Entrepreneurs-Raising Goats

Nakweni Sisters - Agricultural Entrepreneurs

Nakweni Sisters has a business model that allows for contributions to the village fund, as well as providing for a micro-loan to a group of women annually. In this vast area of Nakweni, looking over the landscape one sees Maasai herders with goats and cattle. Young boys to older men shepherding their livestock to areas where grazing is available. During the dry season it would seem quite a challenge, yet Maasai herders are skilled at caring for their animals.

Nakweni Sisters has their own group of women who are skilled at raising goats. Under the Nakweni Sisters business umbrella are two small groups of women who raise goats for their income. During the dry season when rain and new green growth is scarce, the women must save resources to purchase food at the market or go out in search of grasses for their goats.

Creating a corral for the livestock is ingenious, as they utilize brush with sharp, needle-like thorns woven together to create fencing. Each evening the goats are brought back into the fenced area to guard them from predators.

Women walk miles to the Maasai market on Saturday mornings where many items are available for purchase. It is a colorful and bustling site. Baskets of produce, Kanga -traditional Tanzanian colorful cloth, sandals, rope, chickens, goats and more. The market is where goats are bought and sold, as well as prepared for purchase for meat.