"The main objective was to find an alternative income for the local community in the surrounding village and forest, and also relieve the pressure on the forest of people cutting timber, " says project manager Amiri Saidi.

CNN: Butterfly farmers help protect threatened forests

The UN-REDD Programme would have welcomed the chance to respond to the aforementioned statement during the interview we did with The Economist for this special issue, but no questions related to the Mau forest or the Ogiek community were raised at that time.

ECONOMIST: Letters