A group of women from Yaaku community in Laikipia County is among those that have diversified into beekeeping.
The venture helps them boost their incomes and meet their needs, including paying school fees for their children.
While the government and non-state actors have achieved significant strides in empowering women from pastoralist communities in this region, most of them are still marginalised with little access to economic opportunities.
Patriarchy has pushed women to have limited access to and control of resources. Most of them live at the mercy of their husbands because of cultural barriers.
Pastoralism becoming unsustainable
About 2.5 million Kenyans from 23 counties in arid and semi-arid lands are currently facing hunger due to drought, which is making pastoralism unsustainable, prompting communities or families to diversify their sources of income.
Traditionally hunters and gatherers, Yaaki, an indigenous community, has since late 1970s, when the government banned hunting activities in the region, relied on livestock rearing after their assimilation by the Maasai and Samburu communities.
The community initially undertook the economic activities in Mukogodo forest, Kenya’s largest national forest reserve covering over 30,000 hectares, but were evicted after the government seized the resource and converted it into a reserve in 1932.
They would, however, be granted rights to forest resources in Mukogodo following the passage of the Forest Act, 2005.
The forest’s rolling hills tucked in nature trees are home to over 40 mammals, including jumbos, leopards, and buffaloes, as well as over 100 butterfly and bird species.
Of the 372 gazetted forests in Kenya, Mukogodo is the only one under exclusive management of an indigenous community, the Yaaku.
Financial independence
The women’s lack of gainful employment and desire to earn income for financial independence led to their resolve to form Indigenous Young Mums group involved in the sale of white honey.
Beekeeping in the county has been previously the preserve of men.
While reports indicate some of the local women have been secretly felling trees for charcoal burning, the group chose beekeeping as a way of conserving rare and threatened plant and animal species in the forest reserve and to discourage deforestation.
“The idea was to empower ourselves economically and show other women that they can earn income by conserving the environment and not destroying it,” says Rachel Malka Leliman, the group director.
Different from the common brown honey we are used to, theirs is unique and presumably the only one in Kenya, with experts likening it to Kiawe honey made from Kiawe trees in Hawaii, USA.
The honey crystallises naturally into a soft creamy white texture that is easy to spread on bread without being heated.
Nectar from unique trees
Ms Malka says the colour is as a result of flowers from unique trees.
“Before we started selling the honey, we took samples to the Kenya Bee Institute and we were allowed to sell the product,” she says, adding that they do not pasteurise their honey.
Among the flowers that produce white honey are white clover, fire-weed and sage.
After harvesting, she says, the honey is sieved, packaged and later labelled before being supplied to local markets, especially in Nanyuki town.
“The majority of Kenyans still do not believe it’s honey because of the colour, but we have been educating them and giving out free samples for them to gain trust,” the group official says.
The honey has two-year shelf life, she adds.
The product, named Sika (honey in their Yakunte language), has a sticker for traceability purposes to the exact producer and contains information about the community and its cultural heritage.
A kilo sells for Sh1,300 and half at Sh700.
“The honey is tastier and healthier than the brown one. It contains several vitamins and minerals such as calcium and is medicine for cough.”
Having started as four women in mid last year, the group has grown its membership to 35, the majority of them being single mothers who are secondary school graduates.
Improved living standards
Ms Malka says barely one year into the venture, their lives have changed and they can now support their families and pay their children’s school fees.
Part of the returns are shared among the members, while another is saved for future plans, including giving back to the community through provision of beehives to over 200 families.
During a recent women empowerment forum organised by Samburu Women Trust (SWT) in Isiolo, Ms Malka said their plan was to expand their market across the country to offer more jobs.
“We have so far employed six people but are working towards expanding our reach to the entire country for product acceptability,” she said.
SWT director Jane Meriwas emphasises the need to abandon traditions limiting women access to and control of resources, as well as ownership of assets.
“Empowering a woman by enabling their access to resources helps uplifts lives and should be encouraged,” Ms Meriwas says. BY DAILY NATION