Power of a woman! How Isiolo women pay fees, bills from livestock keeping


A young woman with her two children and livestock in Laikipia- Isiolo border. file

It is believed in most cases that livestock keeping is a men’s job but some women in the country are proving this as wrong! Did you know that in North Eastern Kenya women are doing better in livestock business? Women in Isiolo county are taking up the male-dominated business of livestock keeping.

One of the groups, Horrijabesa Self-Help Group, buys emaciated animals from other livestock keepers for less than Sh40,000.

Fatuma Wario, the chairperson, says the animals are fattened for two to three months. Then they are sold at Sh43-45,000 to the local market every Friday.

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“We lease land and keep the animals to fatten. We deworm and vaccinate the animals and ensure they have enough pasture to feed for two to three months before we sell them,” she says.

Fatuma says they make a profit of Sh2-3,000 from one animal, and the profit is shared among members. In a good month, they make Sh50-70,000 from the sale of animals.

The group was registered in 2004. The 16 members have been trained on savings, record keeping, developing business plans and starting other businesses. This is thanks to the Programme for Rural Outreach of Financial Innovation and Technologies (Profit), supported by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa and IFAD.

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“We share the profits among ourselves, and members can also access loans to meet their needs, such as paying schools fees or hospital bills,” Fatuma says.

“I got an emergency loan of Sh50,000 to take my husband to India for treatment. This is something I could not have afforded on my own.”

She was speaking to the media during a field visit to Isiolo last Friday but one.

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In 2014, her husband was diagnosed with a heart problem, and he needed nearly Sh1 million to have an operation in India.

The members save Sh20 every Sunday, enabling them to support their children instead of relying on their husbands. Fatuma has bought about 10 sheep from her savings.

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