Inside Reteti: The Samburu Women Raising Baby Elephants and Rewriting Conservation

In northern Kenya, a sanctuary called Reteti has quietly done something no one else in Africa has: it became the first Indigenous-owned elephant sanctuary on the continent, founded in 2016 and run entirely by the Samburu community. At its heart is Dorothy Lowakutuk, one of Africa’s first female elephant keepers, who hand-raises orphaned calves and mentors other women in her community. One of her babies used to fall asleep lying across her legs. That level of care is the job.

The economics behind the sanctuary are just as compelling as the animal stories. Reteti works with 1,250 local women known as“milk mamas,”who supply over 20,000 litres of goat milk monthly for the orphaned elephants. Last year alone, nearly $342,000 was paid directly to Samburu women, many of whom opened bank accounts for the first time. Add eco-tourism revenue that funds classrooms and school bursaries, and the sanctuary has become a full community engine, not just an animal rescue.

The numbers speak for themselves: 13 young elephants returned to the wild last year, 60 calves reunited with their mothers, and a regional elephant population that has rebounded from a few hundred thirty years ago to more than 6,000 today. Dorothy’s own words sum it up best, telling Positive News that Reteti“has made women people to be believed in.”So here’s a question for you: what cause near you could use this community-first playbook?

*Article Source: [Positive News](https://www.positive.news/environment/the-women-putting-community-at-the-heart-of-elephant-conservation/)*