Ngilai community member Naramat Lenkalani and Legado Senior Program Manager Monicah Mbiba during a legacy session in Wamba, Kenya.
Legado is a global nonprofit that works alongside indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCS) in places important for biodiversity to ensure they have the tools, resources, and partnerships they need to create and lead solutions that benefit both their communities and landscapes—an outcome we call Thriving Futures. The ultimate goal of our Thriving Futures™ model is to build a sustainable, locally-led system for collaborative problem solving that fosters adaptability and resilience in communities for meeting current and future challenges, such as those brought on by climate change.
Legado's Radical Approach
Legado’s Thriving Futures model supports indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) by:
- Being community led, shifting the decision-making power
- into the hands of local people
- Using a non-sectoral approach that supports any change communities prioritize for their well being and the well being of their environment
- Building on existing community assets and strengths
- Igniting collective action with women in the lead and increasing the involvement of youth and other marginalized groups in their communities
- Working with local partners to efficiently scale impact
We use the following criteria to select our partnerships and sites:
- IPLC’s have goals they want to achieve
- Local demand for Thriving Futures
- Geographical relevance for protecting biodiversity
- IPLC land tenure
- Strong enabling environment
IPLCs BUILD A THRIVING FUTURE
PLAN/CONTAINER


IPLCs LEAD TO FULFILL THEIR THRIVING FUTURE PRIORITIES

EFFECTIVE COLLECTIVE ACTION AND ACCOMPANIMENT

What Sets Legado Apart?
Legacy as a Call to Action
“Legado” means legacy in Portuguese and Spanish, and legacy is foundational to our work. Legacy is not just something left behind, but something we all create every day. This simple concept acts as a call to action at a time when our planet and its people need it most.

Thriving Futures as the goal

Iterative and responsive programming

Supporting Women
In many of the places where we work, women, despite being known for their adaptive knowledge and experience to step up to challenges and create sustainable solutions, often lack a place at the table to influence decision-making.
The Thriving Futures model focuses specifically on empowering women in IPLCs by:
- Increasing female representation in leadership and decision-making
- Providing women-only spaces for voices to be heard
- Catalyzing individual women to lead through coaching support
“”I was asked to be on a school committee but declined because I did not have the courage or confidence to serve as a leader. But after the Thriving Futures training, I reconsidered and am now a committee member making decisions for the school.”

Individuals as the drivers of change

Designed for scale

See Legado’s Approach in Action
Bringing Together Personal and Community Legacies



