Why herders are turning to the bee

• After loss of livestock due to drought, pastoralists are now willing to try other activities to make a living

A pastoralist with a riches-to-rags story is now picking up the pieces in unfamiliar territory — beekeeping.

Larinkoi ole Kone, 40, lost all his livestock to an forgiving drought. Two years ago, he owned 70 healthy head of cattle, but only three cows survived.

With his pride punctured and his treasured source of livelihood lost, a humbled Mr Kone has decided to switch to beekeeping. For the Maasai, the number of head of cattle defines wealth and determines the good life.

“Without animals, a man’s ego is really bruised,” Mr Kone said.

Another option

The debilitating effects of last year’s drought have forced him to swap the pastoral life for beekeeping to sustain his family of two wives and 10 children.

The farmer from Kilonito location in Kajiado Central District admits that the massive loss of livestock has humbled previously proud pastoralists, many of whom had owned hundreds of animals.

Previous efforts by the government and other development agencies to introduce new sources of livelihood to pastoralists often fell on deaf ears as the rich livestock owners frowned on many of these proposed alternatives.

Many pastoralists regarded beekeeping as beneath them and an activity meant for hunters and gatherers.

“Drought has changed all this, and we are now willing to try other activities to make a living,” Mr Kone says.

He is among the pastoralists who have embraced beekeeping without regret.

About a year ago he received two beehives from the Neighbours Initiative Alliance (NIA), a local NGO, and has already tasted the sweetness of honey production.

According to the Ministry of Trade, beekeeping is well established in Kenya and can be successfully carried out in about 80 per cent of the country; it is especially suited to semi-arid areas where other modes of agriculture are not viable. Kenyan apiculture has the potential to produce more than 100,000 tonnes of honey and 10,000 tonnes of beewax a year.

Although yields from the hives have not been as high as they could be because of the drought also affected nectar production, Mr Kone has been able to harvest about 16 kilogrammes of honey from each hive.

According to NIA head Kenny Matampash successive droughts have robbed local pastoralists of about 80 per cent of their livestock, leaving them food-insecure.

Development agencies in the larger Kajiado District told the Sunday Nation that they are receiving many proposals from those who lost animals and now want to try their hands at activities like crop production and fish farming. 

The World Bank-funded Arid Lands Resource Management Project (ALRMP II) is among development agencies supporting such projects as part of realising its objective of enhancing food security and reducing livelihood vulnerability in drought-prone communities in the three districts that constitute the larger Kajiado. They have donated about 1,000 hives to 32 women’s groups in Kajiado Central District.

Among the groups it is supporting to undertake beekeeping is the 35-member Enduet Women’s Group in Rombo division of Loitokitok District. 

Esther Solonka, the district beekeeping officer, advised the women to apply for assistance from the World Bank project to buy proper beehives; their proposal was subsequently approved.

Lanoi Mpoke, the project mobilising officer, said the group bought 10 hives at a cost of Sh39,000.

After receiving the hives late last year, the women placed them on a strategic plot where they immediately attracted bees. The group started to harvest the honey last month, and the beekeeping officer has told them to expect not less than 20 kilogrammes from every hive. 

“We are very excited at the prospects of this bumper harvest,” a woman called Nashipae said.

Now the group is busy planning what to do with the honey and other by-products. 

To ensure a steady supply of honey, the women have embarked on a tree planting project and have already established a tree nursery for indigenous and fruit trees on a one-acre plot.