Drought-prone Ganze women turn to Galla goats to beat famine

A herd of Galla goats at a holding bay in Ganze before they are distributed to women groups. Amua Women Group is one of the groups that benefited from the programme. [Levis Musumba] The first March rains have fallen gently. Tiny shrubs glisten, their leaves catching the light like jewels. Each droplet paints the plains of Ganze Sub-County in Kilifi with a faint stroke of hope. The area had endured an unforgiving drought for three unrelenting years. Not a single drop of rain on this parched land. Rivers vanished leaving ghostly scars on the earth, brittle and barren. But for Mariam Sheban, a mother of five and many grandchildren, this quiet rebirth brings both relief and fear. "It started to rain just two weeks ago," she murmurs, her gaze fixed on the horizon as she stirs flour in a worn metal bowl. "But it's no promise. It's not enough to grow anything." She kneels beside the fire, shaping bits of dough into small snacks for her 10 grandchildren, who sit silently around the fading flames. The aroma is faint, barely enough to stir excitement. "This isn't breakfast," she says with a sad smile. "It's the only meal of the day." Her voice falters. "Sometimes, I don't eat, so they can." The return of the rains stirs more than just soil; it unearths the deep, lingering trauma of climate change in the famine-prone Ganze sub-county. For Sheban, the sound of rain brings back memories of granaries emptied by failed harvests, wells reduced to dust, and long nights filled with the cries of hungry children. At 42, Sheban, mother of five and grandmother to many, stands among the most affected in Mbonga Village, Ganze. The drought has carved its mark into every facet of her life. Climate change is no longer a distant warning; it's a lived reality. "If you walk through the villages around here, you'll see and hear stories far more heartbreaking than mine," she says softly. "We're surviving just to eat, not eating to survive. And education? It's no longer a priority. Feeding our children is what matters most." She adjusts her faded kanga, pulls it snugly around her waist, and walks toward the goat shed, her steps firm but weighted by years of silent hardship. Sheban unlatches the creaky wooden door of her goat shed. A soft bleating greets her as she steps inside, the dry scent of dung and dust filling the air. She crouches, scanning the herd. "One... two... three..." she counts, tapping each Galla goat gently. "Four... five... six... seven... eight..." Her voice softens. "Nine... ten. Good. All are here," she counted. Among them are three lactating goats. Mariam separates them with a coaxing whistle, guiding the herd toward open plains. "I turned to goats after farming failed us," she says, breathless but determined. "Nothing grows here anymore. But these Galla goats, they survive. They give us milk. They've kept my grandchildren from going to bed hungry." In the field, her goats nibble sparse tufts of green with surprising enthusiasm. The lactating is especially precious. "With their milk, my grandchildren get something warm before bed. I also sell a few litres when I can. One goat," she adds proudly, "can fetch up to fifteen thousand shillings. That's enough to pay school fees or buy food." Sheban is the founder and chairlady of the Amua Women's Group, a collective of 30 women established in 2015 to build resilience in the face of climate change. Until 2024, she scraped a living through subsistence farming and selling chapatis in dusty village alleys. "Life was unbearably hard. My crops would fail. I couldn't afford school fees. At one point, we survived on one meal a day," she recalls. But everything changed when she received six Galla goats from the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Socio-Economic Development Project (KEMFSED). Known for their resilience in arid environments, the goats thrived. A year later, her herd had grown to ten. "Galla goats are a blessing. They need little feed, survive on minimal water, mature fast, and give us milk. We're no longer helpless victims of drought," she says with a smile. Azizi Mohammed Matandara, Livestock Production Officer in Jaribuni Ward, concurs. "The Galla goat, indigenous to Kenya's ASALs, is exceptionally suited to harsh climates," he explains. "High reproduction, low feed needs, fast growth, drought and disease resistance plus up to 1.5 litres of milk daily. It's essential for food-insecure households." Azizi emphasises livestock's growing role in climate adaptation. "Keeping resilient breeds like Galla goats is no longer just about survival-it's an economic and nutritional powerhouse at the household level. One goat retails at Sh15,000 in the local market," he says. "It's a core strategy for communities facing climate extremes." In Ganze, as in many ASALs, women bear the brunt of climate change. They're responsible for feeding families, fetching water, and ensuring education. Rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall make all of that harder. "Through KEMFSED, we've distributed 1,600 Galla goats across Ganze, Magarini, and Kilifi North," says Lucy Kapombe, KEMFSED project coordinator in Kilifi. "This isn't just about livestock. It's about resilience, nutrition, and livelihoods." National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) data shows that Kilifi has faced five consecutive failed rain seasons since 2020. Ganze Ward has been among the hardest hit, with nearly 60 per cent of households facing severe food shortages. Sheban is not alone. Fellow group member Mariam Kashuru started with four goats and now owns nine. "The goats changed how I see myself. I used to beg. Now I sell milk and save. I even bought school uniforms for my kids," she beams. What began in 2015 as a table banking initiative to buy food has grown into a thriving socio-economic cooperative. "Members pool their resources, share knowledge, and support each other," explains Sheban, a proud member of the Amua Women's Group in Ganze Ward, Kilifi County. Through their table banking initiative, the women have launched small businesses, goat milk shops, and kiosks and expanded livestock herds to diversify their income and build resilience. "For us, it's been a journey of unity and empowerment," says fellow member Mariam Kashuru. "Climate change pushed us into poverty, but we're reclaiming our strength. We're no longer waiting for aid; we're rebuilding, one goat enterprise at a time." At the local livestock market, they move as a unit. "We sell together," Kashuru adds. "It gives us bargaining power, shuts out middlemen, and helps us earn fair prices." Kenya continues to bear the brunt of climate shocks. The burden is heaviest on the country's arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), which make up 89 per cent of the landmass. Matandara, a Livestock Production Officer in Jaribuni Ward, affirms the importance of drought-resilient animals like the Galla goat. "They're more than a source of food or income," he explains. "They're an adaptation strategy. These goats survive where crops fail and directly contribute to global goals like ending poverty and hunger and taking climate action." As the sun sets, Sheban leads her healthy, well-fed herd home, each goat a symbol of survival. But for her, this is just the beginning. "If every village had a few Galla goats", she says with conviction, "we could end hunger. It's that simple." Yet, major hurdles remain. The women lack access to clean water, veterinary care, and stable markets. They are calling on both county and national governments to invest in boreholes, mobile vet services, and cooperative marketplaces to support this emerging livestock economy. Despite challenges, the women of Amua are herding not just goats but resilience, hope, and change across Kenya's climate-stressed landscape. Still, the threat of climate change looms.

Drought-prone Ganze women turn to Galla goats to beat famine

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Drought-prone Ganze women turn to Galla goats to beat famine

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