Pastoral women bank on crickets to change their fortunes in wake of climate change

Members of Salamia Women Group in Laisamis Sub-county, Marsabit County demonstrate how crickets hideouts are assembled before they are fitted in the rearing kit.PHOTO/MWANGI NDIRANGU
What you need to know:
- The cricket breeding house is also a key addition to their efforts to diversify away from livestock, the traditional source of livelihood for most people in semi-arid northern Kenya.
- In recent years, more than 200 women have ventured into areas historically considered off-limits for women due to entrenched cultural norms
- A total of 34 groups spread across four counties; Laikipia, Isiolo, Samburu and Marsabit have embraced cricket rearing following a training conducted by entomologists at the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE)
A melodic chirping permeates the air as you approach the newly constructed cricket breeding house at the Tenabo Twala Women Group’s farm in Laikipia County.
Rearing crickets is the latest innovation by these women from the Maasai pastoral community, an initiative they are counting on to transform their fortunes in the face of climate change. The cricket breeding house is also a key addition to their efforts to diversify away from livestock, the traditional source of livelihood for most people in semi-arid northern Kenya.
In recent years, more than 200 women have ventured into areas historically considered off-limits for women due to entrenched cultural norms. They jointly own the 40-acre farm, an excision from the communally owned land where they keep some 85 beehives, grow aloe vera for the export market, cultivate crops in a greenhouse and run an eco-tourism venture where they host guests in bandas designed in the traditional Maasai manyatta housing model.
The cricket breeding house is the latest addition to their diversification menu as they seek to move away from overdependence on livestock, the main source of livelihood for the majority living in semi-arid northern Kenya.
A total of 34 groups spread across four counties; Laikipia, Isiolo, Samburu and Marsabit have embraced cricket rearing following a training conducted by entomologists at the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE).
At Twala’s farm, a newly constructed stone building filled with black-painted boxes serves as the breeding site for crickets. The boxes are designed to accommodate both young and adult crickets, with features that mimic their natural hiding places. The insects are collected from the wild or caught using improvised traps. To catch the nocturnal insects, the women spread moist towels in their homesteads overnight and gather the crickets hiding underneath in the morning.
“For the last month, we’ve been collecting crickets and placing them in these boxes. Here, we feed them flour and kale, and supply water through wet cotton balls to promote reproduction and growth,” explains Eunice Kaparo, a trainer of trainers (TOT) who gained her skills from ICIPE. She demonstrates this by gently returning a straying male cricket to its designated box.
The women anticipate their first sale of dried crickets in January 2025 and intend to retain a breeding colony now that they can differentiate between male and female crickets. Their target market includes commercial feed millers who plan to use insects to formulate poultry and pig feeds.
Jackson Kwai, director of Arumo Feed Millers in Samburu County, has already expressed interest. “Kenya doesn’t have enough protein ingredients to meet feed millers’ demand. We use omena, sunflower seeds, cotton cake, and soybeans, all of which are in short supply. Locally reared crickets will be a game-changer,” he says.
Aggregation centres have been established to make the crickets accessible to buyers. Upon maturity, crickets are boiled for sanitization, then sundried, ready for sale or processing.
According to Dr Crysanthus Tanga, a senior research scientist at ICIPE, cricket meal is highly nutritious, containing up to 70 per cent protein—higher than soybeans, fish, or beef. It is also rich in fat, fibre, zinc, calcium, magnesium, and iron.
“Insects make up 90 per cent of animal species globally and have been consumed as food since ancient times, as mentioned even in religious books. Communities in Kenya, especially in western and coastal regions, consume insects such as termites, grasshoppers, and flying ants,” notes Dr Tanga.
To encourage consumption, ICIPE is converting dried crickets into powder that can be sprinkled on flour for baking or cooking. This approach has been used to combat malnutrition among children under five and the elderly.
Dr Margaret Kababu, who leads the cricket-rearing project in the four counties, acknowledges initial resistance from elders. “The beauty of this initiative is that crickets are collected and reared within their natural environment, making it easier for them to reproduce. The rearing can even take place inside manyattas using ventilated containers,” she explains. A single cricket, the entomologist explains, can lay up to 300 eggs, maturing within one to two months depending on the species and care.
This initiative, dubbed "B(EAT), is led by the Catholic Organisation for Relief and Development (Cordaid), in collaboration with ICIPE and a community-based organisation, IMPACT Trust, with support from the county governments. The project also includes utilising desert locusts, which last invaded the region in 2020, as a supplementary food source during future swarms driven by climate change.