Nature and People as One - NAPO

What Nature and People as One - NAPO does

Nature and People as One (NaPO) is a community-based nonprofit conservation organization headquartered in Karare, Marsabit, Northern Kenya, founded in 2018. The organization operates across four dryland ecosystems — Mt Kulal (UNESCO Biosphere Reserve), Mt Marsabit, the Ndoto Ranges, and Mt Ng'iro — partnering with indigenous Rendille and Samburu pastoralist communities, youth, women, and local elders on inclusive conservation. NaPO runs four core programs: the Herder Conservation Network (HCN), which combines pastoralist traditional ecological knowledge with GPS technology to monitor endangered wildlife; Ramat, a dryland forest and rangeland restoration initiative using farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR); the NaPO Conservation Cup, an annual football tournament that links youth participation to tree planting; and Bee Works Africa, a market-centred beekeeping initiative that purchases honey directly from community forest associations to incentivize stewardship. The Mt Marsabit Tree Nursery, established in 2021 in partnership with Kenya Forest Service, has distributed over 40,000 native tree seedlings across seven FMNR-managed sites.

The organization is funded primarily through grants and donations from international development partners including the UNDP Small Grants Programme, WWF-Kenya, Climate Development and Knowledge Network (CDKN), International Tree Fund (ITF), the Embassy of France in Kenya, and Zoo Berlin. Its core operational team consists of approximately seven staff — a team lead, accountant, procurement/admin, field officer, field associate, and finance associate — supported by a four-member board with senior backgrounds from Kenya Wildlife Service, NRT, the UN, the World Bank, and the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI). Distribution is field-based rather than digital: programs are delivered through trained community champions, monthly restoration days, and direct partnerships with government agencies including Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Wildlife Service, and county governments.

In 2025, NaPO received significant recognition, including winning the UNDP Equator Prize, finalist status in the Ashden Awards, the Restor Life Award, and Echoing Green, alongside a UN Decade of Restoration feature. The 2025 Conservation Cup engaged 34 teams and 680 youth participants who planted 7,000 indigenous tree seedlings. As a charitable organization with no commercial pricing, NaPO's revenue mechanics are entirely grant- and donation-driven, and the organization does not publicly disclose financial figures.

Name

Nature and People as One - NAPO

Legal name

Nature and People as One

Website

https://wearenapo.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Nature and People as One (NaPO) is a Kenyan nonprofit conservation organization founded in 2018 that partners with Rendille and Samburu pastoralist communities, youth, women, and elders across four dryland ecosystems in Northern Kenya to deliver community-led wildlife monitoring, rangeland restoration, youth football-linked tree planting, and sustainable beekeeping programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Conservation and Ecosystem Restoration Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (11531), Forest Nurseries and Gathering of Forest Products (113210)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Conservation, Restoration & Biodiversity Services (Habitat, Wetlands, Riparian) (IMAMAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Grassland/Rangeland Management & Restoration (EUABABAF), Seedling & Sapling Production (Containerized) (AFAMADAD), Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation & Resilience Programs (BPAIAMAD), Forestry, Land Use & REDD+ Programs (BPADALAF)

Keywords

• Community-led conservation
• Dryland forest restoration
• Wildlife monitoring programs
• Sustainable beekeeping livelihoods
• Ecosystem restoration services

Headquarters

HQ city

Karare, Marsabit

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Primary revenue through charitable donations and programmatic grants from international organizations, foundations, and development agencies. The organization has partnerships with UNDP Small Grants Program, WWF-Kenya, Climate Development and Knowledge Network, International Tree Fund, and various embassies and conservation bodies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NaPO delivers community-led conservation and dryland restoration programs in Northern Kenya, partnering with pastoralist herders, youth, women, and elders across Mt Kulal, Mt Marsabit, Ndoto Ranges, and Mt Ng'iro. Core offerings include the Herder Conservation Network (combining herder traditional knowledge with GPS for wildlife monitoring), Ramat (scaling farmer-managed natural regeneration through community champions and monthly restoration days), the NaPO Conservation Cup (annual football tournament linking youth to tree planting), and Bee Works Africa (market-centred beekeeping with direct honey purchases from community forest associations).

Product overview

NaPO (Nature and People as One) is a conservation NGO operating in Northern Kenya that offers a portfolio of interconnected community-based conservation and restoration programs rather than a unified software product. The core offerings include the Herder Conservation Network (wildlife monitoring combining traditional knowledge with GPS technology), Ramat (dryland restoration via farmer-managed natural regeneration), the NaPO Conservation Cup (youth environmental engagement through football), and Bee Works Africa (sustainable beekeeping with market access). These programs are designed to work synergistically: HCN provides ecological monitoring data, Ramat restores landscapes, the Conservation Cup engages youth advocates, and Bee Works creates economic incentives for conservation—all supported by the Mt Marsabit Tree Nursery for reforestation efforts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Herder Conservation Network (HCN): Community-based wildlife monitoring system combining traditional ecological knowledge of pastoralist herders with GPS technology for conservation.
• Ramat
• Bee Works Africa
• NaPO Conservation Cup

Quantifiable outcome

• 7000 indigenous tree seedlings planted by youth in 2025 Conservation Cup
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Climate Development and Knowledge Network (CDKN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevelopment and climate knowledge partner supporting inclusive conservation initiatives in Northern Kenya
• WWF-KenyacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration through Voices for Climate Action (VCA) project for community discussions on rangeland governance in Mt Marsabit, Ndoto Ranges and Mt Ng'iro
• International Tree Fund (ITF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding partner for tree planting and ecosystem restoration initiatives
• Global Landscape Forum (GLF)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for knowledge sharing and landscape restoration community engagement
• Zoo BerlinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConservation partner supporting biodiversity initiatives
• Kenya Forest ServicecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGovernment agency partner for Mt Marsabit Tree Nursery and ecosystem restoration, also partner in Conservation Cup 2023
• Kenya Water Towers AgencyminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartner in Conservation Cup 2023 for water tower ecosystem restoration
• Lenaa Birds ConservationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConservation partner in Conservation Cup 2023 focusing on bird conservation

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Justdiggit: Africa-focused organization that scales Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) and other landscape restoration techniques across East Africa. Directly comparable as it uses the same FMNR methodology as NaPO's Ramat program, partners with pastoralist and smallholder communities, and pursues donor-funded community-led restoration at scale.
• Northern Rangelands Trust: Community-based conservation umbrella organization supporting 39 community conservancies across Northern and coastal Kenya. Directly comparable as it operates in overlapping geography (Laikipia, Samburu, Marsabit-adjacent areas), uses community conservancy governance models for rangeland and wildlife conservation, and partners with the same pastoralist communities NaPO serves.
• Lewa Wildlife Conservancy: Northern Kenya community conservancy integrating wildlife conservation, community development, and anti-poaching in the Laikipia-Isiolo landscape. Directly comparable on community-led conservation, endangered species protection (Grevy Zebra, Black Rhino), and FMNR-style rangeland stewardship in the same Northern Kenya geography.

Broad incumbents

• The Nature Conservancy: Global conservation organization active in Kenya on forest restoration, rangeland management, and community-based conservation. Comparable as a broader incumbent pursuing FMNR-style restoration and nature-based solutions at greater scale, often through grants and partnerships with smaller local actors like NaPO.
• Kenya Wildlife Service: State agency responsible for wildlife conservation and management of national parks and reserves in Kenya, including Marsabit National Park and Mt Kulal. Comparable as a government partner (board Chair Lembara Saiyana spent 25+ years here) and as a broader incumbent operating the protected-area framework within which NaPO's Herder Conservation Network functions.
• African Wildlife Foundation: Pan-African conservation organization working across Kenya, including Northern Kenya landscapes, on wildlife, habitats, and community livelihoods. Comparable as a broader incumbent operating in NaPO's geography with overlapping focus on wildlife corridors, community conservancies, and rangeland management, but at much larger scale.
• WWF-Kenya: Kenya office of WWF working on landscape conservation, species protection, and community engagement including in the Marsabit/Mt Kulal area. Directly comparable as an existing NaPO partner (via Voices for Climate Action) and as a broader incumbent that operates rangeland and community conservation programs overlapping with NaPO's footprint.
• Conservation International: Global conservation NGO with significant Kenya presence, focused on biodiversity hotspots, community-led conservation, and nature-based climate solutions. Comparable as a broader incumbent that targets the same funding pools (bilateral, multilateral, foundation) and overlapping thematic areas of dryland restoration and indigenous community engagement.

Others

• IUCN Eastern Africa Regional Office: Regional arm of the International Union for Conservation of Nature supporting protected-area governance, biodiversity assessments, and community-based natural resource management in Kenya. Comparable as an ecosystem enabler that shapes the policy and standards environment within which NaPO's Ramat and HCN programs operate.
• Restor (Restoration Outcomes Observatory): Global platform connecting restoration projects with data, funding, and monitoring tools, and awarder of the Restor Life Award 2025 that NaPO was a finalist for. Comparable as an ecosystem enabler that amplifies NaPO's visibility, provides credibility infrastructure, and connects community restoration projects with funders and technical resources.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/napokenya

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nature and People as One - NAPO