Facing severe climate change impacts like devastating droughts, women in Marsabit, Kenya, are finding empowerment and resilience through poultry farming.
Traditionally, in this patriarchal pastoralist society (similar to the Maasai), valuable livestock like goats, sheep, cows, and camels are owned solely by men. Poultry farming, however, offers women a rare opportunity for ownership and income.
Arbe Abudo, a local women’s leader, explains that droughts repeatedly wipe out traditional livestock, leaving families reliant on food aid. Chickens, in contrast, provide a steady source of eggs and meat even during harsh times.
Supported by conservation NGOs and the Voices for Just Climate Action programme, women’s groups received training and resources. They were given chicks and taught poultry keeping alongside kitchen gardening (growing sukuma wiki and spinach), significantly improving community nutrition.
The project established poultry houses and conical gardens, enabling households to build their own and sell surplus produce, boosting both food security and income.
This initiative empowers the indigenous Shurr community to secure resource rights, improve livelihoods, and protect their environment. It blends traditional knowledge with climate-smart innovations to build resilience in the drylands, aiming to amplify local voices in climate action using local resources and governance.
Abudo highlights the success, requesting more chickens and gardens, plus improved water access. Dr. Yussuf Wato (WWF-Kenya) notes the significance: poultry is the only livestock 100% owned by women in this patriarchal setting. Since chickens (“flying animals”) are culturally less valued than other livestock, men don’t compete for ownership, making it uniquely accessible to women.
To further enhance resilience, WWF-Kenya and partners like the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro) are exploring drought-resistant livestock breeds suitable for the arid conditions, moving towards improved quality herds. Dr. Tura Isako (Kalro) details community-based breeding programmes to disseminate these climate-smart breeds.
The project also provided energy-saving stoves (“jikos”) to replace inefficient three-stone fires. Users like Gumato Roba report benefits: less smoke, reduced firewood use (cutting collection trips from 3 to 1 per week), and decreased pressure on remaining trees.
Nancy Rapando (WWF-Kenya) emphasizes the project’s holistic impact: it diversifies diets (introducing vegetables to a pastoralist community), provides women with their first significant assets (enabling control over food and income), breaks taboos around eating chicken, saves energy, and protects the environment – collectively building community resilience against the climate crisis.
