Climate variability and recurrent extreme weather events continue to undermine rural livelihoods in Kenya, particularly in Nyakach Sub-County where most households depend on climate-sensitive livelihoods and have limited access to formal adaptation support. Grassroots initiatives such as Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have emerged as important community-based mechanisms for enhancing adaptive capacity and sustaining livelihoods through collective action, pooled resources, and knowledge sharing. This study was undertaken to evaluate the contribution of Self-help group participation to household livelihood outcomes, and to assess how SHG membership influences household adaptive capacity to climatic variability in Nyakach Sub-County. A descriptive survey design was adopted, targeting 385 SHG members selected through purposive sampling from 661 registered SHGs. Data were collected using structured Likert-scale questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics in SPSS version 29. Findings indicated that SHG participation significantly enhanced income diversification, food security, and asset accumulation, with members reporting new income-generating activities, improved market access, and better savings discipline. SHGs were also found to be critical in disseminating timely and trusted early warning information, organizing pooled resources for climate shocks, facilitating access to farm inputs, and promoting the adoption of climate-smart practices such as drought-tolerant crops, water harvesting, and soil conservation. The study concluded that SHGs play a vital role in improving household livelihoods and resilience to climate variability by combining economic empowerment with adaptive strategies. Collectively, these outcomes underscore SHGs as critical platforms for advancing household well-being while contributing to multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land). It is recommended that SHG training be expanded in scope and quality, infrastructure and resource access for climate-smart practices be improved, and partnerships with government and development agencies be strengthened to enhance technical linkages, ICT access, and targeted financing for long term asset acquisition.

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