How the ELEVATE Project is powering women-led enterprise, livelihoods and resilience in Farey, Mandera.
For years, accessing basic services in Farey meant travelling long distances. Among the everyday challenges faced by residents was the lack of access to electricity and refrigeration, which limited the types of goods local businesses could sell and the opportunities available to entrepreneurs.
For the Farey Milk Sellers Women Group, this reality began to change through the ELEVATE Project, implemented by the Rural Agency for Community Development and Assistance (RACIDA), with support from IOM Kenya and funding from KOICA.
The women’s milk-selling enterprise received a modern business structure equipped with a solar power system, refrigerator and community phone-charging facility. What was once a small milk business has now evolved into a diversified, solar-powered enterprise operating 24 hours a day.
Creating opportunities through clean energy
The introduction of solar-powered refrigeration has allowed the women to expand beyond milk sales. They can now stock and sell cold drinks and other perishable products that were previously difficult to access within the community.
Before the intervention, residents of Farey had to travel more than 35 kilometres to purchase cold drinks from the nearest shop. Today, those products are available within the community, creating a new local market while generating additional income for the women.
The phone-charging facility has also introduced another essential service for residents, particularly in a community where access to electricity remains limited.
For the women, the investment is not simply about having a better shop. It is about having the infrastructure and resources needed to grow their business, increase their income and participate more meaningfully in the local economy.
A business owned and led by women
The transformation carries an even greater significance for women in Farey.
The enterprise is the first shop of its kind in the area to be entirely owned, managed and operated by women. Through the business, the women are not only earning an income but also demonstrating their capacity to lead, manage assets and respond to the needs of their community.
Their experience shows how targeted support for women-led enterprises can create benefits that extend beyond individual households. When women have access to productive assets, energy, business infrastructure and market opportunities, they can become drivers of local economic activity and community resilience.
From infrastructure to resilience
In an off-grid community such as Farey, access to reliable energy can make a significant difference to how businesses operate and the services they can provide.
For the Farey Milk Sellers Women Group, solar energy has helped turn a small enterprise into a 24-hour community business, while creating new income opportunities and bringing essential services closer to residents.
Their journey reflects a broader lesson: when women are equipped with the right resources and opportunities, they can build businesses that strengthen not only their livelihoods but also the communities around them.
From energy access to enterprise.
From enterprise to livelihoods.
From livelihoods to resilience.
This is inclusive economic empowerment in action.
The ELEVATE Project is implemented by RACIDA with support from IOM Kenya and funding from KOICA.
