Adaptation as Participation? NGO-led Hay Production and Pastoralists’ Adaptive Capacity

This article examines how non-governmental organizations (NGO)-led participatory adaptation interventions shape pastoralism and pastoralists’ adaptive capacity. Drawing on a locally led adaptation framework and qualitative fieldwork in Samburu West, Kenya, the study explores NGO-supported hay production as a widely promoted climate adaptation strategy. Findings show that hay production diversifies livelihoods and creates new opportunities, including for women and youth, yet distributes benefits unevenly, making the practice both empowering and exclusionary. This points to a need for more inclusive interventions. Yet amid climate change, shifting land tenure and other socio-ecological pressures, hay production tends to reinforce sedentarization, contributing to the broader transformation of pastoralism.