Pastoralist Resilience at Core of Nuru’s Vision for Resilient Rural Communities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 30, 2025

Contact: Tacy Layne | info@iamnuru.org

Washington, D.C.–Nuru is pleased to announce its commitment to scale and deepen its engagement with pastoralist and semi-pastoralist communities through multiple Nuru Collective organizations. In addition to equipping stationary farmers with the resources and tools needed to increase their yields and income, Nuru supports pastoralist resilience, as their inclusion in rural livelihoods is critical to thriving rural communities. This expansion of initiatives supports Nuru’s vision of resilience and hope in otherwise marginalized communities.

Cows and pastoralists in Niger, 2025

Pastoralist Communities: Essential Partners in a Changing Climate

Pastoralists are nomadic or semi-nomadic, relying on livestock such as cattle, goats, and sheep for their livelihoods. Their adaptive practice is characterized by the strategic movement of herds to access pasture and water, which is especially vital in arid and semi-arid regions. Pastoralists play a central role in livestock systems and trade, connecting rural and urban communities across Africa and globally. According to the African Union, approximately 268 million people in Africa practice pastoralism, representing over a quarter of the continent’s population (Feed the Future). Despite their importance, pastoralists are frequently marginalized, stigmatized, or excluded. The mobility central to their way of life often restricts their access to public services, participation in decision-making, and involvement in community dialogues.

Deworming activity in the Dosso region of Niger, 2025

These existing social challenges are compounded by severe environmental pressures. Climate change is making pasture and water resources increasingly scarce, which threatens both herd health and pastoralist livelihoods. For instance, Nuru Kenya conducted a WWF Climate Crowd survey in Samburu County, a place where 60% of the population practices pastoralism (CGIAR). This survey, conducted in November 2024, found that every participant reported decreased rainfall and drought. As a result, 44% of respondents reported relocating their herds to new grazing lands. These pressures can heighten tensions with farming communities when livestock graze on crops or within protected areas, fueling conflict between herding and farming communities. Additionally, opportunities to strengthen livelihoods are constrained by low market literacy and barriers to market access.

“Pastoralism is a livelihood of extremes, taking place in remote areas with minimal infrastructure. Pastoralists are highly susceptible to weather and market shocks due to their reliance on seasonal income and the availability of forage on communal and public lands. This is increasingly threatened by climate change, natural resource degradation, and resource competition. Through cooperatives, Nuru supports pastoralists with training and formal representation, enabling joint land management, price negotiation, and financial resource pooling. With Nuru’s support, pastoralists also gain access to vital services, like affordable veterinary care at strategic migratory points. Nuru believes that pastoralists are underserved communities with similar needs of all rural inhabitants, those of secure land access, robust livelihoods, environmental stewardship, harmonious natural resources management, and accessible trade and markets.”  -Matt Lineal, Nuru CIO 

Nuru’s Expanded Commitment to Resilience and Social Cohesion

Nuru’s interventions with pastoralists are currently supported by four Nuru Collective organizations, with specific, targeted approaches:

• Nuru Kenya: In arid and semi-arid regions like Samburu and Baringo Counties, Nuru supports semi-pastoral households by promoting diverse livelihoods, including improved dairy and livestock production, dry-season vegetable gardening, and beekeeping. These efforts help families bridge the hunger season and strengthen their resilience.
• Nuru Ethiopia: In South Omo, a diverse, multi-ethnic region traditionally home to nomadic pastoral groups, Nuru partners with organized cooperatives and semi-pastoral households, focusing specifically on strengthening both small and large ruminant pastoralism.
• Nuru Nigeria: As part of the SUSTAIN project, Nuru Nigeria will support pastoralist communities in Toungo through women-led enterprise training on milk processing, animal husbandry training, and the introduction of briquette (combustible biomass material used for fuel and kindling) stoves and briquette making.
• Nuru Niger: Nuru focuses on improving beef cattle health and strengthening the capacity of pastoralist cooperatives. Interventions have included two deworming campaigns completed in September 2024 and June 2025, with a third planned for November 2025. In November 2025, baseline data will be collected from these initial activities to co-create 2026 trainings that are highly localized for the local pastoralist community.

By co-creating solutions with rural communities that are inclusive of pastoralists, Nuru aims to support sustainable prosperity and resilience for rural communities facing instability. Nuru is actively seeking partnerships to support these new and growing initiatives with pastoralists. 

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About Nuru:

Nuru is a global collective that enables inclusive and sustainable prosperity by identifying communities at the stability tipping point, strengthening rural livelihoods and market systems, and fostering stabilizing connections that repair social fabric and pave a pathway to peace. Nuru envisions a world without cycles of unjust poverty, where resilience and hope are cultivated in the most marginalized communities. The Nuru Collective has local organizations in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, and Nigeria. Learn more by visiting www.nuruinternational.org.