l was born in 1981 and l am the last born among 8 children, four boys and four girls. My birth place is Kipkaren Salient Location in Nandi North County.
l went to Laboret AIC Girls Boarding Primary School then proceeded to Gusii Highlights’ High School for my secondary education.
l am in college studying counseling psychology .I decided to do this after I became a victim of depression when my loving father died in 2007.I was my father’s baby and never lacked anything I wanted. I remember the happy moments I had when my father was still alive. My problems started immediately after his death. I went through hell as no one seemed to care about me except my loving mother. A counselor helped me out of this situation and so I would like to help other girls /single mothers in similar situations within my community.
I live with my aging widowed mother who supports me with my two kids. We depend on her for all our financial needs. In this hard economic times, the money she earns from the maize garden and the few dairy cattle is not enough for all of us. This scenario made me decide to start dairy farming as well as poultry keeping. My mother gave me a dairy cow to jump start me in my farming business. I have since manage to buy one more cow and 60 layers.
I use the earnings from my farm produce to meet my financial obligation though it’s still far much less than my requirements. My first born son is in high school and his sister in grade one and with me in college the fees required is huge. I have also employed a helper on the farm. The budget is big hence the need to expand the business.
A part from counseling the girls and single mothers in my community, I like listening to gospel music and reading inspirational books. I also go to church and participate in various church activities. However I believe that a will be of big help to my peers after graduating at the end of this year, God willing. I intent to form an organization that would articulate on issues affecting the rights of single mothers.
My big dream is to own a piece of land where a would settle with my kids. I can only achieve this by doubling my income from my business. Will be able to meet all my financial needs and even have some savings towards the purchase of land.
I want to shame my selfish brothers who, even after taking away the piece of land that my late father had given to me, disowned me. Right now the big worry that gives me sleepless nights is if my aging mother dies. Where would my kids and I live since its obvious my brothers would not want me on the family piece of land. Anyone who supports me achieve my big dream will be my hero/heroin. I leave this to God.
My business is Farm based on the family’s land as l do not own any. My mother donated a dairy cow to start me off and now l have two after l managed to buy another one from the profits l made.
l make some good profit from my two cows since the milk is purchased by Brooke Side Company and collected on daily basis. The company is very reliable in service delivery which ensures farmers that their milk will never get spoilt.
From my two cows l get 30 liters of milk on average per day so in one month l get 900 liters. Brooke Side buy my milk @ 30 Kenya shilling per liter.
Apart from the dairy cows l have also introduced layers .l have 60 day old chicks that are now four weeks old and will start laying in the next two weeks. The high demand for eggs in Eldoret town informed my decision to keep the layers.
INCOME GENERATION FROM THE COWS
30 liters per day x 30 days =900x 30 shilling per liter=27000/=($300)
EXPENDITURE
Dairy meal=2 bags @4000/=
Spray twice a month @ 400/=
De-worming once a month @ 400/=
Vaccines @1000/=
Transport @2000/=
Herds Boy @2000/=
Miscellaneous @1000/=
Total 10800/=($120)
Profit =$180
EXPECTED INCOME FROM THE LAYERS
2 trays of eggs per day @ 450/= per each=900/= x 30 days =27000/=
EXPENDITURE
Layers mash 2 bags a month @ 4000/=
Vaccines @1000/= 1000/=
Heating system (Kerosene)@ 2000/= a month
Transport 2000/=
Miscellaneous 1000/=
Total 10000/= ($111)
Profit $180+$111=$291 per month
The risks involved in this business include epidemic out breaks, theft eggs breakages and lack of transport during wet seasons.
l will buy another cow at the cost of $390 and use the balance $56 for feeds and veterinary services.l need anther Fresian cow which is high in milk production as compared to jersey.lt will add 20 liters of milk per day and this will boost the production by my other three cows.
There is a possibility of Brook side to improve the price of milk per litre from $4 to $4.5 and this will be a big boost to my income.
l am also shopping for a good herds boy who will assist me with the now increasing work on my farm.l can now clearly see myself buying a piece of land sooner than l had anticipated