Staff and services

Staff

Taita Research station has staff members and several casual workers. The members of the staff are James Mwang’ombe (manager), Mwadime Mjomba (foreman), Granton Righa (caretaker, and gardener), Darius Kimuzi (research assistant), Rebecca Mwanyolo (cook) and Elphinstone Kalaghe (guard and fundi).

Facilitation research activities

Station facilitates research activities for of students, researchers and staff from various Universities and research institutions operating in the Taita Taveta County by providing safe accommodation and meal service, information centre with a meeting room, library in the office of the station, access to Internet and to research data, means of transportation i.e. mountain bikes, motor-bike, car,  research equipment and space for laboratory work, coordination of local Research Assistants and Tour Guides.

Kindly notice that Taita Research Station does not provide research permits or clearance to the students, researchers or other persons operating in the region. All foreign and Kenyan citizens planning to carry out research in the country should apply a research permit well in advance (processing the application may take several months) from NACOSTI (National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation). The application for a research permit must be submitted online. Depending on the type of research work planned, additional permits from other organizations such as KWS, KFS or NEMA may be required.

Supporting area development and conservation of biodiversity

Station enhances the knowledge-base of the people in Taita area about environmental issues through distribution and sharing of research results, empowering the area communities or other relevant stakeholders by enabling their participation in research projects at the planning, implementation and assessment phases and maximizing employment opportunities.

 Creating an international forum for various stakeholders

Station creates forum for stakeholders interested in research and development possibilities by bringing the “ivory tower” of academics and the “grass-root level” people closer to each other in order to enhance interaction between the scientists and the resource users, provided space for meetings, seminars and exhibitions at the station, provides space for information sharing and discussion online through the Taita Research Station -blog, caters the new-comers at the station with information about local culture, administrative practices necessary, contact persons, logistics and services, welcomes community-based organizations and small scale businesses operating in  sustainable natural resource management to exhibit and market their products or services at the research station, e.g. ecotourism ventures, handicrafts, tree seedlings, honey – and Aloe vera products.

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