APRIL 2026: SOILS FOR THE FUTURE AFRICA PUBLIC STATEMENT. 

" Soils for the Future Africa (SftFA) has received questions about the relationship between our Kajiado Rangelands Carbon Project (KRCP) and the activities of the Big Life Foundation. SftFA is a soil carbon project developer with headquarters in Kajiado whose goal is to use carbon financing to support rangeland restoration and pastoral livelihoods. 

Big Life is a community-based conservation organisation headquartered in Mbirikani working with local communities in the Greater Amboseli Ecosystem to conserve natural resources, including wildlife, to help drive sustainable development.

The two organisations are entirely independent of each other and not directly involved in nor responsible for each other’s activities, although they share a commitment to supporting community prosperity through the long-term protection of the landscape and its natural resources.

This commitment is also shared by the Kajiado County Government and the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA). They are currently directing enforcement operations to uphold the Kajiado County Spatial Plan. SftFA plays no role in these operations; Big Life has a small supporting role under county direction.

Big Life plays no part in SftfA’s Kajiado Rangelands Carbon Project. The 700 land parcels in the Eselenkei Wildlife Corridors (Tulakaria and Marite) whose owners joined Big Life’s conservation leasing initiative are not part of SftFA’s soil carbon project. SftFA has not provided any funds to Big Life, nor has Big Life provided any funds to SftFA.     

SftFA is exclusively focused on rangeland management; it is not involved in any land leases or land purchases. SftFA works independently and solely with local communities to improve livestock grazing practices – known as rapid rotational grazing plans. When implemented effectively, these plans increase soil carbon. If monitored correctly, these increases in soil carbon can create soil carbon credits that can be sold to support the long-term implementation of the grazing plans. This work is unique to communities participating in the KRCP and is independent of Big Life’s conservation activities. 

There are three direct conservation benefits that come from this soil carbon project:

1. Increasing soil carbon directly results in increasing the soil’s moisture retention capacity, which in turn increases the soils’ resilience to drought.
2. Increasing soil carbon improves the nutrient cycling capacity of the soil, resulting in more nutritious forage for livestock and wildlife. 
3. The long-term implementation of this grazing system will shift grass composition from annual, short-rooted grasses that do better in more degraded rangelands, to perennial grasses with longer root systems that reduce soil erosion.  Importantly, perennial grasses can sequester approximately three times as much soil carbon than annual grasses.

Taken together, these three conservation wins’ result in grass staying greener longer.  They increase the rate of improvement in overall rangeland health and resilience to climate change.”