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TECHNOLOGY FOR IMPACT MONITORING
Restoration only scales when results can be proven. Natural State has built two proprietary tools to make that possible: Kutuma, our field-to-cloud system that helps teams capture and send data from remote sites using cellular technology, and uKweli, our impact monitoring portal that turns that data into clear dashboards and maps. Together, they track trends in biodiversity, carbon, water, and human wellbeing. By combining field measurements with tools like camera traps, satellites, sensors, remote sensing, and machine learning, we make outcomes traceable and auditable, so communities, funders, investors, donors, and auditors can trust what is working and why.
New financing mechanisms for nature, underpinned by robust and cost-effective impact monitoring, have the potential to unlock billions of dollars for nature and catalyse large-scale restoration globally.
- Jonathan Baillie, President NATURAL STATE
This cost-effective, scalable impact monitoring system provides a robust measure of effectiveness that can help catalyse financial mechanisms for nature. It also strengthens accountability for donor-funded projects and supports companies that want to understand their site-level impacts on carbon, biodiversity, and communities.
WHAT GETS MEASURED GETS PROTECTED
KEY BENEFITS OF KUTUMA
Streamlined Data Upload
Seamless transfer of information from local devices to a secure cloud platform, even in areas with limited internet connectivity.
Enhanced Data Security
Ensures the safekeeping of sensitive data through encryption and data protection regulations.
User-Friendly
Interface
Accessible to all field teams regardless of technical expertise.
Data Integrity Protection
Creates a "digital fingerprint" for raw data and metadata, guarding against unauthorized modifications from the point of upload.
Multi-data Type Handling
Accommodates multiple data types, from qualitative observations and complex quantitative measurements to images and audio files.
Accountability & Transparency
Logs user interactions, providing a clear data provenance and manipulation record.
Kutuma exemplifies NATURAL STATE's commitment to innovation and efficient data management, turning field data into actionable insights for a healthier planet.
Ross Pitman, Head of Technical Delivery
NATURAL STATE Impact Monitoring Platform
Many organisations struggle to bring different monitoring tools into one system that is clear, reliable, and scalable. NATURAL STATE has built two proprietary tools that work together to solve this: Kutuma, our field-to-cloud system that helps teams securely upload data from remote sites and creates a traceable record from the start, and uKweli, meaning “Truth” in Swahili, our Impact Monitoring Platform.
Once data arrives through Kutuma, uKweli organises it, integrates multiple data sources, and turns it into clear dashboards and maps that show trends in biodiversity, carbon, and human wellbeing. Every file carries a unique ID, timestamp, and digital fingerprint, creating a verifiable chain of evidence that third parties can audit. We are currently testing uKweli at three pilot sites in Africa and will expand with partner organisations and end users, including donors, investors, and auditors, with the goal of applying it across major tropical and subtropical biomes. Ultimately, uKweli is designed to underpin nature finance mechanisms and performance-based payments by making restoration outcomes provable and trusted.
Learn more about uKweli's structure and capabilities here.
uKweli will transform impact monitoring for both conservation and restoration initiatives, providing the data needed to help trigger a range of financial mechanisms for nature.
Alex Godfrey, Systems & Strategy Implementation Specialist
NATURAL STATE Carbon and Biodiversity Innovation Laboratory
Natural State has one of the most advanced carbon and biodiversity labs in East Africa. Our Carbon and Biodiversity Innovation Lab develops cost-effective, scientifically robust ways to measure whether restoration is working at scale. In collaboration with the World Agroforestry Center (CIFOR-ICRAF), we combine sample scanning technology with satellite and drone remote sensing to produce high-confidence, timely estimates of carbon stocks above and below ground, and to understand how carbon moves through different systems.
We also use AI to analyse camera trap images and acoustic recordings from field sensors, including automated species identification, relative abundance trends, and soundscape analysis. Alongside this, we use eDNA to inventory microbial and invertebrate communities over time, and our field botanist is building a physical and digital herbarium with local experts and the National Museums of Kenya. Together, these capabilities help connect field and remote data for large-scale, reliable monitoring of carbon and biodiversity.
