Weaving value into Kenya’s wool industry and sustaining rural livelihoods

Описание: In Kenya’s highlands, sheep farmers once struggled to earn from wool. Njabini Wool Crafters, a youth-led cooperative, is changing that by transforming wool into income, creating jobs and protecting the grasslands.

With support from GIZ’s Agri-Business Facility for Africa, farmers are learning sustainable grazing, improving sheep breeding and turning wool into high-quality products. Women and youth are gaining skills as spinners and artisans, while rare species like the Sharpe’s Longclaw are being protected.

Smallholder sheep farmers like Ezekiel Wainaina now earn enough from wool to pay school fees, while artisans like Chepkirui Terer have gained financial independence through spinning and crafting.

Through the Matching Grant Fund, Njabini Wool has reached over 1,800 smallholder farmers, created income opportunities for women and youth, revitalized the wool value chain, and contributed to grassland conservation.

This success is possible through Matching Grant Fund (MGF), as part of the Joint Action “Business Support Facility for Resilient Agricultural Value Chains”, co-funded by the European Union under the Samoa Agreement with the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ.