The Milk to Market Program
"Necessity is the mother of invention" - Plato
Travel restrictions during lockdown led to the start of a milk program that economically empowers Samburu women, while helping Reteti’s elephants get a sustainable, cost-effective supply of milk.
In the last 2 years, two different problems reared their heads in Namunyak Conservancy. Whilst seemingly unrelated, it turned out, the solution was right in front of us.
Drought and Climate Change
After years of below average rainfall, Namunyak and the larger North Kenya area are in the grips of a severe drought. Coupled with degraded rangelands, reduced access to traditional grazing lands as well as an increase in population and livestock have left pastoral communities in Northern Kenya’s semi-arid lands more vulnerable and facing severe livestock feed shortages.
The community has responded to this situation by migrating with their livestock to other areas in search of water and pasture, but only a select few were able to do so.
Due to reduced access to traditional grazing lands, a majority have no option but to stay within the area. They have been digging deep wells to get water and cutting down leafy trees to feed their livestock. This has continued to cause more destruction to the environment.
Pastoral Production and Women’s Roles
60% of Kenya’s livestock is found in arid and semi-arid land and it’s estimated that more than 6 million Kenyan pastoralists rely on livestock as a source of income. This represents 12% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
Pastoral women play a vital role in livestock production and management - particularly as it’s the woman’s responsibility to take care of the household food supply. Women care for the smaller, vulnerable, and sick stock, they manage the sheep and goats as they tend to be kept closer to the homestead, as well as tend to the home herd of cattle and camels when men take the others on migration. Women are also responsible for milking and milk marketing at a household level.
In many cases, this role is overlooked by development planners and government officials. Moreover, these activities are usually considered part of household chores and have therefore gone uncompensated.
Women have been called the “hidden hands” of pastoral production and their role needs to be recognised.
After conducting a census of Namunyak Conservancy and all the manyattas (homesteads), The Sarara Foundation was able to establish that each Samburu family has on average over 100 goats, with each nanny goat producing approximately 300-700ml of milk per day.
Dairy is one of the most complete and readily available foods for the community, in some instances serving as an adequate substitute for a meal. Goat milk, in particular, is a highly efficient source of proteins and essential micronutrients such as iron and zinc, which are especially important for those most vulnerable to food insecurity like children, pregnant women, and the elderly.
It is therefore of utmost importance to improve the quantity and quality of forage which is currently highly seasonal and unpredictable, to increase nutrition and food security especially in the dry season.
Goats play an important socio-cultural role for the Samburu people and are an important source of food and nutritional security.
Seeking milk alternatives for Reteti’s elephants
Raising any animal orphan is challenging. However, elephants are notoriously so, which has been one of the main factors preventing communities from starting projects like Reteti which is the first of its kind.
Historically, elephant milk replacer has been a challenge for elephant sanctuaries and zoos across the world. It has remained a mystery that few have managed to completely mirror to the extent that Reteti has done.
The cost of importing milk takes up most of the budget for the sanctuary, making it less sustainable and continuously reliant on additional donor funding. The need for finding a more affordable milk substitute was paramount for Reteti to succeed, the current formula was not only unaffordable but unsustainable for the project and the planet.
Historically, elephant milk replacer has been a challenge for elephant sanctuaries and zoo’s across the world.
A local wonder: Goat Milk
Through the census conducted by The Sarara Foundation, it become apparent that most of the families have excess goat milk after tending to their family and livestock needs. So, the Milk to Market program was born.
The Milk to Market Project has three goals:
To economically empower the local Samburu women,
To support the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary with superior milk formula and take measures
To reduce stress on the surrounding environment by improving animal husbandry and pasture management through more sustainable practices.
Objective 1: Empowering Women
The Milk to Market Program aims to empower the local Samburu community and support them with revenue as well as coaching on savings and finance management.
The project focuses on empowering and increasing the involvement of women in the decision-making processes in the milk value chain. They are the owners of the milk, after all. In the program, the participating women have full control of the milk value chain, including marketing. The proceeds from the milk sales remain in their hands and their management.
The Milk to Market program is also designed to support better pasture management and goat husbandry practices. In turn, this will support the livelihoods and ecosystems of the community while improving milk yield and the macronutrient (protein and fat) composition of the milk.
The initial phase of the project will focus on goat milk only but will expand to camel and cow milk when appropriate.
Objective 2: New milk for Reteti
The Milk to Market Program supports the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary by providing a sustainable supply of unique and superior milk formula which uses goat’s milk as the base.
During the first year of the program, the new milk formula had a 100% success rate with calves under 6 months old which is historically, the most challenging. Goats milk has also reduced the need to import tinned milk from overseas and has more than halved the annual milk budget, and reduced our carbon footprint that comes with importing milk.
The new goat’s milk formula has given the indigenous elephant keepers increased confidence in the animal husbandry department, which in turn has created a huge sense of pride and ownership over the elephants and elephant conservation.
There has also been an increased level of respect for wildlife amongst the younger generation of Samburu women.
“We are proud of our elephants, and I am proud to be associated with the health and growth of the Reteti orphans. I am proud to see the baby elephants are healthy and that it is my goats feeding them.We have opened bank accounts for the first time we have confidence that every month we will be paid and I can afford my daughter’s school fees. For the first time I have been able to save money, to spend on my family and myself”
Nalele Lemojong
Milk Mamma
Objective 3: Pasture Management
The Milk to Market project will reduce stress on the surrounding environment by improving pasture management through supplementing feed for goats in the dry time of year and reducing the destruction of trees by herders who are trying to maintain their livestock in a degraded landscape. The project will also work with the community through locally employed Eco Rangers to repair land degradation and introduce holistic management.
Improved pasture management brings a number of important benefits to women goat herders and their families. It directly improves livestock body condition and health leading to reduced mortality. It can improve pasture availability and restore degraded lands bringing benefits to the flora and fauna in the rangelands.
Better management practices will also reduce wildlife and community conflict over natural resources including water and pasture. It will allow for the development of feed reserves for use during drought. Lastly, it will increase soil quality and provide the opportunity to develop seed banks and subsequent seed harvested for pasture establishment (seed bulking).
Development in pastoral areas worldwide falls far behind that of other programs, creating poverty and vulnerability. Pastoralists suffer from both low-impact investments and unsustainable investments, which have combined to weaken natural resource management and pastoral economy and have contributed to the degradation of pastoral resources.
The combination of better pasture management, access to sustainable animal husbandry practices, and animal health expertise will directly lead to stronger and more productive goats and herds, increasing herd resiliency in the face of droughts and flooding, and in turn the resiliency of families and communities in Samburu rangelands.
