In the dry expanses of Laikipia County, where climate change continues to put traditional livestock systems under pressure, a quiet transformation is underway, powered by camels and driven by women.

At the heart of this shift is White Gold Camel Milk Limited, a growing enterprise that is transforming a previously overlooked resource into a reliable source of income, nutrition and resilience for pastoralist communities.

Founded by Zamzam Haji, the company processes and markets camel milk products and targets a diverse and expanding customer base that extends well beyond pastoralist regions.

From urban families seeking healthier dairy alternatives to individuals who are lactose intolerant, diabetic or elderly, White Gold Camel Milk is steadily carving out a niche in Kenya’s competitive dairy market.

Its products — whole camel milk, vanilla and strawberry-flavoured options, and fermented milk, commonly known as 'susa' in the local community — are now stocked in select supermarket outlets across the country.

According to Ms Zamzam, the business also runs a home delivery service to ensure convenience for its growing clientele.

“The company’s primary beneficiaries are women, particularly pastoralist women, who have historically had limited access to formal markets,” she says.

Today, they make up around 80 per cent of White Gold’s suppliers. For many of them, camel milk is no longer just a product for subsistence, but a pathway to financial independence and dignity.

Building this enterprise was a long journey. The founder traces its origins back to 2017, when she identified a pressing gap in the local dairy value chain.

“At the time, many women in Laikipia owned camels and produced large quantities of milk, but they lacked a reliable buyer following the collapse of a previous company,” Zamzam recalls. Her own mother was among them.

Rather than letting the opportunity slip away, Zamzam stepped in. What began as a trial-and-error venture was driven by necessity as much as vision.

Together with her husband, who was based in the United States at the time, she set out to establish a small processing unit. With no credit history with which to secure formal loans, the couple relied on personal savings and borrowed funds from family members to get started.

“We wanted to test the idea and see how far it could go,” she says.

Processing began with just 50 litres of milk per day — a volume that barely made a dent in the local supply. However, nearly a decade later, the business has grown significantly and now handles up to 300 litres daily during the rainy season, although production dips during prolonged dry spells.

Having been raised in a marginalised community where opportunities for women were scarce, she had first-hand experience of the barriers that pastoralist women face, such as limited education, restricted mobility, a lack of rights to own land, and exclusion from formal markets.

Wider vision

Therefore, her vision was not just to build a profitable business, she says, but also to create an inclusive value chain that empowers women at every stage.

This vision is now evident in the ripple effects that the company has generated across Laikipia and beyond its borders. Women who once struggled to find buyers for their milk are now earning steady incomes,' she tells Seeds of Gold.

Some have used their earnings to achieve significant milestones, including purchasing land — an asset that was previously out of reach for many women.

At the same time, the enterprise is contributing to a wider change in livestock farming methods. As the effects of climate change intensify and droughts become more frequent, farmers are increasingly turning to camels as a more resilient alternative to cattle.