"I remember my mother measuring out milk at dawn, praying it would fetch enough to buy sugar. Today, milk sells for less than a loaf of bread." As a Maasai woman and CEO of Indigenous Friends of the Mau Forest (IFOTMF), I see this reality every day. Among pastoralist communities, milk is not just food; it’s income, dignity, and survival. But prices have collapsed. 1L of milk = 27 Kshs 1kg of sugar = 200+ Kshs A woman must now sell 8 litres of milk to buy sugar. Indigenous women do 80% of dairy work but are left out of markets, policy, and profit. As milk prices drop, they face impossible choices to: i. Feed the family or pay school fees? ii. Buy sanitary pads or keep the cow? Yet women continue to rise: forming cooperatives, adding value to the product, and reviving savings groups. But resilience shouldn't be a requirement for survival. This is gendered economic violence. 🟡 We need fair milk prices 🟡 Women-focused infrastructure 🟡 Support for women’s cooperatives 🟡 Gender-smart food policies Milk is a lifeline. It’s thinning. Let’s act. If you're working in food justice, Indigenous rights, or women’s empowerment, let’s build solutions together. #MilkCrisis #DairyJustice #PastoralistWomen #IndigenousRights #FoodSovereignty #SheFeedsTheWorld #ClimateJustice #DecolonizeDevelopment #IFOTMF #LinkedInVoices#

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