For Nature, Planet and People
Abwaakeris Ridge by Oluokos
Abwaakeris Ridge by Oluokos
Birding & Tranquility
Abwaakeris Ridge by Oluoko – In Kenya, bird watching is experiencing a remarkable surge in popularity. Kenya is home to approximately 1,100 bird species, making it one of Africa’s premier birdwatching safari destinations.
Kenya’s birds vary… From the spectacular flamingo flocks currently found at Lake Bogoria, Lake Elementaita, and Lake Magadi to the magnificent Great Blue Turaco of Kakamega Forest and the unique coastal species of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, including the Sokoke Scops Owl, Malindi Pipit, and Kilifi Weaver, and the country’s least-known Busia County hotspots that are home to the recently covered new bird species in Kenya, the Bamboo Warbler the range-restricted Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike, the enigmatic Whistling Cisticola, Speckle-breasted Woodpecker, the Black-bellied Firefinch, Red-headed Lovebird just to mention a few.
Abwaakeris Ridge - the Untold Story...
In the year 2023, we bought a piece of land on the boulders that beautifully overlook a ravine down and the valleys beyond, hills, and plains that command some stunning views of Kenya’s second-highest peak, Mount Elgon. Our first three acres are fondly referred to as the Abwaakeris Ridge and we are in the process of establishing a wider nature conservancy by conserving at least 20% of our beautiful landscapes of the Abwaakeris Hills for biodiversity recovery.
We want to accelerate our conservation work through sustainable travel. This will help to ensure that the Abwakeris rare bird species, primates, trees, and bushes thrive well by connecting and restoring beautiful wild places – places that store carbon and help tackle the climate crisis too.
Bird Watching at the Abwaakeris Ridge
Abwaakeris Ridge though not popular amongst birders, is heavily associated with the eco-tourism and community-focused luxury travel services organized by Oluokos Signature, an independent sustainable holiday outfitter based in Western Kenya, Abwaakeris Ridge by Oluokos is a scenic humid habitat along the dramatic hills of Chelelemuk and other isolated smaller hills and ranges.
Abwaakeris’s elevated terrain is situated in the rugged ranges that run from the slopes of Kenya’s second highest peak, Mount Elgon with Chelelemuk hills and Amukura escarpment being the most notable ones all running from the northeast to the southwest direction. This spectacular ridge is home to over 200 species of birds each season, and they are easily spotted around the farm. Our guides are on hand to take you for guided walks through bordering bushland, hillsides and forests or you may take the opportunity to sit quietly in any one of the vantage nooks to watch the plethora of avifauna that inhabits the farm and its neighborhood.
Our Vision for the Abwaakeris
The Ecological Importance
These hills capture moisture and funnels water down to the surrounding low-lying ecosystems thus playing a vital hydrological role in the “heartbeat” of the Teso region in Busia County and beyond, Western Kenya. In return, generating numerous freshwater springs and streams that feed down into local floodplains and rivers that water the permanent transboundary papyrus swamps.
Abwaakeris Ridge isn’t a formally recognized geographical feature or standalone tourist destination in Western Kenya. Instead, this specific phrasing points directly to the unique, localized community eco-tourism initiatives and custom wilderness itineraries mapped out by Oluokos Signature.
Currently, with fewer people in the hills and birdlife is generally good throughout the year, however, from October to April migratory birds from Europe and northern Africa are present, and many resident birds are in breeding plumage. This makes it the best time for bird watching.
Oluokos Roots & Wings Conservtion Safari Experience
This is a visionary, community-anchored social tourism enterprise developed by Oluokos Signature to resolve a critical environmental and cultural paradox in Western Kenya. Over the past six years of active, field-based birding operations in Malaba and the wider Teso landscape, Oluokos Signature has documented an extraordinary ecological phenomenon: some of Africa’s rarest and most sought-after avian species are thriving outside government-protected areas, living entirely within unprotected community-owned lands.
Concurrently, the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) that historically fostered co-existence between these birds and human populations is facing permanent erasure. As the region’s elder matriarchs—lovingly referred to in the Iteso language as Toto—pass away, centuries of bird-centered oral histories, environmental forecasting indicators, and conservation ethics are
disappearing.
Driven by an escalating cost of living, local farmers are increasingly clearing the indigenous trees cover and draining small wetlands for subsistence agriculture, directly threatening these critical, non-
gazetted habitats.
African Custom Luxury Safari Experts
Sustainable Travel in the Abwaakeris Ridge and Tesoland
At the extreme edge of this marginalized circuit lies Teso Land, straddling the international border at Malaba. Over the last six years, Oluokos Signature has stationed its specialized operations in Malaba to intensively survey the avifauna and community dynamics of this landscape. The empirical field data gathered during this period has yielded surprising, internationally significant ornithological discoveries.
Oluokos Signature recorded the Bamboo Warbler (Locustella alfredi) here—the absolute first verified sighting of this species for Kenya. Furthermore, Teso Land has proven to be an unmatched sanctuary for an array of hyper-localized avian specialties that are exceptionally difficult to locate anywhere else in the country.
The defining ecological insight of our findings is that these birds are not the inhabitats within gazetted Important Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs). While institutional reserves are struggling against degradation and yielding fewer species observations, these rare birds are nesting and feeding directly within standard, unprotected community farmlands, small riverine marshes, and household woodlots.
Oluokos Initiative for the Abwaakeris Community...
Oluokos Signature is supporting the Abwaakeris Ridge community to diversify their livelihoods through sustainable and regenerative tourism. This has been an effective method to support income generation, although still exposes the communities to challenges of food security.
We are now in a position to start supporting the next step of the longer-term plan for the Abwaakeris Ridge Sustainable Tourism Initiative by supporting the community in its efforts to establish sustainable tourism in the Abwaakeris Hills. This would ensure that the organically grown fruits, herbs, and vegetables could be sold to the Oluokos Signature guests and to the neighboring communities and markets.
In return, this will help improve the community’s GDP in the village and allow for additional revenue to get back to the community through the making and sale of crafts to the local and global markets.
We believe we have an attractive model that combines conservation, communities, and commerce with an incentive to work towards increased nature conservation, complementing the existing ecotourism business and further empowering Abwaakeris community.
The Future of the Abwaakeris Community...
The aim of our strategy is to protect 20% of land in the Abwaakeris Ridge and sorrounding hills for the benefit of nature and people. This means securing land to protect nature through purchase, gifts, and working in partnership with the host Iteso community. In return, this will help to deliver nature’s recovery by creating an improved ecosystem.
Our dedicated nature ecosystem in the Abwaakeris Ridge will be a unique and a special habitat. We want this habitat and its nature to flow into the surrounding land, allowing nature and man to coexist in harmony. To help make this happen we will work with other landowners in the vicinity, as well as on our own newly acquired land, in managing sites for wildlife.
We plan to open up accommodation in the village to new families, which will increase the number of guests who can be accommodated in the homestay program. In return, this will create job opportunities for the community members.
Our Photos' Credit
- Adarsh Nagda
- Doc. Victor Ikawa
- Laure Dupont Benjamin
- Steve Methu
- Oystein Storkesen
What Our Clients Say About Us
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