Namati (link is external)champions the role of grassroots legal advocates, or “community paralegals” who are trained in basic law and skills for mediation, organizing, education, and advocacy. This enables them to assist communities to secure rights to land and natural resources in three key ways: documenting community land claims and strengthening local land governance before investment projects arrive, supporting communities to negotiate equitable deals, and monitoring and promoting compliance with the terms of investment once agreements are reached.
Namati is a legal empowerment and support organisation which LEGEND has supported to help thousands of individuals and communities in Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Myanmar to resolve land rights cases and associated conflicts. In its close collaboration with LEGEND’s challenge fund projects, Namati also works to ensure that its grassroots support work has wider impacts by:
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Using case data to drive changes to systems (link is external) that impact entire nations;
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Studying its work carefully to advance learning and rigor within the field; and
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Strengthening grassroots organizations via a global community of practice (link is external), and channeling collective efforts to advocate (link is external) for global financing and protection for paralegals.
