How Rosemary Is Empowering Maasai Women in Laikipia Through Apiculture
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In the dry plains of Kimanjo in Laikipia North, where pastoralists have long relied on livestock for survival, the buzzing of bees is becoming the sound of a new economic shift. What began as a small experiment for Rosemary Mosiany, a mother and social entrepreneur, has grown into a thriving honey enterprise that is transforming livelihoods across the region.
For years, families in this arid landscape relied almost entirely on cattle, goats and sheep. But frequent droughts, intensified by climate change, have increasingly wiped out herds and pushed many households into economic uncertainty.
Rosemary recalls the heavy losses families suffered each time drought struck.
“Livestock farming was becoming risky,” she says. “During drought seasons many animals would die. We had to think of other ways to survive.”
That alternative came in the form of five modest beehives she set up in 2018. At the time, Rosemary did not imagine that those few hives would eventually grow into a thriving enterprise with hundreds of beehives and a network of women farmers.
“Beekeeping became our safety net,” she explains. “Even when the rains delay, bees still produce honey because the trees flower in their own seasons.”
Together with her husband, Rosemary steadily expanded the project. By 2020, the family had increased their hives to 20. Two years later, they made a bold decision to fully immerse themselves in the honey business, investing in 80 more hives.
Today, Narropil Honey Enterprises, the company Rosemary co-founded, manages more than 600 beehives spread across the Laikipia savannah.
The business has grown from simply harvesting raw honey to processing, packaging and marketing high-quality organic honey. Each harvest yields between eight and twelve kilograms per hive depending on the season.
“In the beginning we sold honey cheaply to local buyers because we did not know its real value,” Rosemary recalls. “But after learning about markets and processing, we realized honey can be worth much more.”
Today, her honey sells for up to KES 1,500 per kilogram after processing and packaging in glass containers. The products are sold locally in Nanyuki and distributed across the country.
But the reach of her honey has gone far beyond Kenya’s borders.
Through social media platforms such as TikTok and Facebook, Rosemary markets her products to international customers. Orders have come from as far afield as the United States, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai).
“Digital platforms opened the world for us,” she says. “Someone can see my honey online and order immediately.”
While her enterprise continues to grow, Rosemary says the most meaningful impact has been the transformation within her own community.
Through partnerships with local groups, she now works with 15 women groups across Mukogodo East and Mukogodo West. Each group consists of 20 to 30 women who are trained in beekeeping and provided with hives.
“We give each woman about five hives and share the profits equally after harvest,” she explains. When women earn an income, the benefits extend beyond the individual to the entire household.”
The ripple effect has been dramatic.
“Today almost every household in our area has at least one or two beehives,” she says proudly.
Beyond economic benefits, beekeeping has also helped conserve the fragile ecosystem. Communities are now less likely to cut down trees for charcoal because the trees provide nectar for bees.
“Instead of cutting a tree for charcoal, we encourage people to place beehives there,” Rosemary explains. “The tree remains, and the bees produce honey year after year.”
Rosemary’s business has also expanded into manufacturing beekeeping equipment, supplying beehives and protective gear to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and county governments through procurement opportunities.
Her journey gained further momentum after participating in Gender-Responsive Procurement training supported by UN Women under the UAE Strategic Partnership Framework Programme.
The training exposed women entrepreneurs to certification processes, government procurement opportunities and strategies for expanding their enterprises.
“We learned that women can access government tenders,” Rosemary says. “That knowledge helped me start supplying beehives to NGOs and county governments.”
Today, she has completed several tenders, including supplying equipment to organizations working in Laikipia County.
Despite success, Rosemary still dreams bigger.
Her long-term goal is to establish a modern honey refinery and cooperative that will enable farmers in Laikipia to process honey locally and export in large quantities.
“Producing honey as a community allows us to meet the demands of larger markets,” she says. “Even if an order comes in for two or three tonnes, we are prepared.”
Through programmes such as the UAE Strategic Partnership Framework implemented by UN Women, women entrepreneurs like Rosemary are gaining the tools to expand their businesses and strengthen economic resilience in Kenya’s drylands.
Rosemary believes the greatest impact lies in the social change happening around her. “When women become economically independent, the entire community changes,” she says.
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