Unique alternative livelihoods for rural women in Laikipia North
From left: Naftali Mutahi, Catherine Mathenge and Agnes Cherotich inspect some local herbs during an event organised by FAO and UN Women under the programme Women Economic Empowerment through Climate-Smart Agriculture on May 22, 2024.
What you need to know:
- Lucy Kinyua, the vice chairperson of Gitugi Hope Self Help Group, says the group consists of 54 women who engage in the cultivation of geranium and distribution of the precious herb that is used in the manufacture of sanitiser: natural perfume and soap.
- Initially, Lucy was doing maize, potatoes and beans. She gave up after unsuccessfully trying to keep off the wild animals.
Amidst long-standing challenges of climate change, most parts of Laikipia experience prolonged drought, with livestock and farming potential affected.
Residents here are forced to bear untold suffering of human-wildlife conflicts, with severe implications witnessed in livelihoods, safety and wellbeing.
However, a group of women in Mukogodo East, Laikipia North, are gradually changing the notion by not only adopting climate-smart agriculture but also diversifying livelihoods.
The group has risen above the challenges of life to find a market in the locally available cosmetic herbs called geranium.
Lucy Kinyua, the vice chairperson of Gitugi Hope Self Help Group, says the group consists of 54 women who engage in the cultivation of geranium and distribution of the precious herb that is used in the manufacture of sanitiser: natural perfume and soap.
They decided to invest in the cosmetic crops upon realising that it is not palatable to domestic and wild animals.
It is not affected by pests and diseases and does not need to be sprayed with pesticides.
"Owing to inadequate understanding of the herb, most women in the community were using them for mulching or making sweeping brooms," she reflects, noting that for a long time, it has not been utilised.
Initially, Lucy was doing maize, potatoes and beans. She gave up after unsuccessfully trying to keep off the wild animals.
“Now we do not have to spend nights in the cold guarding our farms against invasion of marauding elephants and buffaloes," she adds.
She notes that when wild animals strike, the ones who suffer the most are women and schoolchildren.
Lucy was motivated to cultivate geranium in 2020, since the crop blooms in all seasons of the year, unlike maize that only thrives during the rainy season.
In addition, geranium is harvested after every three to four months and lasts more than 12 years.
The knowledge and skills to cultivate geranium was acquired through a programme dubbed Women Economic Empowerment through Climate-Smart Agriculture (Weecsa), that was implemented by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in collaboration with the Agriculture and Livestock department.
The four-year project that began in 2021 was also implemented by UN Women through Hand in Hand Eastern Africa and funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (Koica).
On half-acre land, Lucy harvests 150 kilos of produce that is then sold at Sh12.5 each.
Although the money may seem little, for her, it is sufficient to pay for her table banking Sh200 per month.
Lucy adds FAO, on the other hand, trained them on how to maximise profits across the value chain and last year the group received a dividend of Sh97,000 that was ploughed back into the agribusiness.
The programme also assisted farmers to acquire some dam lines used to harvest water during the rainy season.
Phylis Wanjiru, working for Hand in Hand Eastern Africa under the Women Economic Empowerment through Climate Smart Agriculture (Weecsa) project, says at the point they met the farmers, the women in particular wanted to start saving.
“Most of them were not ready and they did not even have sustainable income-generating activities to raise capital needed in the businesses that they had in mind,” she reflects.
Wanjiru adds that they did not have enough skills to do the savings and they were not able to run their groups properly, hence they could not run through the implementation of the value chain that was being done.
However, after training, much change has been witnessed whereby most women are now saving up to Sh200 a month and they also have a merry-go-round of Sh100 a month.
This puts them in a better position to access loans, and the credit they are getting is going back into their enterprises of cultivating geranium. They plan to invest in other ventures such as poultry.
Naftali Mutahi is the growth and partnership manager at Help Self Help Centre in Narumoru, Laikipia, an enterprise that deals in value addition of geranium.
Mutahi says he sources the raw materials from Laikipia, Baringo, West Pokot and Samburu. He notes that when choosing to venture into herbs for essential oils, one is supposed to choose an area with full sun exposure. Here herbs produce concentrated flavour and scent.
“This means they will put their arid land in use since they are drought-tolerant and once sold in bulk, they give good returns to the farmer,” he adds.
The perfume is sold in the local market of Laikipia and Nairobi’s high-end cosmetic shops bearing the brand name Msitu.
Mutahi adds that other herbs that they buy include wild basil and rosemary that ranges between Sh15-20 a kilo.
Also wild herbs in the local dialect of Maasai include Lipia, Sinoni and Leleshwa. For him the local herbs are concentrated and more valuable.
“We used to export them to the Netherlands but due to logistics issues we shied away. Therefore, farmers need international certification to export their herbs,” he adds.
Agneta Aleyo, gender and climate-smart agriculture specialist at Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) working in Laikipia, says through the programme, women’s empowerment has reduced domestic violence in most households.
There are also changes in mindset with men allowing their wives to go for training in resilience and empowerment.
"The attitude changes clearly from how women express themselves. We see them being part of the value chain. They can speak out without any fear and can be listened to.”
Aleyo adds that the majority of the women farmers here are elderly, more than 50 years and they are well informed on weather patterns; therefore, geranium can be a good retirement plan for them.
