Under the Kenyan Sun with Hooves

By the Vet Student Team

 

The first week in Kenya flew by! There was a lot of time spent talking and learning about the livestock here. Most of our time has been spent between the local donkey and dairy groups in the region, but we have had the opportunity to dabble with the poultry and newly formed small ruminant projects. There are so many different projects going on that it has been nice to get a chance to participate in all aspects of the “boots on the ground”work going on here.

The 4 vet musketeers after the first walk-in clinic

Everyone has been very welcoming, sharing endless mugs of tea, and laughs. We held seminars to share information on cattle and donkey welfare, but to also understand the issues affecting farmers in the region. The dairy team held sessions for two new groups in Kiirua and Ruiri, where we went over six essentials to maximize milk production. Over the next year these groups will continue to meet with Farmers Helping Farmers (FHF) staff covering topics such as nutrition, making silage, cow comfort, and breeding in more detail. At the end of year, we hope farmers will feel better equipped to tackle dairy production in Kenya. 

The donkey seminars consisted of “punda” (donkey) owners who had the opportunity to learn “pressure & release” halter training, a new type of knot to tie their donkeys, as well as an introduction to innovative harness and cart designs focused on donkey welfare.

Happy donkey grazing

To wrap up the week we participated in a whirlwind cattle health clinic in Mbaaria where nearly 500 cattle were vaccinated, dewormed, and treated by the FHF vet team and veterinarians and paravets from Meru County. Ng'ombe (cows in swahili) received anthrax, BVDV, and Lumpy Skin Disease vaccines, while many dogs were dewormed and vaccinated against rabies. The farmers were especially enthusiastic about the anthrax vaccines, as there had been cases in the area not 3 weeks prior. The health clinic included farmers from the surrounding area, some of whom walked with their cows over 5km to attend! We had the opportunity to see some incredibly interesting cases, including East Coast Fever,m Habronemiasis, and Anaplasmosis, as well as participate in their diagnosis and treatment. It was a day of laughter, hard work, and organized chaos under the hot Kenyan sun. 

The organized chaos of the first walk-in clinic

There has been a lot to see outside of seminars and clinic days. There are people transporting goats and furniture on Boda Boda’s, which are Kenyan motorcycle taxis. Baboons on the side of the road, hoping you will toss them a snack. Crops and water being hauled by donkeys and oxen, and mangoes around every corner. Perhaps the most exciting thing we have seen so far are the elephants on the way to and from the office. We are sure that Kenya will continue to surprise us and cannot wait to see what the next two weeks bring!

Sharing the road with two oxen pulling a cart

Improving Welfare for Working Donkeys in Meru County, Kenya

    By Dr. Martha Mellish

     Equus asinus—the donkey—known locally as punda in Kiswahili and ntigiri in Kimeru, does a lot of work for families in Meru County, Kenya. Despite their importance, working donkeys often labour with harnesses that compress the airway, leading to coughing, breathing difficulty, and reluctance to work.

    The Working Donkey Project in Meru County, supported by the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Center and Farmers Helping Farmers is now in its third year and focuses on improving donkey welfare through practical, community-driven solutions. In 2024, our concerns about airway compression with the current harnessing were confirmed through direct visualization of donkey airways, guiding the development of a prototype cart and harness system designed to reduce pressure on the neck and improve breathing.

    In 2025, the project expanded to include community conversations, seminars, and demonstrations. Five donkey carts have been constructed in partnership with a local welder with the goal of a demonstration of a potentially more welfare friendly cart and harness.

        However, challenges remain. We continue to have difficulty identifying a harness design that is both welfare-friendly and adaptable to local materials and repair skills. In addition, frequent flat tires on the carts have highlighted the need for easy repair kits.

    This year, our team returned to interview the same donkey owners surveyed last January, gathering feedback on welfare perceptions, cart performance, and design improvements. Alongside this work, we provided basic donkey health clinics, including deworming and vaccinations.

By openly addressing challenges and working collaboratively with donkey owners, this project continues to evolve toward sustainable improvements for working donkeys—and the communities that rely on them.

Catching Up with Old Friends

By Teresa Mellish

Ken and I were thrilled to see Rhoda Sanayo ole Sein on the first Sunday after we arrived in Kenya. We were so thrilled to see her after many years of not seeing her at all.    She came to live with us in PEI for a few months  when she was in PEI on a year long exchange program in 1988.  She lives on the family farm near Nairobi where they have Simmental cattle and Dorpa sheep.  In addition, they have turned their  family farm into a Conservancy and offer disc golf for entertainment.   

Some of our group went on  a tour of the farm.  I stayed at the house and caught up with Rhoda about our families.  Just a wonderful visit. We could hardly believe how our families had aged after 38 years!!

 Water and elbow grease: change makers

By Dr. Jill Wood

    This is Nkando. It is very dry and rocky with little vegetation other than cacti and acacia trees. It is where I have been working with our partner women’s groups for the past week.

The women are farming a variety of ways as best they can in this harsh environment. Goats, we have discovered, do surprisingly well here. They are able to browse the shrubs and short grasses and find what they need. We are excited about the introduction of small ruminant training for our women’s groups this year.

    None of the women here milk cows though; there simply isn’t enough of the high energy feed dairy cows need to produce. The women have responded very favourably however, to our poultry program. Chickens do just fine here and the women are especially attentive poultry keepers. The birds are valuable to them given the limited alternative livestock options in the area. 

    Like the vast majority of the women’s groups we work with, the Nkando women’s groups were provided with water tanks when they first signed on as Farmers Helping Farmers partners in 2021. Water is so fundamental to everything else we do. This cannot be stressed enough and is of particular importance in a dry area like Nkando. By reducing the need to walk to the nearest kiosk for water (where water has to be paid for), the women have more time to devote to their shambas and are better able to provide water for their livestock and gardens. 

     Success cannot come from water alone though. The women must be dedicated to using the water judiciously and strategically and must work hard to maintain coops, weed gardens, tend to saplings and feed azolla ponds. These are just a few of the examples where I could see farmyard access to water making a huge difference in Nkando. 

    On our way to a training session, we stopped by the Grace Sisters tree nursery where they had recently sold many of their trees to neighbouring schools for planting. Numerous members were inside the screenhouse tending to the new plants they had started in order to maintain their supply of products. Avocado trees, lemon trees, meru passion and tree tomato were all thriving in the Kenyan sunshine. 

    On another day, we stopped by member Rosemary’s shamba after a group training session because I had learned she had an azolla pond and I was hoping to see one. Azolla is an aquatic plant that is high in protein and makes an excellent supplement to chicken feed. The ponds are easy to maintain with timely additions of water and manure and provision of shade. Rosemary did not know we were coming, but everything looked like it had been prepared for company! Her chicken’s waterers were full, her goats water trough was full and her azolla pond had lots of healthy looking azolla growing.

     I asked if she was worried about the rains not coming and things getting so dry that she may have to give up the azolla pond. She told me no, she was not worried because if her tank did not have rainwater, she would be able to purchase water from the local water line with the income from her egg sales. She said the azolla pond only required water top ups about once a month and even when it was very dry, twice per month. She was confident that was something she could keep up with, even during dry spells.

     So let’s think about that…. The azolla helps reduce her feed costs and maintain a healthy flock. That healthy flock lays eggs that nourish her family and provide extra income. The extra income can pay for water that will keep the azolla pond flourishing… it is a beautiful circle of success. When Farmers Helping Farmers helps with a few of the basic start up needs (water, seeds, chicks and knowledge) and you add in the elbow grease and perseverance of these incredible women, you see the wheels of positive change in motion.