Kenya’s Laikipia region has been a grazing route for indigenous pastoralist communities for centuries. It is also home to white ranchers and conservationists, who settled there during the British colonial era and stayed on after Kenya’s independence in 1963. Since 2017, we have intimately filmed our characters as they confront a rapidly changing world. Laikipia has been feeling the ravaging effects of climate change for decades; the pastoralists, the ranchers and conservancies all rely on Laikipia’s grasslands to sustain their cattle and the wildlife. When drought and elections collide, conflict erupts. Our story goes beyond the headline-grabbing conflict. We explore identity, the complicated legacy of British colonialism, and their intersection with climate change – all this happening during the most fragile moment of our planet.

Through closely following people from the Samburu pastoral community and white Kenyan ranchers and conservationists who rely on the grasslands of Laikipia for their livelihoods, we can clearly illustrate how the climate crisis and its intersection with an unresolved colonial history and politics exacerbate resource conflict in the region. We intend to collaborate with stakeholders working at the intersection of indigenous cultures, climate change resilience and conservation to develop resources and host community screenings and discussions around resource management, policy and indigenous land rights and conservation. We hope these conversations will safeguard the futures of all the people who call this place home.