At the heart of the Mau Forest restoration effort lies a simple truth: conservation can only succeed when communities thrive. The Community Livelihood Improvement Programme (CLIP) was designed to turn this truth into action. It empowers forest-adjacent communities to pursue nature-positive enterprises that enhance income, build resilience, and reduce dependence on forest exploitation.

Through CLIP, households are supported to engage in sustainable ventures such as beekeeping, avocado and dairy farming, pyrethrum production, and other green value chains. These enterprises are backed by training, market linkages, and cooperative models that ensure long-term sustainability. Farmers learn to integrate trees into their farms, improve soil fertility, and conserve water, turning once-degraded lands into productive, climate-smart landscapes.

CLIP also promotes community savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) and group enterprises that encourage collective investment in green growth. By improving access to finance and modern technologies, the programme enables families to transition from survival-based livelihoods to regenerative, profitable ventures.

Crucially, CLIP places women and youth at the center of change. Women’s groups receive targeted support for agribusiness and renewable energy solutions such as clean cookstoves and biogas, while youth are trained in innovation, digital agriculture, and environmental entrepreneurship. This inclusive model ensures that restoration becomes a pathway to empowerment and social equity.

Ultimately, CLIP is more than a livelihood project; it is a bridge between forest restoration and human well-being. By aligning economic opportunity with environmental stewardship, it ensures that protecting the Mau Forest Complex is not just a moral duty, but also a shared source of prosperity.