Legado is
a women-led, global nonprofit that works alongside Indigenous and local communities in places important for biodiversity. We support communities to design and implement solutions of their choosing, benefiting people and landscapes alike—an outcome we call Thriving Futures.
Where We Work:
The Legado Approach
What We Do:
We Activate Legacy
How We Do It:
360° Community-Led Change
Working alongside communities, we take a 360° view of priorities, considering how all aspects of well-being intersect. We foster 360° participation, bringing in a large group of community members, including women, elders, and youth.
The Outcome:
Thriving Futures
The result of our approach?
91% of priorities designed with Thriving Futures drive regional planning across our partnerships, and 94% sustained forest cover in priority lands stewarded by our partner communities*
A Thriving Futures Timeline
1-2 Months
I have shared my vision for tomorrow
Stage 1:
3-6 Months
We are working together to put our plans into action
Stage 2:
Ongoing
We are making our plans a reality by taking collective action and unlocking critical support from the government and funders on our terms
Stage 3:
Our
Partnerships
Ngilai Community Conservancy
The Megantoni National Sanctuary, National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (SERNANP)
The Machiguenga Communal Reserve, National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (SERNANP)
ECA Maeni
The Pangolin Project
Planet Indonesia
Indonesia
The Spotlight
Take an Immersive Journey through Kenya
Earlier this year, we launched our newest multimedia piece, which takes you on an immersive journey through both our Kenya partnerships to answer: What is 360° Community-Led Change? Featuring beautiful imagery from Tanzanian videographer Roshni Lodhia, this 4-minute piece transports you to the forests of Nyekweri and the rangelands of Northern Kenya.
Take the journey for a fuller picture of what 360° Community-Led Change looks like in practice, and why it’s essential for creating holistic, sustainable solutions that lead to Thriving Futures.
Joseph Ntoto Sailepu (13 years), Enock Saningo Rotiken (9 years) and Esther Semerian Rotiken (6 years) walk to school through Nyekweri forest | Roshni Lodhia/Legado
Program Updates
Legacy Plan Celebration in Saniriato, Peru
"The celebration of our Intercultural Communal Legacy Plan has united us as a community and motivated more people to join this process for our community’s development.”
Finalizing Action Plans in Peru
Following the celebration of their new Legacy Plan, the Saniriato community came together with their local community organization representatives, community leaders, and strategic allies to co-create Action Plans for implementing each priority.
These Action Plans were then shared during a general community assembly in Saniriato. The gathering provided an opportunity for community members to offer feedback and engage in dialogue to strengthen the Action Plans.
To build broader support, the community also convened a meeting with key Saniriato leaders and representatives from public institutions to present the finalized Action Plans. With a shared vision and clear path forward, Saniriato is now poised to begin implementing their priorities and advancing holistic, community-driven change.
Northern Kenya Responds to Global Shifts
In February, our Legado: Kenya team faced a significant and unexpected challenge when the U.S. government issued a stop work order on USAID work and funding. USAID was a vital resource for many of our local partner organizations, and its disruptions affected some avenues Ngilai communities used for accessing resources and support in implementing the priorities in their Legacy Plan. In response, our team worked closely with the Ngilai community to adjust their priorities and scale their activities to match the current global shifts in funding and resources.
Though challenging, this process provided an opportunity to re-evaluate and strengthen our strategic approach. In particular, it confirmed that investing in local community leadership—and ensuring growth and development happens on their terms—is a far more resilient approach to advancing community and environmental well-being. When Indigenous and local communities hold ownership over projects, especially ones built from the legacy they’ve articulated for themselves, they are better prepared to continue working toward their Thriving Futures, regardless of changing circumstances.
The "Gully Mamas," a group of Samburu women taking collective action on their Thriving Future | Roshni Lodhia/Legado
Progress on Multidimensional, Community-Defined Priorities in Kenya
- Better Access to Education: Based on the Legacy Plan priority to expand the local school, the Samburu East Constituency Development Fund has committed to contributing to the construction of a new classroom at Ngilai Primary School. In addition, using its 2024 carbon funds, the community purchased desks for local Early Childhood Development and Education centers, ensuring a better learning environment for young children.
- Maternal Health: Women from Lolkuniyani completed the renovation of their Maternity Shelter, which had suffered damage from heavy rains in the previous months. The shelter is in good condition again, and the women now have plans for routine maintenance after heavy rainfall. In addition, the Lolkuniyani maternity shelter recently received a donation from the Samburu Women Trust to support its operations and maintenance. The shelter remains the only traditional Samburu maternity shelter still in action—the others constructed in nearby areas by a different NGO have collapsed as there was no one to maintain them. When Legado asked the community the difference between theirs and the others, they told us ‘this is ours’. And it is.
“We as Nchok women are happy to lead in solving challenges in our community, like with repairing the gullies. We are happy to unite and have made a lot of progress. We are proud to see the community talk about our achievements.“
Child Well-Being Workshop
In June, Legado: Kenya joined more than a dozen major stakeholders at a meeting led by World Vision to discuss and understand the drivers of childhood well-being in Samburu County. The hope was to validate local understanding of the root causes of issues related to child well-being, as well as how local partners might intervene to address challenges. Legado: Kenya was there to ensure the community’s strengths and interconnected vision for its future was the grounding and guiding force for the discussion.
The gathering involved representatives from national and regional government, FOOD for the Hungry, three community conservancies, local constituency development funds, Northern Rangelands Trust, and many more. Together, the group discussed how to address five top drivers of well-being issues, including lack of access to clean water, lack of access to education, environmental degradation, and more.
Each of these issues are interconnected, and Legado works alongside Samburu communities every day to advance change on their terms.
Building our Indonesia Partnership
This spring, Legado and our partner Planet Indonesia began the Thriving Futures process with villages in and around the Gunung Naning Forest, in the Melawi District of West Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. Legado team members joined Planet Indonesia in Ganjang village to help build spaces for community members to reflect on their community assets and to develop a shared vision for the future. Through mixed-gender, women-only and leader convenings—and a lot of listening, note taking, and reflection—the community engaged in deep and meaningful discussions about their Thriving Futures. It was powerful to hear about the holistic nature of the futures they imagined for their community—for example, how clean water, health, and governance all work together to deliver a vision.
At the final consensus convening and through many rounds of discussion, the community voted on its priorities:
- Clean water access & management
- Improved education facilities and children’s motivation to learn
- Alternative livelihoods and improved livelihood knowledge
- Sustainable natural resource management
We are excited to report back on the community’s efforts to take collective action and advance these priorities on their own terms. Our partner, Planet Indonesia, is carrying out similar legacy-focused group discussions in a neighbouring village in the coming weeks. We are grateful to work alongside an organization rooted in the local context, which allows Thriving Futures to adapt to a new cultural and environmental context.
Legado
Savings Groups Expand
on Mount Namuli
Community members on Mount Namuli continued growing their economic resilience by expanding savings groups efforts. After a successful pilot in 2024, the community undertook more training on establishing and maintaining groups. To date, there are seven active savings groups in Mucunha and Murrabue.
The groups are not only managing internal savings but are also identifying income-generating opportunities and building leadership structures, laying the foundation for future investments and sustainability. This momentum reflects increased confidence and participation among members, and is a critical step toward building local, community-driven financial resilience and security.
"The savings groups are bringing real hope. People who never saved anything before are now planning ahead. We’ve already seen women raising chickens, selling soap, and paying school fees for their children. If this model reaches more villages, it will help many people."
Namuli Communities Grow 1,500 Native Medicinal Plants
Through the first half of this year, community members made significant strides in their priority to reforest their mountain and protect plants used in traditional medicine. The community built a greenhouse at the community nursery, prepared planting bags, and began sowing seeds. A total of 1,500 native medicinal plants were produced in Mucunha’s nursery.
Beyond the numbers, what truly stood out was the revival of cultural memory and trust within the community. During training on seed and plant collection, many women began recalling additional medicinal species not captured in initial community surveys. These reflections, nurtured within the nursery setting, created a safe and vibrant space for intergenerational knowledge sharing. Traditional healers and elders, once hesitant, started opening up. This process reconnected the community to forgotten plant uses, promoted cultural healing, and positioned the nursery as both an ecological and social restoration space.
"In our childhood, we learned from our parents and grandparents about certain leaves that were used for healing. Today, those plants are disappearing. As a nursery worker, I want to help bring them back, so that mothers can care for their children with something natural and accessible."
"The women in the community are very interested [in the nursery]. When we show some of the plants in the nursery, they immediately ask how to care for them and how to use them. With training and seed support, every household could have at least one useful plant to help care for the family."
Networking
Updates
In April, our team co-hosted The Power Cs: Climate, Conservation, Connection event at Skoll World Forum. The event brought together leading conservationists from around the world to ignite meaningful conversations with powerful outcomes.
Full Spectrum
Coalition Update
Legado has come together with several like-minded organizations to form the Full Spectrum Coalition (FSC). Our shared vision is a world of thriving people and places, where community leaders, local collectives, and grassroots organizations drive sustained, multidimensional impact—supported by partnerships that center local values, visions, and potential.
In the past six months, three FSC founding members (Legado, One Village Partners, and Tostan), and two learning partners, (IDinsight and the Institute for Development Studies (IDS)) have embarked on a five-year Evidence and Learning Initiative (ELI). This work will provide evidence for how inclusive governance, local leadership, and social transformation drive lasting well-being in communities.
In March, members of the ELI convened in Somone, Senegal, to advance the learning agenda for understanding Holistic Community-Led Development (HCLD) as implemented by FSC members. The team deliberated on research questions and methods to evaluate our organizations’ approaches to advance HCLD. Two research- and evaluation-oriented reflections that came out of our collaborative week in Senegal are available on the IDS blog:
In June, our Senior Liaison Officer Dr. Tita Alvira participated in a webinar during local Evaluation Week, organized by IDInsight and Global Evaluation Week, exploring the question: what if development was truly community-led? The session was titled “Supporting Values-based Holistic Community-led Development: An Evidence and Learning Initiative of the Full Spectrum Coalition.” The webinar shared the vision of the FSC and the work of the ELI with a broader audience.
New
Staff
José Tinta joined us as the Namuli Program Manager in Mozambique.
Katie Bernhard joined us as the Head of Impact, through which she will help advance Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning.
Raïsa Mirza joined us as our Interim Senior Director of Programs.
New
Funder
Get
Involved
Join Us for a Legacy Expedition
“When I first learned about Legado’s approach—that conservation should be centered on the legacies of local and Indigenous people—I was blown away.
After years of supporting financially, I leapt at the opportunity to visit Legado’s work in Kenya, where I was only more inspired by seeing this incredible work up close. My wife, who also joined the trip, and I are proud that we can claim a little part of Legado as our own Legacy.”
Want to join us for a Legacy Trip? Legacy Trips are immersive, multi-day journeys where participants are invited to activate their own legacy by advancing a world where Indigenous and local peoples are the drivers of change—for their people, their culture, and their landscapes.
We are heading to Peru and Kenya in 2026. Want to join? Reach out to Jenn at jennifer@legadoinitiative.org for more information.
Learn
More
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Want to go deeper into Legado’s work? Know a funder or potential partner who might be interested? Feel free to contact Founder and CEO Majka Burhardt at 970-290-7822 or majka@legadoinitiative.org.