Camel milk marketing in Kenya underpinned by a moral economy

Camel milk production and marketing is a growing activity for pastoralist communities in Kenya and the wider Horn of Africa drylands. In Isiolo County in northern Kenya, the camel milk trade directly benefits more than 10,000 people, providing jobs, income and livelihoods, including for the most vulnerable population groups.

Key factors in the growth of the market include: First, a shift to camel husbandry from other species – camels are better adapted to climate changes and can withstand harsh weather. Second, improved roads, transport services and telecommunication that facilitate marketing of camel products. Third, the emergence of new markets for camel milk, due to its therapeutic and microbial properties. Fourth, development and dryland support programmes have promoted livestock product marketing as a resilience strategy, leading to improved market infrastructure and establishment of producer groups.

In northern Kenya, this market has emerged and grown amid uncertain conditions. The drylands are prone to drought followed by flash floods, camels suffer from several diseases, while conflict and raiding hamper production. Moreover, many new camel owners underwent a steep production learning curve and other actors, like cooperatives, had to establish themselves, building trust and relationships along the camel milk value chain.

Observing how camel milk marketing is made possible by locally woven and complex networks, relationships and contracts, many driven by women cooperatives, Jameel Observatory scholar Tahira Mohamed and collaborator Michele Nori explored the camel milk value chain with a ‘moral economy’ perspective – in which the primary motivations of many local value chain actors are based on social norms, obligations, and the common good, leading to stronger rural-urban connections and stronger livelihoods of marginal groups.

Trust underpins collective livelihood diversification

In a recent journal article, Mohamed and Nori investigated the socioeconomic networks and daily practices involved in camel milk marketing in Kenya. The focus was on the cultural and social aspects of camel milk production, transactions and marketing from the Isiolo drylands to Nairobi terminal markets. The study involved camel milk-producing and marketing women, cooperative members, motorcycle transporters and market actors in Nairobi, studying how trust, relationships and collective action among the network members enhanced reliable market system.

The authors conclude:

Marketing of camel milk is a creative, adaptive response to the ecological, economic and political uncertainties reconfiguring livelihoods in northern Kenya drylands. Once a taboo, the sale of camel milk has become a significant business in the region. It is a step in the process of market integration of pastoral economies; it also attests to the relevance of social, cultural and moral economy arrangements underpinning the contractual engagements based on trust and values that make it possible.

Camel milk is not just a commodity; its marketing is a culturally embedded, politically dynamic and socially constructed reality that accounts for diverse needs and capacities, where people, relationships and practices are central. The set of socially regulated interactions, cultural institutions and technical arrangements that underlie and enable the functioning of camel milk marketing networks are essential moral economy relationships that enhance reliable and effective integration of local economies into market dynamics.

Amid growing uncertainties, such market engagement provides alternative income-generating activities for pastoralists to survive. Unlike modern markets regulated by formal rules and regulations, fixed marketplaces and strict standards, this camel milk model operates in flexible and adaptable spaces, quickly adapting to changing circumstances. Any market support interventions should incorporate this flexibility and establish basic infrastructures such as mobile phone coverage, accessible roads, and electricity that can facilitate transport, storage and marketing of camel milk where and when the actors require it.

More

Mohamed, T.S. and Nori, M. 2025. The moral economy behind the commoditisation of camel milk in northern Kenya. Journal of Eastern African Studies 19. https://doi.org/10.1080/17531055.2024.2512641

Mohamed, T.S. and Jilo, R.B. 2025. Camels, climate, and capital: Subverting the narrative of pastoral sustainability. The Elephant. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173471

Jameel Observatory. 2024. Photovoice project shows pastoralist perspectives on prosperity and resilience. A community ‘photovoice’ project in northern Kenya illustrates some of the opportunities and challenges of camel keepers and producers – with images and narratives from the perspectives of the community members.

Mohamed, T.S. 2024. The moral economy and camel milk marketing in northern Kenya. Presented at a University of Nairobi Institute of Development Studies webinar, 21 March 2024. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.