Bottles of love!
This Holiday Season, we’re all about putting a message in a bottle – and that message is LOVE!
LET IT FLOW, LET IT FLOW, LET IT FLOW!
At Reteti, our definition of a white Christmas is bottles filled with life-giving goat milk for our elephant orphans!
Reteti’s babies love nothing more than their bottles of joy, so if you’re looking for a meaningful gift to bring cheer to their day – fill ’em up! Each bottle gifted also supports our Milk Mamas and their families, as well as the landscape both the Samburu people and Northern Kenya’s elephants call home.
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The ripple effect of a bottle of milk
Supporting this initiative is about much more than just feeding an elephant; it also encompasses nurturing a future where indigenous people, wildlife, and nature all flourish together.
With every bottle of goat milk, the elephants at Reteti receive superior nutrition. At the same time, the Samburu Mamas, who supply the milk, earn an income for the first time in their lives. Having a steady income enables them to get their children educated, save for the future, and support both their families and the broader community.
But the chain of positive change doesn’t end there!
The Mamas also receive training from The Sarara Foundation in animal husbandry, rangeland management, grazing practices, and more. This enables them to take better care of their livestock to increase milk production and avoid overgrazing.
One bottle of milk doesn’t just boost the wellbeing of the community; it heals the land itself – the very landscape to which the elephants will ultimately return to when they’re released back into the wild.
Follow the daily milk journey from our Milk Mamas to Reteti – and have a look at the greater impact below.
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06:00
At daybreak, a new milk journey begins by milking the goats. The milk that’s not needed for household use is brought to the milk market.
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08:00
The milk market opens! We collect milk from more than 1,000 Mamas across the conservancy with the help of a team of motorcycle riders.
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09:30
Upon arrival at Reteti, the milk goes into our solar-powered pasteurisers; and then to our milk kitchen where the bottles are prepared.
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11:45
Bottled and ready for the noon feed. Our (t)rusty wheelbarrow helps transport our milk bottles to the boma.
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12:00
Glug, glug, glug! Each elephant drinks a 2-litre bottle every three hours. The milk that was delivered will be used in the bottles of the next 8 feeds.
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Impact
Mamas are earning an income for the first time, allowing them to save, send their kids to school and support their families.
The history of the Milk to Market Program
Travel restrictions during lockdown meant that Reteti could no longer import powdered milk for the fragile elephant orphans. This led to the start of a groundbreaking milk program that economically empowers Samburu women, while helping Reteti’s elephants get a more sustainable, cost-effective supply of milk.
Most of the Samburu families have excess goat milk after tending to their family and livestock needs. The Milk Mamas sell their excess milk to Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, providing a sustainable supply of unique and superior milk formula which uses goat’s milk as the base.
The income earned by the women greatly improves livelihoods and leads to a thriving indigenous community.
Your contribution will support the rehabilitation and care of 47 rescued elephants at Reteti and contribute to a thriving Indigenous Community.
Ashe oleng!
‘Thank you very much’ in Samburu