ASREP's Dida Fayo Sounds the Alarm in National Op-Ed

In a widely read op-ed in a Kenyan national daily, ASREP Africa Executive Director Dida Fayo warns that the Ewaso Ny'iro River — a lifeline for 3.6 million people across Kenya's drylands — is dying, and calls for riparian protection, drylands-targeted adaptation finance, and recognition of indigenous knowledge as a climate-adaptation asset.

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Representatives from ASREP Africa and African Agency for Arid Resources Limited (AGAR) holding the ASREP Impact Report after signing a strategic MOU Framework Agreement
Partnerships

A Landmark Partnership for Drylands Climate Resilience and Community-Led Restoration

ASREP Africa and African Agency for Arid Resources Limited (AGAR) have signed a strategic MOU Framework Agreement to jointly advance community-led ecosystem restoration and inclusive green economic transformation across Kenya's drylands, targeting 10,000 plants and 500+ trained eco-champions over the next six months.

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Waso Eco-Champions lined up at a community tree planting event in Isiolo County
Climate & Environment

Waso Eco-Champions Plant 10,000 Indigenous Trees Across Isiolo County

ASREP Africa's flagship Waso Eco-Champions programme has reached a landmark milestone: 10,000 indigenous trees planted across 10 wards of Isiolo County, mobilising over 2,000 community eco-champions in one of Kenya's most ambitious community-led restoration efforts.

Read the Story

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Global Recognition

Our Work, Recognised Worldwide

ASREP's community-led conservation and peacebuilding work has captured the attention of leading global media outlets.

Waso Eco-Champions lined up at a community tree planting event in Isiolo County
Biographic Magazine
2026

The Future of Conservation Without US Aid

Biographic Magazine profiles ASREP's Waso Eco-Champs as a model for locally-funded, community-led conservation in an era of declining international aid.

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ASREP Africa leaders meeting with Kenya Forest Service officials to formalise a conservation partnership
The Guardian newspaper logo
March 2026

Big News: ASREP Africa Global Feature Stories

The Guardian's global environment desk highlights ASREP alongside leading conservation voices navigating the challenge of USAID funding reductions — affirming ASREP's place in the global conservation conversation.

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Community members planting green seedlings as part of ASREP's nature-based solutions programme in Isiolo County
Standard Digital
2025

Isiolo Banks on Eco-Champions to Empower Communities

Kenya's Standard Media reports on how eco-champions are reshaping conservation governance and community livelihoods in Isiolo County.

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Get Involved

You Can Help Build Resilient Communities

Whether you give, partner, or volunteer — your support helps ASREP Africa deliver lasting change across Kenya's arid and semi-arid lands.

Donate

Every contribution funds tree seedlings, peace dialogues, and community research in Kenya's ASALs.

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Partner with Us

Align your institution, foundation, or corporate CSR with proven, locally-led programmes across Northern Kenya.

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Volunteer

Contribute your skills — research, communications, field work, or mentorship — to grassroots resilience in the ASALs.

Join as Volunteer

Our Partners

Trusted by Leading Partners & Institutions

Kenya School of Government
Kenya Wildlife Service
Alliance for Peacebuilding
Inclusion Unfolding Africa
Horn of Africa Institute for Peace & Security
Regional Pastoralists Peace Link
WSMTF Water Services Trust Fund
AGAR — African Agency for Arid Resources
ASAL Humanitarian Network
Mwangaza Light
Kenya Forest Service
National Drought Management Authority
Mercy Corps
Interpeace
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Kenya
Jameel Observatory
NCIC
FCDC
PROCMURA
MID-P
Pelum Kenya
PAMOJA Trust

22+ government, civil society, and international partners across Kenya