Ecofeminist Approaches to Peacebuilding in Kenya

This paper reframes ecofeminist peacebuilding in Kenya by centering on the POTUM (Pokot, Turkana, and Marakwet) Women Forum and the TOTUM Women Group in West Pokot County as feminist approaches to environmental conservation and peacebuilding within the broader framework of From Conflict to Climate Resilience: Integrating Environmental Restoration in Peace Processes. Ecofeminism in Kenya merges social justice with environmental sustainability, and grassroots organizations demonstrate how localized, women-led initiatives address land rights, sustainable resource management, and conflict transformation. POTUM and TOTUM educate women on land rights and sustainable practices, challenge patriarchal barriers to resource access and ownership, and facilitate community dialogues; reduce tensions over land and water disputes. The work of the groups integrates environmental restoration into peace processes especially in climate-vulnerable, conflict-affected pastoral regions. Unlike national models such as the Green Belt Movement (GBM), POTUM, and TOTUM, which foreground the demands of peacebuilding in volatile, arid landscapes where resource scarcity fuels inter-communal conflict. Together with comparative cases such as the Laikipia Wildlife Forum, the grassroots efforts demonstrate that empowering women as environmental stewards and mediators fosters community resilience, mitigates resource-based conflicts, and advances sustainable development. The paper concludes that POTUM and TOTUM are central models for integrating environmental restoration into peace processes. Consequently, feminist environmental conservation is inseparable from peacebuilding in Kenya's arid and semi-arid lands.