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’

26

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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