I can make Sh7,000 a week from butterflies, says farmer

By Pascal Mwandambo

Taita Taveta, Kenya: “Whenever I tell people that I am a butterfly farmer, they look at me incredulously and ask: What does a butterfly farmer do, and what does it involve? Do you want to tell us that you grow butterflies or what?”

These are the witty comments that Clivon Mwachola, 32, from Wundanyi makes during an interview with The Standard.

 With youth unemployment being a stark reality in Kenya, it is inspiring to find a youthful, ambitious farmer who seems to have diverted from the tried and tested mode of farming to engage in a rather innovative venture.

And for Mwachola, butterflies have brought fluttering fortunes to him and he is determined to make his project the trailblaser in this highly scientific endeavour.

Keen learner

Mwachola says he begun developing an interest in butterfly farming in 2001 when he visited his cousins in Kwale who rear butterflies for export.

 “I was very keen to learn what they were doing since I wanted to replicate the same back home at Shigharo Forest in Wundanyi where there are  a lot of rare butterflies whose economic potential remains largely unexploited” he said.

 Mwachola says he has always been a lover of nature since he was a student a Kenyatta High School, Mwatate, where he scored grade A in Biology and A- in Agriculture.

He says the hardest part involved getting the right literature on butterfly farming which would form the basis for the whole project.

 Shortly afterwards he approached James Mwang’ombe, who was the then coordinator of Taita-Taveta Wildlife Forum (now assistant director of Kenya Forest Service, who gave him reading materials on butterflies and particularly those found in Taita Forest.

Mwachola said armed with this knowledge, he looked for a group of youths and began hunting for butterflies in the forests and confining them in meshed cages to await breeding where they would later get the pupae.

 “Some people thought we were a little weird but we pushed on regardless” he says.

Good business

 He says it takes three to four weeks for butterfly eggs to grow to larva, which is the stage that is usually exported, and when business is good he makes up to Sh7,000 per week.

Mwachola says he has now made a collaborative effort with youth from Chawia, Mghambonyi, Mghange,and Shigharo who have also ventured into butterfly farming.

The youth usually bring the larva to him ready to be taken to Mida butterfly farm in Malindi before being exported to Europe and America where they are in great demand both for decorative purposes as well as silk production.

Mwachola says the butterfly rearing season falls between August and September when there are enough rains and plants have flowered. This provides nectar to the butterflies.

 “Sometimes when it is dry, we confine some of the butterflies in cages with cotton mesh and give then Ribena juice to keep them rehydrated,” he says.