Lamu Environment Foundation

Lamu Environment Foundation (LEF) was established in 2021 and raises funds from individuals and businesses to  support locally led environmental conservation to protect, preserve and restore Lamu County, Kenya now, and for the future. 

Lamu County on the Northern Coast of Kenya boasts over 130km of coastline and varied ecosystems, including, mangrove forests, seagrass beds, coral reefs, vast forests, savannahs hosting wildlife including lions, giraffes, buffalo, leopard, zebra and an archipelago of over 60 islands. This combination of beautiful natural landscapes, varied species and diverse terrestrial and marine ecosystems makes Lamu a key tourist destination.

However, the area is not without its environmental, social and humanitarian issues including increasing human-wildlife conflict, drought, land degradation and the constant threat of violent extremism. Combined, these threats and the opportunity for increased tourism highlight the need to protect, preserve and restore Lamu’s environment.

LEF supports locally-led conservation projects to achieve the following: Protect, preserve and restore the environment, support communities’ transition towards more sustainable living, raise awareness of the importance of the environment, and increasing sustainable environmentally led industries to make communities financially resilient through climate action. To achieve this, LEF supports projects focused in 5 thematic areas.

Our model works because we empower communities to act and restore their environment through funding locally designed and led projects. As the change and solution is being led from the bottom up, all our projects have sustainability beyond their funding cycle, thus creating lasting change.