F.a: Strengthening biocultural rights by bringing community together (Tharaka, Eastern Kenya) Tharaka's unique biodiversity and bio-cultural heritage are severely threatened. The existing laws do not explicitly recognise sacred natural sites and territories, nor their customary governance systems. It is now important to document these and to lobby 
the county government to pass these into a law to be able to hold people accountable for the protection of their biocultural life-heritages and livelihoods against land grabs and other extractives. The customary laws will help maintain original order which
 will revitalize the roles of both women and men. In the proposed project SALT will run monthly community dialogues and learning exchanges amongst the Tharaka Indigenous community in Eastern Kenya. The purpose of these community dialogues, over the 18 mont
hs of the project, is to support indigenous communities to assert their biocultural rights and thus work towards securing respect and their legal recognition. Whilst the focus of the project is in Tharaka, the project will also link with Maasai in Narok (L
oita Forest) and the Bagungu community in Buliisa district of Uganda through the learning exchanges. Main activities of the project are: Community dialogues and learning exchanges, Developing materials for claiming the rights of communities and recognition
 of their sacred natural sites and ancestral lands and customary governance, documenting clan constitutions and customary laws, Lobbying for relevant national and international legislation and policies and work on integrating them into county level legisla
tion and policies, Collaboration with allied partners nationally and regionally, Pilot use of creative arts (poems, dances, storytelling, drama and festivals, nature experiential learning processes) for intergenerational learning to regenerate and reclaim 
rights of nature of the River Kithino for pupils of Kithino Learning Centre. Expected results are, among others: Increased protection and regeneration of sacred natural sites through demarcation and restoration of watershed areas and healthy ecosystem, Str
engthened solidarity and alignment between communities and custodians of sacred natural sites through exchange visits, Improved community participation and contribution towards documentation of their customary laws and governance systems and community cons
titutions. The project would be reaching more than 1,000 direct beneficiaries and over 10,000 indirect beneficiaries.