Our Chosen Charity for 2026/27: The Milgis Trust
Every Rock and Stones piece is made by hand by our tailors in Gilgil. And every time you buy one, 2% of your order heads north to The Milgis Trust, protecting wildlife, water and communities in the wild heart of northern Kenya.
This year we're proud to name The Milgis Trust as our chosen charity for 2026/27. For us, it feels like coming home. Back in 2018, our customers helped us raise KSh 103,000 for the Trust - one of our very first big fundraisers. Eight years on, we're back, and in 2026 alone we've already given over KSh 100,000.
Who are The Milgis Trust?
The Milgis Trust was founded in 2004 by Helen Douglas-Dufresne and takes its name from the Milgis Lugga, the biggest seasonal riverbed in the Samburu heartlands of northern Kenya. Its work stretches across roughly 8,000 square kilometres of wild, remote country, taking in the Mathews Range, the Ndoto Mountains and Mount Nyiru.
The Milgis Lugga
This is home to the Samburu, Turkana and Rendille, pastoralist communities who move with their cattle, camels and goats. The Trust's approach is simple: work alongside these communities so they can look after their own land and wildlife, while keeping their traditional way of life.
What your 2% supports
Wildlife: In the 1970s, poaching and forest burning drove the elephants out of this area almost completely. Today they're back. The Trust's community scouts patrol the mountains and luggas on foot, keeping watch over elephants and other wildlife. When a baby elephant was found alone in the Ndoto Mountains, a Samburu herdsman walked for hours to find a Milgis ranger, and together they got the calf to safety. That's the kind of trust between people and wildlife the Milgis has spent twenty years building.
Water: In a dry year, water decides everything up here. The Trust harvests flood water, protects the areas where rain collects and brings clean drinking water to schools, clinics and villages. Its water projects now reach 14 communities across Samburu and Marsabit, and during droughts they can be almost the only water these families have.
Community: Looking after wildlife only works when people thrive too. The Trust supports schools and teachers, health and family planning, and new ways to earn a living, like beekeeping, so families can build a future without harming the land around them.
What we've given so far
- 2018: KSh 103,000, put towards binoculars for the scouts, so they can survey the landscape and spot where people and wildlife need help
- 2026 so far: over KSh 100,000, and counting with every order
That's over KSh 200,000 from Rock and Stones customers to The Milgis Trust - and the year isn't over yet.
The 2% applies to every order, whether you shop online or visit us in Gilgil, Nanyuki or at House of Treasures in Karen. You don't need to do anything extra - just shop, and you're part of it.
Made in Gilgil, giving back to Kenya
For us, the two go hand in hand. Simon, Faith, Maggie, Elizabeth and Laurence cut and stitch every Rock and Stones piece by hand in our Gilgil workshop. Every order supports their work here in the Rift Valley, and sends 2% north to protect the wildlife, water and communities that make Kenya so special.
So next time you pull on your Beach & Bush Shorts, you're wearing a little bit of both.
Asante sana for being part of it.