Women's Cooperatives
A woman working alone in an arid or semi-arid community runs into limits quickly: little access to buyers, no leverage to negotiate, and all the risk on her own shoulders. Women-led cooperatives change that equation, letting women share risk, bargain together, and build economic standing as a group rather than one by one. Global Give Back Circle is bringing this model into the HER Lab ecosystem, and the work is progressing on two fronts.
West Pokot: chamomile
The West Pokot Women Farmers’ Cooperative is being established with chamomile production as its flagship enterprise, supplying Melvins Tea, a Nairobi-based tea blending company that has committed to buy all the tea the cooperative can produce. Chamomile was selected through a value chain study designed to identify enterprises that are both commercially viable and grounded in what women in the region already know and grow. The crop is well suited to West Pokot’s climate, and with chamomile tea demand surging while supply runs short worldwide, these women are positioned to fill a real market gap.
Kajiado: goat dairy
In Kajiado, a parallel value chain analysis is underway, with a goat dairy cooperative identified as a strong entry point. Rooted in Maasai women’s existing knowledge, it is positioned to generate income, build collective assets, and support financial independence for women across the community.
The Approach
The work is phased and evidence-based, moving from trust-building and governance formation through to market integration and long-term sustainability, guided at every stage by participants’ own perspectives and needs. The goal is cooperatives that are resilient, well-governed, and built to endure beyond program support.