Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and Mida Creek support some of Africa's rarest wildlife. As the wildlife fights for survival, so do the people living around the forest and creek. ASSETS is a pioneering community conservation project which bridges this gap by demonstrating better livelihood practices and alleviating poverty, whilst encouraging community involvement in nature conservation.

ASSETS distributes funding from Eco-tourism to provide bursaries (scholarships) for secondary school children who would otherwise be unable to afford the school fees unless they exploited the forest resources. ASSETS encourages the local people to value the forest and creek by equally distributing the benefits from Eco-tourism throughout the local communities. In addition ASSETS beneficiaries are involved in various conservation activities.