Delivered by DREEM Hub’s skills and development spoke partner, the Dairy Training Institute, the training brought together participants for two practical short courses: Hygienic Milk Handling & Value Addition and Climate-Smart Dairy Cow Management & Feeding.
The courses covered practical areas including milk quality and processing, dairy cow management, feeds and feeding, ration formulation, calf rearing, dairy housing and record keeping. For farmers, these skills can shape everyday decisions, from how animals are fed and managed to how milk is handled, processed and taken to market.
For Evanson Mwakina Mwariga of Tago Dairy Society in Taita Taveta County, the training offered a practical opportunity to rethink how he manages his six cows, particularly the cost of feeding them. “I can’t wait to go back home and put what I have learned into practice, especially on feed formulation. I have six cows and currently spend about Ksh 14,000 every month on feed. From what I have learned, I believe I can bring that cost down to around Ksh 7,000. I have realised that much of the grass I need to make the feed is readily available at home, and now I also have the knowledge to formulate the feed myself.”
Evanson’s experience illustrates how technical knowledge can translate into practical changes at farm level. By understanding how to make better use of locally available resources, farmers can identify opportunities to manage costs while improving productivity.
The training forms part of DREEM Hub Kenya’s broader work to strengthen climate resilience across the dairy value chain. Through local partnerships and support from the Mott Foundation, DREEM combines technical knowledge and enterprise support with the promotion of solar energy in dairy production and processing.
This integrated approach reflects DREEM’s mandate to demonstrate how climate-smart solutions can strengthen agricultural value chains while creating opportunities for enterprises to grow and adapt. It also contributes to the Kenya Climate Innovation Center’s broader mission of catalyzing climate entrepreneurship by equipping entrepreneurs and enterprises with the knowledge, skills and tools to respond to climate challenges.
As the 60 participants return to their farms and cooperatives across the 11 counties, the learning from Naivasha moves with them, creating opportunities to apply new practices, strengthen dairy enterprises and advance a more sustainable and climate-resilient value chain.