Beekeeping ‘hustle’ helps Kenyan family thrive in a changing climate
Increasingly frequent droughts have worsened food insecurity in Kenya. They are also endangering the pastoral way of life, as herder communities lose their livestock and must look for other ways to make a living. In Turkana county, some have switched from raising cattle to bees.
By Lisa Murray and Kevin Gitonga
Nancy Erupe Lokirien’s bee hives are creating a buzz in her village in Turkana, northwestern Kenya, an already arid region that is feeling the sting of less predictable rains.
Climate change has caused drought cycles, which used to hit the east African country every five to ten years, to now strike every two to three years.
Pastoralist communities like Nancy’s suffered the loss of their flocks to the lack of pasture during the 2021–2023 drought, when five consecutive rainy seasons failed.
More than 200,000 herders abandoned their way of life in Turkana County alone.
Despite her efforts to cope with the drought by using less water for her farm and animals, two of Nancy’s three goats died, and her crops deteriorated. However, with support from the World Food Programme, her encounter with the climate crisis also turned into an opportunity to try something new: producing honey.
“To be a good beekeeper, you have to believe in yourself,” Nancy said in her beige beekeeping suit, which prevents the bees from stinging her when she’s harvesting honey or cleaning her ten hives.
“Here, some people think that some jobs like beekeeping are for men, but I felt there’s no job that can defeat me,” the 28-year-old said confidently.
Nancy’s prospects improved when she took part in WFP’s beekeeping programme.
Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, WFP has partnered with a private sector company, the Hive, to support over 1,800 beekeepers in Nancy’s region with technical advice, modern hives and equipment, and linkages to markets.
Over 13.5 tons of liquid honey were harvested last year in Turkana West, paying almost USD 100,000 to hundreds of smallholder beekeepers like Nancy.
The golden syrup holds significant opportunity for growth and job creation in Kenya, where production lags behind both its potential and demand, making the country a net importer of honey.
“Beekeeping has the potential to employ approximately five times the current number of people involved in the apiculture value chain — which currently employs just over half a million people,” said WFP’s beekeeping expert, Timothy Koskei. “It offers a more sustainable livelihood for many, especially in drought-prone areas across the arid and semi-arid regions.”
As the sole breadwinner in a family of ten, Nancy harvests 10–20 litres of honey each season, more than doubling her monthly income and giving her enough to provide three meals a day for her family and keep her children in school.
“Initially I was apprehensive when I started beekeeping, but after I got my first harvest and sold it, I was really excited. It meant I could provide school fees and everything else I needed,” she said.
Crucially, bees are far easier to maintain than livestock in a drier climate, and provide a source of income better able to withstand climate shocks. Nancy used to have to pay for many litres of water to be delivered to her goats, but her bee colonies require just one litre of water per day.
During WFP’s training, she learned how to market her honey and the importance of keeping her hives clean, providing enough water for the bees early each morning, and laying out honey or sugar to attract new colonies.
Bees provide more than just an alternative source of income — as essential pollinators for both crops and wild plants, they play a key role in maintaining healthy ecosystems and ensuring food security.
Considered an agricultural expert known as a ‘Farmer Service Centre’, Nancy now trains 50 other women in the community on business development and beekeeping after attending additional peer-to-peer learning sessions, business development and leadership training under WFP’s ‘youth in agri-business’ programme.
“It is good to be a woman of integrity, and also be independent or a role model, such that when the husband is working, I also have my hustle,” she said.
“The women I worked with have changed their mindset. They’ve been able to ensure their families don’t go hungry and they’re not dependent on men for money and food.”
