Abindu Sacred Site: Socio-Cultural Capital for Ecotourism Promotion and Community Empowerment in Kisumu County, Kenya

This work explores the role of cultural heritage in the transformation of the community, support of local livelihood and poverty reduction in Kenya. The study focuses on the use of cultural identity in promoting ecotourism transformation of the local people. Cultural identity has been the driving factor in a community’s initiative to manage and conserve its cultural heritage site. The study aimed at examining cultural identity of the site, establishing its potential for ecotourism transformation, identifying the challenges facing the site and developing appropriate strategies for ecotourism promotion. The study used ethnographic and phenomenological methods of data collection. The data was qualitatively analyzed and identified themes with respect to research objectives. The research documented cultural identity of the site as management, conservation and branding tools, identified its potential and challenges for ecotourism promotion, and proposed appropriate strategies for the management and conservation of Abindu site in the study area.