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The fist and most reliable guide on investing in Baringo, a county that lies in Kenya’s
Great Rift Valley
INVESTMENT AND TRADE GUIDES
Number 6, 2015
AN INVESTMENT NEWS PUBLICATION
CS: 2549
Boresha Society Ltd is a Financial Institution licensed for Deposit Taking business by Sacco Socie-ties Regulatory Authority (SASRA). Boresha SACCO is among the top performing SAC-COs in the country with a solid capital base of 4 Billion. The Soci-ety was registered on 31st August 1976 by 10 Members with initial share Capital of 60,000. Today the growing Membership stands at 63,000 with Members Sav-ings/Deposits of Ksh. 2.2 Billion. Membership is open to All; Sala-ried Members, Business communi-ty, Farmers, Organised groups and organizations.
The Society’s area of operation is the Republic of Kenya with a Base in Baringo County in the Rift Valley Region. Head Office is Situated in Teachers Plaza , Eldama Ravine, Koibatek Sub County. The Head Office is central in coordinating the Branch network in Baringo County and beyond. Boresha has established vibrant Branches in Nakuru, one of the fast growing city in Africa to serve the Cen-tral Rift, Eldoret to serve Uasin-Gishu and Kapsa-bet to serve Members in Nandi County.
In an effort to conveniently serve our valued cus-tomers, the SACCO has established 12 Performing Branches in Baringo County and Neighbouring Counties. They include; Eldama Ravine, Kabarnet, Marigat, Mogotio, Kabartonjo, Mochongoi, Barewesa, Eldoret, Chemolingot, Nakuru and Kapsabet. Besides the fully fledged branches, the Society also has Satellite Offices in Tenges, Kip-saraman and Kisanana.
The economic impact by the SACCO at the local level is unquestionable. Boresha SACCO offers more than banking services and facilitates eco-nomic change for prosperity by empowering Members and Community at large. The SACCO exists to improve people’s living standards having stood the test of time as stable and reliable Socie-ty. Members are proud that the SACCO has ena-bled them to built great homes, ventured into business, and educated themselves and their chil-dren
The Sacco has continued to collaborate with the County Government and other Partners in eco-nomic empowerment and to alleviate poverty in the community.
We join the County Government in Welcoming Investors to Baringo County.
Boresha Sacco Kabarnet Branch situated in Mwalimu Plaza
in Kabarnet Town, Baringo County’s Headquarters
BORESHA SACCO SOCIETY LTD P.O Box 80-20103,Eldama Ravine. | Tel: +254(20)8024881 | Cell: +254720200689/734200004 |
Email: info@boreshasacco.co.ke | Website: www.boreshasacco.co.ke
3
Contents BARINGO 2015 BORESHA SACCO SOCIETY LTD
INTRODUCTORT MATTER
5 Editor’s note
7 Governor's Foreword
8 Publishers Preface
25 The Role of Cooperatives in alleviating
poverty in the Counties
PART I
9 Investor summary looking at economic
the economic indicators and the health
of Kenya’s economy.
14 Summary of the natural resources
available in Baringo
PART 11
16 Early trading and civilization of Barin-
go. There is an analysis of the role of
Tugen Hills i as a depository of early
Man’s history.
PAER IV
20 Investment opportunities in Baringo
County. This section looks at the variety
of investment opportunities focusing
mainly on those that can be undertake by
an individual or a small business. We pay
special attention to bee keeping and its
profitability.
4
5
2015 EDITOR’S NOTE
Investing: Baringo County 2015
Copyright 2015 Investment News P.O. Box 20257-00100 Nai-
robi, Kenya. All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in a retrival system or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic photocopying, me-
chanical recording or otherwise without the prior permission
of the copyright owner
The Editor acknowledges with grateful thanks, the help of a very large number of infor-
mation sources who have cooperated in the compilation of this guide.
The sponsors have helped in facilitating the gathering of the information and publication
of the guide I wish to thank particularly the officials of Baringo County who volunteered to
cooperate and help in a variety of ways whenever we needed their help. It is due to the
constant help and encouragement that we now have this guide.
Advertisements: Advertisements help to give extra information to readers. In this case,
advertisers were to help show the value they had achieved in investing in Baringo County.
We appreciate again with grateful thanks, those who agreed to help to tell the story of
Baringo as a viable investment destination by offering information about their experiences
as investors.
Contents: This guide concerns itself with investment opportunities that are accessible to
the ordinary Kenyan investor as with those that require enormous resources and skill una-
vailable to the ordinary investor.
Tourism: Baringo County has high potential for tourism. Such potential is not limited to
areas highlighted here and investor are encouraged undertake further exploration.
6
Sell your products to an
interested audience …. The
small business owner
Whatever you are selling—whether goods, services or more importantlly an-
nouncing your business opportunities—you will find the small business owner
an interested buyer and partner. They have the money. And they have the
need.
And you can sell them everyday—all the year round—through the GUIDE TO
SOURCES OF MONEY AND SERVICES FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS.
The Guide is packed full of decidedly important information for the small busi-
ness owner. It is an indispensable companion and reference material used fre-
quently throughout the year.
To take part or advertise in this Guide, please contact:
The Editor @investmentnews.co.ke
Tel: 0773 991 820
Or write to:
The Marketing Manager
Investment News
P.O. Box 20257 –00100 Nairobi, Kenya
7
FOREWORD
As the Governor of Baringo County, and on behalf
of the Baringo County Government, I am pleased to
introduce this Investor’s Guide to Investment Op-
portunities in Baringo County. Investors in Kenya
should look at growing horizons of opportunities
that the new political dispensation has created. In-
vesting in large cities and the surrounding areas
may provide a simple option, but investors that re-
ally want to make money and create social impact
must look beyond – far into the countryside where opportunities are not only unex-
plored but offer much greater margins of returns on capital. Baringo County is one
such far off area with plenty of opportunities for both the large and small investors.
Located in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya, Baringo County lies about 270km
north-west of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi and covers an area of 11,015.32 sq km. Within
that area, you find plenty and diverse opportunities.
As a County, we recognize that these opportunities must be made known to potential
investors. We have, in deed, embraced the UN advice to States and Counties to profes-
sionally package and disseminate relevant, useful and targeted information to put their
counties on the map of local and international investors. The guide starts that crucial
journey for our County. It explains the opportunities available to the investor as well as
the requirements and the environment – cultural and political – that surrounds the in-
vestor.
I believe that information provides the key to sound and intelligent investing. I believe
this guide will provide that key.
Welcome to Baringo County
Benjamin Cheboi CBS, EBS, OGW
Governor
8
PREFACE
Investor guides from Investment News
are designed to assist County Govern-
ments publicize their investment and
trade opportunities to the investors and
the business community. They are dis-
tributed in Kenya and in many parts of
the world through a large network of in-
vestment advisers and investors that In-
vestment News has developed over
many years promoting working in the ar-
ea.
In investing, information is, without
doubt, of critical importance. It is the key
factor in the decision by an investor
whether to invest or not. And we cannot
deny that in Kenya, as in many other
parts of Africa, there is a paucity of infor-
mation targeted at the investor.
This situation is worse in the case of the
new counties which find themselves be-
wildered by the need to urgently create
jobs, incomes and wealth for their people
and the paucity of relevant information.
Investing is a creative as well as a scien-
tific effort. And so is the researching and
packing of information that will entice an
investor to leave the comfort of the
known and well tried and seek adventure
with high potential risks outside that box.
But counties are in most cases ill-equipped
for the task.
Many authorizes see this as a task requir-
ing collaborative effort. It is a job that the
cooperation of us all - the beneficiaries,
the business community, those charged
with promoting investments and the infor-
mation sector.
The result of such cooperation will in-
crease positive information from, greater
investor awareness of investment oppor-
tunities in Kenya, and therefore in the
Counties.
Places such as Baringo County, have great
opportunities. But like most other Coun-
ties in Kenya, they suffer from effects of
years of neglect. But without information,
they remain a mosaic of little or no invest-
ment significance. And that is catastrophic
for any County government.
Muli wa Kyendo
Publisher,
Investment News
9
PART ONE
INVESTOR SUMMARY Describing the Kenyan perspective
Baringo County lies in the Rift Valley of
Kenya. And one of Kenya’s main ad-
vantages which Baringo enjoys is the
country’s location on the East African
coastline, its membership in regional eco-
nomic organizations, its vast natural re-
source, including those located in Baringo
County, and its well-educated but inex-
pensive labour force. These factors make
Kenya potentially a significant industrial
resource and market for goods and ser-
vices.
Kenya has a long established system of
capital markets regulated by the Capital
Markets Authority.
Over the years, the Nairobi Securities Ex-
change has continued to expand in volume
of business transacted, the number of
players and the complexity of the market.
By the end of last year, nearly 80 compa-
nies were already listed at the market.
In addition to this, the Kenya Government
has continued to offer incentives to for-
eign investors.
POLITICS
As predicted, politics of transition. The
Foreign direct investments
10
new constitution approved in 2010 in a
referendum by a two to one margin in a
free and fair ballot untainted by violence
was expected to bring more consensual
and accountable politics. The challenges
it introduced, however ,were unexpected.
Devolution, which is a key element of the
Economy Overview
Income category
Lower Middle income
Population
45 million
GNI Per Capita US$
1,280
POPULATION DATA
constitution, created 47 county govern-
ment, thus created a much more complex
system than was expected.
It was expected that with devolution, there
would be more supervision of public
spending, less ethnic tensions and greater
national cohesion. On the main, these ex-
pectations have not been met. Corruption
has increased and multiplied with county
governments, supervision at all levels has
decreased and the danger of ethnic ten-
sions has become more real as shown by
the number of politicians being accused of
hate speech.
Despite these challenges, Kenya remains
stable. There is increased awareness of the
power of the general public
to change government poli-
cies and the common man
and woman are continually
using that power. A more
positive sign has been the
increase of a middle class,
with ties across economic
and other interests interests
and occupations rather than
tribal connections. This
alone, will continue to augur
well for the future of Kenya
as a nation, creating a stable
working environment for
the investor.
Data on Foreign Direct In-
vestments (FDIs) by the
11
Things that the Kenya Government
has improved for investors
Starting a business
Dealing wih construction permits
Registering property
Getting credit
Getting electricity
Paying taxes
Enforcing contracts
Kenya Bureau of Statistics (KBS) early
this year, showed that investors regard do-
mestic market growth potential, rule of
law and existing regulations; availability
of skilled workforce; quality of infrastruc-
ture and logistics; and access to other mar-
kets as the five major factors attracting
them to do business in Kenya.
In respect to starting a business, respond-
ents perceived that it takes a long time to
register property and to acquire work per-
mits. However, it takes a short time to reg-
ister with social benefit schemes and the
tax authority. The cost of access to busi-
ness credit, electricity connection and ac-
quisition of work permits was perceived to
be high
More than half of the investors inter-
viewed said there were improvements in
the access to telecommunication services,
internet reliability, transport infrastructure
and tax administration over the last two
years.
However, security, counterfeiting, corrup-
tion and access to land were rated to have
deteriorated over the same period. Areas
that require urgent government interven-
tion in order to ensure smooth business
operations were security, corruption, tax
administration, cost of electricity and pol-
itics .
Liabilities
Stock of foreign liabilities increased by
25.2 per cent from KSh 634,155 million
to KSh 794,026 million.
FDI accounted for the largest share of the
total foreign liabilities and increased by
20.7 per cent from KSh 376,557 million
to KSh 454,576 million . The major recip-
ient sectors of FDI were Wholesale and
Retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and
motorcycles; financial and insurance ac-
tivities; and manufacturing which ac-
counted for 24.3, 18.2 and 16.0 per cent
of the total FDI inflows respectively. FDI
inflows from the Far East region in-
creased by 13.8 per cent to KSh 76,578
million with inflows from India rising by
41.0 per cent to KSh 27,783 million mak-
ing it the leading source.
12
13
Doing business 2015
Rank 129
Doing business 2016
Rank 108
BARINGO COUNTY INDICATORS
Demographics
Population 555,561
Male 279,081
Female 276,480
No. of households 103,734
Growth rate 1.26 (national
average 2.1)
Population density 50 per sq. kilo
Average household size 5.2 (national 4.4)
Employment
Total labour force 190,349
Unemployed 66%
Wage employment 34%
Literacy level (labour force) 46 %
Education
No of primary school 656
No. of secondary schools 134
Pop with secondary school education 16%
Pop. with primary school education 48 %
Illiteracy level 36 %
The ratio of teacher to pupil 1:27
Land and land use
Class Sq.km
Built up land 5,985.32 (55%)
Forest cover 1,481.11 (14%)
Water bodies 196.69 (1%)
Agricultural land 3,250.37 (30%)
Title deed holders 25%
Urban leasehold holders 5%
Customary land rights 70%
Estimated land values in Urban Centres of Baringo County
Kabarnet town Shs3.2m per acre
Kabartonjo town Shs1.8 m per acre
Marigat Shs1.2m per acre
Mogotio Shs1.5m per acre
Eldama Ravine Shs2.5m per acre
PART 11
COUNTY SPECITIC INFORMATION
14
NATURAL RESOURCES
Geothermal energy
Baringo County has more than 3,000 meg-
awatts (MW) of geothermal generated
power already being exploited.
Silale, Paka, Korossi/Chepchuk and areas
around lakes Baringo and Bogoria have
been identified as sites which have poten-
tial for geothermal development. In addi-
tion, the block is capable of yielding up to
576,000 tonnes of water per day which
can irrigate 57,000 hectares of land
Solar, Wind, Bio fuel and Biogas are also
available in commercially exploitable
quantities. Biomass power generation
from Prosopis Juliflora trees of at much
above the 12MW currently generated. Areas with geothermal energy in
Baringo County has a variety of natural resources that can be exploited by for
large and small business enterprises. And although some of these are already
being exploited, their full potential has yet to be realized. In addition, there are
businesses that can be constructed as a result od the exploitation of the natural
resources. Below are some of these natural resources.
Forests
Although generally classified as semiarid
area, Baringo County has one of the larg-
est forest cover with rare and valuable
tree species.
Gazetted forests in the County are mainly
populated with indigenous trees and
plantations of exotic trees like eucalyptus,
pine and gravelia. These include; Ta-
rambas, and Kabarnet forests in Baringo
Central Sub-County; Tulwonin, Saimo,
15
Ketnwan forest and Katimok forests in
Baringo North, Lembus Mogotio and
Perkerra in Mogotio sub-County, Maji Ma-
zuri Londiani Forests, Kibunja forest and
Koibatek forest in Eldama Ravine Sub-
County, and Ol Arabel forest in Baringo
South sub-County.
Forest coverage of Baringo County
Exotic plantation 454.90 ha
Indigenous forest 22,246.67
ha
Shrubs/Woodland 30,000 ha
Indigenous forest under land trust
1,392.00 ha
Total 54,094 ha
Mineral Resources
Mineral potential of baringo County has
not been fully explored. Further explora-
tion of these minerals needs to be under-
taken to establish the viability of com-
mercial exploitation. Some important
mineral deposits that are believed to exist
in the County include Rubies, Diatomite,
Flourite deposits around Tiaty Hills, Ver-
miculite, Trona at Lake Bogoria and Car-
bon Dioxide at Esageri in Mogotio sub-
County.
Ruby deposits are found in the rocky ter-
rain of Kwirintoi close to Waseges River
to the east of Lake Bogoria, and at
Kapleng’noi and Barsemoi to the west of
Lake Baringo. Rubies and pink sapphires
were first reported in the Baringo/
Bogoria area in 2001.
The current prospective site is East of
Lake Bogoria around Mbechot area and
West of Baringo South where John Saul
mines and Corby Company Ltd are the on-
ly companies which have mined Rubies in
commercial quantities. In order to exploit
this valuable resource, the security situa-
tion in that region is being addressed.
Soda Ash
Soda Ash (Trona) deposits on the shores
Rubies from Kwirintoi mines in Baringo
16
of Lake Bogoria are mined in small quan-
tities by the pastoralist community and
used as salt licks for their livestock. Oil is
currently under exploration in Barwessa
region of Baringo North sub-County while
geo-thermal energy is under exploration
in Silale in Tiaty sub-County.
Wildlife
Baringo County is home to a wide range of wildlife. The main wildlife reserves and sanctuaries are: Lake Bogoria, Lake Baringo, Lake 94 and Lake Kamnarok, Nasolot, Sai-wa swamp and Rimon. Lake Bogoria National Reserve was recently declared by United Nations Environmental, Sci-ence and Cultural Organiza-tion (UNESCO) as the World Heritage Site with spectacular hills suitable for bird watching. It also has a range of wild ani-mals including Greater Kudu, Leopards,
Lions, Buffalos, Zebras, Hyenas, and Ga-zelles, baboon, Dik-dik and Klipspringer, the latter at the rocky slopes south and east of the lake.
Besides flamingoes, there are more than 500 bird species in the County as well as several scattered birds on cliffs and shrubs in the County. Baringo remains one of the world’s largest bird watching destinations.
Wildlife found in Baringo County
17
EARLY TRADING AND CIVILIZATION
Welcome to the home of the original man in Tugen Hills
The creativity of the people of Baringo
County cannot be demonstrated in the
general folk tales of the Kalenjin commu-
nity. It is demonstrated in the stories and
traditions built around their own fact of
existence in an area that is unique in
many ways.
The uniqueness may be found in the tam-
arind trees introduced ages ago from Ara-
bia. It may be found in the bewildering va-
rieties of birds in the Tugen Hills. Or it may
be found in the slave trade secret of a now
sleepy village of Koroto. Wherever it is
found, the uniqueness has inspired the im-
agination and creativity of early man of
Baringo and entranced scores of visitors
and traders from around the world, who in
turn helped to enrich the life of the people One of the Tugen Hills one of the most
important areas of study of early Man
PART 111
18
of Baringo.
The journey of Baringo starts more than
six million years with an early man
known by scientists as Orrorin tugenen-
sis. His remains were discovered around
the Tugen Hills in 2001.
The story of Orrorin tugenensis makes
Tugen Hills a repository of Kenya’s—and
in deed the world’s culture and a glimpse
to its future.
And instinctively human beings have been
drawn to the hills since time immemorial.
Among them were early traders.
These early traders were Indians who
brought along with them the famous
tamarind trees of Tugen Hills. Then there
were Arab slave dealers whose presence
was immortalized by
naming the trees brought
by the Indians as tamarid
tree.
Early trade also involved
ivory, cowries shells ,
gold brass and hides.
The connection with
traders from the coast of
Kenya is something treas-
ured by the Tugens of
Baringo. In deed, a recent
cultural festival held at the site of Koroto
featured an ‘Lamu eyes’ traditionally
nailed to the front of a dhow to keep
away the evil eye.
Following hot on the heels of the Arabs
were the Europeans led by the famous
explorer Joseph Thomson in 1883. But it
was colonialism that brought in a flood of
Europeans especially administrators, edu-
cationists and Christians whose influence
was much far-reaching. Many places in
Baringo—including the capital town of
Kabarnet—where named for some of the-
se influential Europeans.
One of these uniques things are the great
lakes—lakes Baringo and Bogoria. They
are not just lakes in the great valley, they
are unique in their own ways, making
them a pivotal point for a variety of ac-
tivities in Baringo County and beyond.
Tamarind trees with fruits brought to Tugen
hills by Indians years ago
19
INVESTMENT AND TRADE OPPORTUNITIES
Investment and trade opportunities are very much dependent on the nat-
ural resources. Baringo County is well endowed with natural resources.
This section looks at some of these opportunities that are particularly suit-
able for the Small and Medium investor
PART 1V
Livestock-based industries
The county supports a wide range live-
stock related enterprises which constitute
70% of the county. This sub sector plays
an important economic and socio – cultur-
al role among the community members. It
contributes to the food and cash needs of
the pastoralist and provide employment
to 90% of the population. It provides raw
materials for industries and the sector di-
rectly influencing the growth of the coun-
ty’s economic growth.
Apart from rearing animals an invest has
plenty of derivative investment opportu-
nities.
Meat and milk processing are some of
these industries. Hides and skins also offer
great opportunities. Diseases and drought
affect animals in Baringo county, thus cre-
ating a chance for an investor in hay and
medicines –and even water supply for the
animals as well as human beings.
‘I am sure that the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about farming is land. Most people are discour-aged from starting dairy farming because they do not have “enough land”. But look at what I have done on my farm on just half an acre of land, where I live and have three green houses. I also keeping 20 dairy cows and I get over 500 litres of milk every day. From my farm I earn more than Kshs.1 million every month, occupies no more than just 2 acres. So you see, even if you have a 40X80 piece of land, you can still do dairy farming. ‘
Quality of products, distance to the mar-
kets, insufficient market information, lack
of value addition initiatives, are other ar-
eas where investors can benefit. Offers
offered include abattoirs, sale yards, vac-
cination and animal handling crushes,
holding grounds and dips which are cur-
rently inadequate.
20
Annual income from selected livestock
Species of livestock in Baringo
economic driver delivery 10% of growth.
Other trade opportunities are offered by
fish trade and farming as well as bee
keeping. With the great lakes of Baringo
and Bogoria, fish is an important occupa-
tion in Baringo County. We will look at bee
keeping in a subsequent section.
Hay farming: Ignored opportunity
Crop Farming
The main crops produced in Baringo County
can be grouped into:
Food Crops (Maize, beans etc.)
Cash Crops (Coffee, Sisal, pyrethrum,
cotton)
Nuts (Groundnuts, macadamia)
Horticultural crops (Fruits and Vegetables)
These crops are grown using rainfall and irri-
gation. Cash crop farming potential for irri-
gation in the county is above 10,000 hectares
The County is targeting is to have 10,000
Hectares to be under fruits in three years.
The County Government is looking for an in-
vestor in the fruits industry to start pro-
cessing of the fruits at the same time reviv-
ing stalled winery factory at Marigat. The
main fruits being promoted include: Man-
goes, Bananas, passion fruit, pawpaws and
avocadoes.
Currently, the Baringo Government is tar-
geting to position livestock as a major
21
22
Bee Keeping, Honey
Processing and Cooperatives
The fact that Baringo County could use
bees to promote its investor confer-
ence clearly indicates the amount of
bees and honey in the county. In fact,
currently, the county has more than
135,000 beehives which produce only
579 tonnes annually earning the coun-
ty Sh144 million.
And, according to Governor Benjamin
Cheboi, the County government hope
to increase production to Shs5billion
every year.
Urging farmers to use modern behives,
Cheboi said local log bee hives current-
ly being used in the county produce a maximum of 18 kilogrammes each sea-
son while the commercial hives can
produce up to 70 kilogrammes in a sea-
son.
Honey production statistics
Baringo North Sub-County is leading in
honey production with 46,000 bee
hives followed by Mogotio with 32,000
bee hives while Tiaty has 16,000 bee
hives Koibatek Sub-County has 2,000
hives while Baringo South has 15,000
Benefits of Unity
Beekeepers in Kapkuikui area of Baringo South Sub-County formed a group and are now enjoying the benefits. They have in-creased and improved their behives. Their earnings in a season can exceed Sh.1.8 mil-lion which they distribute to members ac-cording to the amount of honey delivered.
Group members can earn in excess of Shs 200,000 a season which has made their lives comfortable.
“We are now able to cater for our families’ needs, including taking our children to school. Local youth have also ventured into the enterprise and some of them own be-tween 20 and 40 hives, which have kept them from vices like drug abuse,” said Mr Simon Chesang.
23
bee hives Kenya’s potential for apicul-
ture development is estimated at over
100,000 tonnes of honey and 10,000
tonnes of beeswax per annum. At the
moment only about one fifth of this
potential is being exploited.
Various challenges have made it diffi-
cult for farmers to fully harness
the opportunities that lie in beekeep-
ing. Among these challenges are the
inadequate training in beekeeping
technologies for farmers and staff, in-
sufficient research on apiculture, inac-
cessibility of credit for farmers as well
as lack of development of quality
standards. Beekeeping provides a se-
cond and possibly third source of in-
come to small-scale farmers.
Cooperatives and groups
Many of these challenges can be
solved if farmers join up in groups and
cooperatives
Governor Cheboi advices farmers to
form cooperatives in order to develop
the honey value chain and to avoid be-
ing exploited by unscrupulous middle-
men.
In a group such as that of the Kapkuikui
farmers, marketing becomes easier and
incomes inprove (See our box story).
For example, the county government
was able to assist the farmers of
Kapjuikui with Sh2 million to set up a
honey processing plant. This, according
to the chairman, has enabled the
group to do value addition for their
honey.
Processed honey fetches about Sh500
a kilogramme, unlike crude honey
which sells at Sh185 a kilogramme. The
group thus is
able to earn
Sh4.9 million a
season, up
from Sh1.8 mil-
lion currently.
24
Tourism
The tourism industry is fairly developed
in the County, with Lake Bogoria Na-
tional Reserve, Lake Baringo, Ruko Con-
servancy, Kabarnet Museum and Snake
Park and being the major tourist attrac-
tions. The rich wildlife diversity and hot
springs found in the County are major
attractions that lure tourists to the
County. The diverse cultures and herit-
age among the communities living in
Baringo are another form of tourist
attraction such as cultural and tradi-
tional practices.
The County government seeks for part-
ners to help develop Ruko Conservancy
in Baringo South measuring about
19,000 hectares. It is also reclaiming
Lake Kamnarok where crocodiles
thrive. Development of Lodges at the
lake Baringo and Cheploch Gorge is a
great opportunity to allow tourists take
a view of the panoramic scenery of the
lake and Kerio River.
With the rich diversity of tourism
Turn to page26
25
PART IV
The Role of Cooperative in Wealth Creation in Baringo County
I feel privileged to have worked in the Cooperative move-ment for 33 Years. My view is that the cooperative move-ment in Kenya is the ideal vehicle to bring about faster development and
to eradicate pov-erty. Every communi-ty has the potential to form a coopera-tive Society and use it to improve their standards of living. Poverty is a man-made phe-nomenon created out of ig-norance or intention-ally to create de-pendency of some people upon others for political manipulation. If the people could know what they can achieve on their own by put-ting their resources together and using economies of scale, the situation would definitely be differ-ent. I can testify to this from my own expe-rience. I worked with Tugen Hills Farmers Cooperative Society Ltd in Baringo for four years, from 1982 to August 1985. Through their coopera-tive, the farmers were getting regular income from the sale of their milk, cof-fee, pyrethrum and cereals. Stores for farm inputs and implements were full from Tenges, Kabarnet, Kabartonjo to Bartolimo. While Honey from Mogoswok and Fish from Lake Barin-go reached Markets with ease. Lorries, tractors and small vehicles were busy carrying goods up and
down. All the societies were booming with business. Products of the Mogoswok Beekeepers and Honey Re-finery, were stocked in every super-market. The honey was, of course, the best. Fisheries Cooperative Society in Lake Baringo was doing well. Cotton in Kerio Valley improved incomes and ed-ucated the children of the residents. Then leadership wrangles started and the societies collapsed. Today the re-sources are still there, but the people of Baringo are among the poorest in the country. Nationally and Internationally, calls are "Back to Basics". Communities are be-ing urged to form groups in order to be assisted. The truth is they should first assist themselves by agreeing to come, reason and pool their resources together before the government or a donor comes to their aid. Those who have managed to stick together are better off economically than those who are still struggling to put their houses in order. The big challenge lies in finding and training managers for this vital move-ment. Books should be kept on the best management practices. Best of all, we need to learn from those who have ex-perience—those who have built cooper-atives from zero to large enterprises. This, I believe, is the gap which the current Leadership should address.
‘COOPERATIVES ARE
THE WAY OUT OF
POVERTY’
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Research and documentary to feature managers who have been with the sac-cos since inception and painstakingly grown them to become key players in the Kenyan economy. Some like Ha-rambee, Ukulima, Kenya Bankers, Sti-ma SACCO, Biashara SACCO to men-tion only a few are helping develop Cit-ies and Towns by putting up modern houses and generally becoming engines of development. How do the managers do it?
Find the answer in Investment news Book. I am sure you will be encouraged to look at cooperatives with excitement. Cooperatives are truly the way out of pov-erty! Leaders should be true devel-opers of their People. Moses Chebor, CEO, BORESHA SACCO. (Formely
Baringo Teachers SACCO Society
attractions, there exist opportunities to
provide tour facilities like tour vans
and tour guides. Young graduates who
major in tourism will find excellent op-
portunities to showcase their talent in
the industry. Other tourism activities
that can be promoted are: clubs, recre-
ational and amusement parks; boat
rides at Chemususu Dam, rock climb-
ing on the cliffs of Morop and Tugen
hills, cultural showcases and dances.
Tugen Hills offer opportunities for even
more creative investments. Already
there are hundreds of scientist vising
the hills on excavation mission. There
are therefore teachers and students
around the world that would be inter-
est in academic tours.
The hills in Baringo County are also
home to exotic wildlife and have a tow-
ering presence due to the two ham-
mock-like land features. Other scientist
would be interested in studying birds
said to number more than 400 species.
There are opportunities too for agro-
tourism especially in the coffee grow-
ing areas.
The County Government itself is en-
couraging conference tourism, film
making, hotels and camp sites.
Features that the County is counting on
are cliffs, waterfalls, Valley and escarp-
ments.
Tourism
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