What We Do
What We Do
PAIR works across eight interconnected pillars to advance resilience and self-reliance in pastoralist communities. We foster partnerships for self-reliance and economic empowerment, strengthen livelihoods, jobs and food security and promote climate change adaptation alongside sustainable natural resource management. Our work expands education and skills for youth and women, improves health, nutrition and WASH, and builds peace through dialogue and social cohesion. Guided by innovation, we also utilize Community One Health Index (COHI) tools to ensure that every intervention is evidence-based, accountable and responsive to community realities. Together, these pillars create hunger-free, resilient, and sustainable futures.
The Challenges We Address
Pastoralist communities in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) face complex, interlinked challenges that threaten their resilience and futures:
- Climate Vulnerability: Increasing droughts, erratic rainfall, and shifting weather patterns undermine livestock health, food systems, and water security.
- Marginalization: Limited infrastructure, healthcare, education, and economic opportunities perpetuate cycles of inequality and exclusion.
- Resource-Based Conflicts: Competition for land, pasture, and water intensifies tensions, fueling insecurity and instability across borders and communities.
- Fragile Livelihoods: Heavy dependence on livestock and limited market access leave households vulnerable to shocks and hunger.
- Health & Nutrition Gaps: Poor access to health, nutrition, water, and sanitation weakens community resilience and increases preventable disease.
These challenges demand innovative, inclusive and sustainable solutions that put communities first, harness the private sector, and ensure resilience across generations.
Our Approach
Our approach is anchored in simple but powerful principles that guide everything we do:
- Community First: We listen, co-create, and build on pastoralist traditions and knowledge.
- Partnership-Driven: We connect communities with governments, private sector, and global markets.
- Evidence-Based: We utilize COHI tools to measure resilience and guide smarter decisions.
- Inclusive & Peaceful: We promote dignity, equity, and dialogue to strengthen social cohesion.
- Sustainable & Future-Focused: We design solutions that endure beyond aid, ensuring resilience across generations.
Our Work
Thematic Areas
1. Partnerships for Self-Reliance & Economic Empowerment
2. Livelihoods, Jobs & Food Security
3. Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation
4. Natural Resource Management & Environmental Conservation
5. Education & Human Capital Development
6. Health, Nutrition & WASH
7. Peacebuilding & Social Cohesion
8. Research, Learning & Innovation (COHI Tools)
Together, these pillars create holistic, sustainable solutions that address both urgent needs and long-term transformation.
Programs
•Youth & Women Enterprises that link local producers to national markets.
•Peace Dialogues that reduce conflict over grazing lands and water.
•WASH Initiatives provide clean water and improved sanitation in remote villages.
Every program is guided by our approach: community-first, partnership-driven, evidence-based, inclusive, and sustainable.