Lake Bogoria Landscape (LBL) is home to important wildlife species, including the flamingo and
the greater kudu. The combination of landforms, biodiversity content, availability of water and
forage makes this site important at community, national and global levels. It is registered by
UNESCO as a heritage site for its role in biodiversity. The LBL being the surrounding of the
National Reserve of international significance is at risk from degradation arising from
unsustainable exploitation and management of resources due to poverty, poor land use, and
poaching, overstocking and unsustainable farming systems. What is not understood to many is the
importance of bees in the conservation and management of the ecosystem. The interrelationship
between bees and the other components of the LBL ecosystem is complex. Bees facilitate the
pollination processes, which is critical in reproduction of plants including crops. In Lake Bogoria
Landscape, honey production is an important livelihood option for many. It is embedded to the
cultures of communities that live there. The immediate environs of the LBL is occupied by
Endorois, Tugen and the Illchamus communities which are an indigenous agro-pastoralist
communities. The communities are endowed with honey potential but with limited commercial
orientation in terms of production, distribution and marketing. There are numerous challenges
facing this community including high level of adult illiteracy, socioeconomic and political
marginalization, inadequate land tenure policies, vulnerability to climatic variations and
competition with wildlife for natural resources. This has led to frequent and persistent famine and
reduced economic opportunities. Beekeeping and honey production is dispersed at individual
farms and the production is based on individual efforts. There is limited coordination in
beekeeping, honey production, processing and marketing. Marketing for instance, depends on the
individuals through roadside shades where the honey is displayed on the wooden stands for the
passersby, motorists and other road users to buy. A number of community groups have processing
facilities built by donations. However, most are underutilized, decision making processes for their
running are usually slow and marked with individual interests and no collective marketing
strategies are in place. Honey is the main product, yet there are many by products that can be
developed including but not limited to royal jelly, wax, propolis among others. Communities in
Lake Bogoria have not benefitted from the additional potential products and their honey businesses
are limited.
SUFI proposes to establish an elaborate marketing programme for bees? products from the
landscape. This strategic intervention is aimed at improving honey production, increasing returns
from honey and other bees? products, to increase their incomes, motivate them to conserve the
landscape and create new socio-economic opportunities while harnessing existing ones. SUFI will
work with Sinyati Beekeepers and Twin Group among others in consolidating, packaging,
marketing and distributing honey to the various outlets in Kabarnet, Nakuru and Nairobi.
In the landscape, there are community groups already with processing facilities. The project will
work with three community processing facilities of Sinyati group around Marigat center and
Kapkuikui bee keepers around Kapkuikui areas. SUFI will build capacities of communities on how
to run the processing facilities efficiently, develop business plans; marketing strategies, train them
on organic agriculture standards requirements and compliance. It will also set up a honey
packaging section with modern machines for packaging and labelling. To ensure consistence in
high quality of honey delivered and reduce contamination risks, honey testing kits will be
employed. Each of the facilities will have a distribution and marketing strategy for the honey
targeting bulk markets in supermarkets in Nakuru and Nairobi. At the moment SUFI is finalizing
contractual arrangements with Carrefour supermarket in Nairobi as well as the Gilanis supermarket
in Nakuru. At the moment, SUFI is supplying organic honey to both Kalimoni Organic Green
Grocery in Karen, as well as various organic markets in Nairobi.
The other marketing strategy will be to improve roadside shades to a well-constructed selling outlet
within the production center as well as to the local shops and the supermarkets in nearby towns
(Kabarnet, Ravine among others). This will amplify the demand hence leading to more production,
more returns and thus improving the living standards of the residents of the LBL.
SUFI will also work with the other stakeholders in the honey value chain to influence policies at
County level. In this regard, in liaison with the Strategic Partner KOAN and Egerton University
DRTEC, it will consolidate beekeepers issues into a policy brief that will be shared with the County
Government. This will include all the support areas, opportunities and how the County
Government can promote Baringo honey in national and international markets.