Digital Democracy (East Africa)
Digital Democracy (Dd) partners with marginalised communities worldwide, including Indigenous Peoples and ethnic minorities, to co-develop and apply technology for environmental and social justice. Through co-creating digital tools and direct technical training, they empower frontline environmental defenders to protect their ancestral lands and livelihoods, fight for environmental justice, and counteract climate change. Since 2008, Digital Democracy has driven change in 28 countries on six continents and continues to have a direct impact worldwide.
Their tools reduce dependency and challenge the colonial legacy of technology. At their invitation, Digital Democracy supports local communities not just as data collectors, but to own and manage their data, mapping and monitoring process themselves. Tools are free, easy to learn, and do not depend on an internet connection.
In 2022/2023, the Eurofins Foundation supported the project East Africa Earth Defenders Community Monitoring.
Chepkitale Indigenous Peoples’ Development Programme (CIPDP), a representative organisation of the Ogiek, an Indigenous group native to Mount Elgon in Kenya, have approached Digital Democracy for urgent help to map their lands in order to gain legal title and conduct ongoing environmental monitoring to protect against threats to the forest ecosystem along the slopes of Mount Elgon and to their livelihoods.
Digital Democracy has thus built Mapeo, a free, easy-to-use, open-source set of tools for collecting and mapping information, with and for earth defenders to easily document environmental & human rights information and to collect data about their land. It was designed to work in entirely offline environments, is highly customisable, and built on a decentralised peer-to-peer database that allows communities to own their own data.
The Eurofins Foundation’s support has helped make it possible to continue working with Chepkitale Indigenous Peoples’ Development Programme (CIPDP) as they undertake critical mapping work through Mapeo, to regain legal title over their ancestral homelands and work to protect their local forest and biodiversity. In addition, the Eurofins Foundation’s grant helped to organise and host a large Mapeo Training Gathering with representatives from 14 Indigenous communities in Africa.
CIPDP and the Indigenous Peoples attending this gathering aim to use Mapeo, along with the territorial mapping skills they learn, to gain legal title of their ancestral lands and collect accurate information about illegal activities and environmental degradation on their land. This information can be used to advocate with decision-makers and political leaders for increased Indigenous sovereignty over ancestral lands and more legal action to protect their territories from environmentally destructive developments.
The Ogiek won one legal battle in defense of a section of their territory in 2022, proving the strength of territorial mapping as a legal strategy. They, in addition to many of the other groups attending the meeting, are currently engaged in other important land rights challenges, and Digital Democracy hopes that this project will lead to more territorial defense wins for these communities.
In 2023/2025, the Eurofins Foundation renews its support to the work of Digital Democracy in Brazil through a grant to the Indigenous Women Land Defenders’ Programme.
The inclusion of women’s perspectives, knowledge, and leadership in Indigenous efforts to defend communal territories paves the way for more inclusive, effective, and ultimately sustainable approaches to the protection of critical ecosystems, benefiting not only their specific communities but also the global effort to preserve our planet for future generations. Through this new program, Digital Democracy aims to co-design support and connections for Indigenous women land defenders both regionally and internationally.
This project contributes to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
