The Ogiek are among the last remaining forest-dwelling, hunter-gatherer Indigenous peoples of East Africa. For generations, our ancestors called the Mau Forest home — living in balance with its rivers, trees, and wildlife, and passing down knowledge of medicine, bee-keeping, and land stewardship through story and practice, not paper.
That balance was broken by decades of forced evictions and land dispossession, which pushed thousands of Ogiek families out of their ancestral forest and into poverty, displacement, and cultural erasure. The International Land Coalition estimates just 55,000 Ogiek remain in Kenya today — and the fight to reclaim their land, language, and livelihood continues.
The Koibatek Ogiek Women and Youth Network (KOWYN) was formed in response to this crisis. We are a registered, Indigenous women and youth-led community organization based in Eldama Ravine, Baringo County, in the heart of the Koibatek region.
We advocate for the repatriation of the Ogiek to their forest home, and we build the tools our community needs to survive and thrive while that fight continues: restored land, sustainable food systems, mental health support, and a new generation of leaders equipped to carry this work forward.
To empower Ogiek women and youth through climate justice, food sovereignty, and cultural preservation — while advocating for the Ogiek people’s right to return to and protect their ancestral home, the Mau Forest.
A future where the Ogiek people live securely on their ancestral land, where Ogiek women and youth lead in every decision that shapes their community, and where Ogiek language and knowledge are passed on, not lost.
Three pillars, rooted in one goal — an Ogiek future that belongs to the Ogiek
We restore degraded forests, rivers, and farmland through agroforestry — planting thousands of trees and reviving the land practices our ancestors used to keep the ecosystem in balance.
We promote sustainable, Indigenous farming methods and maintain a dedicated Indigenous Seed Bank, protecting the ancestral seeds that carry our heritage while securing food for our community.
We work to preserve the near-extinct Ogiek language and culture through education, documentation, and community storytelling — ensuring Ogiek identity survives for the next generation.
We also provide restorative and healing justice — mental health support for survivors of displacement and forced evictions — because rebuilding land and rebuilding people go hand in hand.
Farm demonstrations, environmental education, and youth leadership training in motion
Founder & Executive Director
Judy’s family was evicted from Maji Mazuri forest shortly after her birth, and she was raised away from the ancestral Koibatek forests that shaped her community’s way of life. That distance is what drove her to act — gathering fellow Ogiek women and youth to imagine a future where their culture, land, and knowledge could be protected rather than lost.
From those early conversations, KOWYN was born, with Judy as its founding Executive Director. She holds a Bachelor’s in Public Relations from the University of Nairobi and a Diploma in Journalism from the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication, and has represented the Ogiek people on international platforms including the inaugural African Climate Summit in 2023.
Providing governance and strategic direction for KOWYN
Board Chair
Board Secretary
Board Director
Board Advisor
Board Financial Overseer
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Behind this work is a team of Ogiek women and youth who live this mission every day