Community Feature - Kiunga

Kiunga is a coastal community in the Lamu Archipelago, adjacent to the Somalia border. When you’re in Kiunga, you get both Safaricom and Hormuud (Somalia’s) cellular networks . The Kiunga archipelago is currently protected by The Kiunga Marine National Reserve (KMNR) with the support of The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), covering an area of 250 square kilometers.

Despite the beautiful landscape and it being regarded as one of Kenya's most pristine national marine reserves, the economy struggles with tourism and fisheries market access because of its remote location and security concerns.

Kumbatia kicked off operations in Kiunga last year after a successful onboarding and illegal gear exchange program alongside our NGO partners. Kiunga is now one of our key sourcing partner communities, and the newly developed market access program has the existing and soon-to-be onboarded fishermen eager to continue our collaboration once the high season picks up again in September 2024.

Prior to Kumbatia’s engagement, most fishermen would avoid paying the full fish levy which limited the Beach Management Unit (BMU)’s ability to develop fisheries governance and protection efforts. Now, with Kumbatia paying on behalf of fishermen, this has begun to change. Just recently we’ve begun the process of engaging in a formal partnership with a women’s group in Kiunga which has set up a seasonal closure program within a Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) to harvest octopus sustainably.

Lamu is setting the standard for effective community-based marine conservation in Kenya, whether through gear exchange programs or seasonal closures. At Kumbatia, we believe it is essential to match these conservation efforts with improved market access and pricing so fishers committed to sustainable harvest practices are rewarded financially.