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Isiolo women churn fortune from camel milk and meat
Isiolo women churn fortune from camel milk and meat
It is 3am. A group of women has already begun their day. They are ferrying their milk to the bus stage for onward transportation to Nairobi.On this particular day, the women are at their depot in Isiolo town to prepare 300 litres of fresh camel milk bound for Nairobi’s Eastleigh.They are 25 members of the Tawakal Women Group, who are transforming their fortunes with camel milk. They receive the milk every afternoon and keep it fresh in refrigerators and cold room.“We get our supply from herders from the neighbouring Samburu and Meru counties. We have to refrigerate the milk to keep it fresh for the Nairobi market,’’ says Dekha Adow, the group’s chairlady.One of the group’s main suppliers is Adan Abdi, who rides 50 kilometres daily to Shab Hills along the Isiolo-Meru border to collect the milk.
Cooling center
‘“I wake up at 4.30am every day to bring 100 litres of camel milk to the group. I make two trips and I am through with my work by 2pm,’’ said Abdi.The group also gets milk from Mulango, 20km west of Isiolo town, and Archers Post in Samburu East.“It is difficult to get more than 300 litres at the moment as the camels are lactating,’’ says Adow.During peak seasons, the women sell up to 3,000 litres of fresh camel milk to the Nairobi market.At their cooling centre, which is housed in a building owned by the group, the women run a milk bar where they also sell fresh and fermented milk and yogurt processed from camel milk.“Each of our member has a specific role. Some work at the milk bar while others in the cold room. At night, a group takes the milk to the stage from where it is ferried to Nairobi by buses,’’ said the chair lady.