Baringo residents shop for aloe vera investor to better their livelihoods

Daniel Kibet, a resident, says there are several opportunities that the plant can offer, emancipating the community from the yoke of poverty.

Baringo county is one of the most marginalised in the country.

More than half the population lives below the poverty line, which means that more than 250,000 people are unable to meet their basic needs. 

Aloes are used by local communities for medicinal, cultural and aesthetic purposes.

 “We have aloe vera covering about 20 acres,” Kibet says.

Kibet, who has been trained on the value addition of aloe vera, says there are several benefits associated with the plant.

“We use the flowers to make tea leaves by drying and crushing. It is also medicine for young children. We burn the dried up leaves to ashes and give it to young children struggling to have milk teeth,” he says.

The roots of the plant, which are tolerant of dry areas, are also used in children aged six months and older to control worms and stomach upset.

The plant can also be used as medicine for domestic animals such as goats and chickens.

Despite all this uses, however, the community is currently using the crop for medicinal value as they do not have anyone to invest in value addition.

This, Kibet says, has subjected the plant to poachers.

“We have raised awareness among the community on the benefits associated with aloe vera and the need to protect it as we seek for investors.”

He warns those intending to illegally harvest the plant, saying their days are numbered.

Kibet says they collect the seeds, dry them before taking them to a seedbed. They are then transferred.

The community, he says, is keen to have an investor as a factory that had been set up in Koriema collapsed.

The project collapsed in 2008, reportedly due to poor management and poor pricing mechanisms, which discouraged farmers. 

Kibet says the move will create jobs, securing livelihoods for the community.

Baringo County Conservancies Association CEO Susan Jepkemoi says the aloe vera is a very rich plant.

“Baringo County Conservancies Association plans to venture with the rest of the conservancies in the aloe vera business by adding value to the product so that we can have more income,” Jepkemoi says.

BCCA is an umbrella organisation for community conservancies in Baringo county.

It acts as a collective voice for conservancies and advocates favourable policies, building local capacity and providing a platform for collaboration.

The Nature Conservancy supports BCCA to ensure that conservancies are well-managed and well-funded.

They support negotiations with Baringo county, help to train conservancy leadership and attract investment by developing and marketing the conservancies as a strong business case.

Jepkemoi says aloe must be harvested sustainably.

She says the strategy that her organisation has is to add value by having various products, such as cosmetics and herbal products, that are able to be sold at high prices.

“It will attract young people to valuable and constructive activities other than idling. It will also ensure the intergenerational exchange of information, especially in regards to herbs and the importance of the plant to the community of Baringo," the BCCA boss says. 

Jepkemoi says their strategy is adaptable to the conservancy model, and this is one of the viable businesses that the community can do.

“We take advantage of that by seeking support from investors who can tap this, and we will be very happy to partner with them and develop an agreement that is sustainable for the plant and also that can benefit this community directly,” she says.

The community, she says, needs to have access to and benefit sharing mechanisms that can help change their fortunes.

She lauded the Kenya Wildlife Service for developing a strategy for conservation and management of aloe vera at the national level, saying overexploitation might render the plant extinct yet it is of great value to the community.

In 2004, the KWS embarked on a process of developing a strategy for the conservation and management of commercial aloe species to guide sustainable conservation and utilisation of the aloe resource in the country.

It focuses on striking a balance between sociocultural, economic and ecological needs as the core pillars of sustainable development.

The strategy aims to integrate interests in biodiversity conservation and economic development.

Aloe exploitation in dry lands has been viewed as an entry point for wealth creation and biodiversity conservation by the local communities.

Thousands of poor inhabitants, mostly women, are engaged in aloe sap tapping in the drier parts of Africa, including the Eastern Cape in South Africa, Kenyan dry lands and Karamoja in Uganda.

The genus Aloe is listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates international trade in endangered species.

International trade in specimens of aloe species, live plants, parts, or derivatives should therefore be compliant with the national laws and CITES regulations.

In Kenya, there are approximately 60 indigenous species and subspecies of aloes.

Among these five species, namely, Aloe secundiflora, Aloe turkanensis, Aloe rivae, Aloe calidophila and Aloe scabrifolia, are commercially exploited for aloe bitter gum.

There is considerable illegal trade in specimens of Kenyan aloes, which is threatening the resource base in the wild.

The illegal trade has compromised the premiums of the resource and the recognition that Kenya’s aloe bitter gum is of superior quality.

The gazettement of the Wildlife (Conservation and Management) (Aloes species) Regulations, 2007 was meant to streamline the aloe sub-sector through promoting domestication (artificial propagation) of the aloe species and certification of harvesting operations dependent on the wild aloe resource base.

The regulations provide rules for the propagation of aloe plants for commercial purposes and provide for the control of international trade in aloe species or any derivatives. 

A person intending to engage in the propagation of aloe species for commercial purposes shall apply to the KWS for registration.

KWS shall, when deciding on registration, take into consideration the conservation of aloe species and their natural habitats and microhabitats.

The export of aloe species shall, notwithstanding these regulations, comply with any requirement under any law relating to the export from Kenya of any plant or plant product.

Overexploitation of commercial aloe species prompted a presidential decree in 1986 banning the harvesting of aloes from the wild for commercial purposes.

Many of the commercial aloe species grow naturally in Baringo, Samburu, West Pokot, Turkana and Laikipia districts in abundance.

Other areas known to have significant populations of aloes include Nakuru, Koibatek, Kajiado, Isiolo, Meru, Marsabit, Moyale, Narok and Wajir districts.

Some parts of Nyeri, Kiambu, Thika, Machakos, Kitui and Mwingi and Nyanza, Western and Coast provinces are also known to have some naturally growing commercial aloe species. Some species of aloe have been grown in gardens and homes as flowers and live fences.

In Kenya, many residents have traditionally used the sap and leaves for the cure of various ailments, including malaria and fungal and bacterial diseases.