Natogo fish market June 2017.

One of Natogo freezers preserving fish June 2017

About Natogo

Natogo Fish Mongers Self-help Group was formed and registered in the year February 2011 with an aim of improving members standards of living through buying fish as whole sellersfrom fishermen in lake Turkana and selling to retailers in Lodwar town which is approximately 70Km from lake Turkana. Natogo main challenge was lack of refrigeration facilities to preserve fish when fish was brought in plenty. Fish is very perishable. From the average of 3,000 to 3,500 KGs of fish they received from fishermen, they could lose 30% of the fish through rotting. This forced most of the fish traders to sell off their fish at very low prices to any willing buyer. It also made them to fear buying big volumes of fish as customers took advantage of them by always coming late to buy the fish at very low prices. This reduced volumes of fish supplied to them from the fisher men for fear that their fish will not be bought.

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Natogo member house before renovation
Natogo member house after renovation
The Beach Management Units (BMUs) had inadequate refrigeration facilities for fish preservation. Fish is very perishable and start rotting after eight hours from the time it is fished from the lake. This forced most of the fish traders to sell off their fish at very low prices to any willing buyer, and at times lose them due to rotting. Others resulted in drying the fish and it meant making losses because fish is usually sold per kilogram and fish when dried lose like 30% of its weight. Two BMUs got a grant from USADF to buy solar-powered freezers which have reduced fish losses resulting from rotting. They no longer sell at poor prices because they have fish preservation facilities. With increased income, the fishermen are able to meet their basic needs and many have reported that they have accumulated assets like motorbikes, new modern houses, vehicles, rental houses etc. Over 50 % of Natogo members have built modern houses. One of them is Margret Ajikon, a fish trader and a member of Natogo who recently did a modern house. She can equally afford to educate her two children in private school and equally paying school fees for her nephew who is schooling at the University of Nairobi.
house initially occupied by Celine
New house by Celine from her savings
Celina Nowet is one of Natogo members and a fish trader. She is one of the beneficiary of the USADf refrigeration facilities. On interviewing her she said the following; “I initially incurred losses due to spoilage but after getting the freezers, my daily net profit has improved from initial KES. 500 (USD 5) per day to the current 1,200 (USD 12) per day. I use the money to pay school fees for my two children in high school each paying 40, 000 per year and also support my two other children in primary school. I am able to meet my basic needs and have save money which I have used to venture into goat business. I bought three goats which have given birth and they are now nine. I will start selling them soon to increase my income. I have savings with a bank and can access loan whenever I need it. From my savings I was able to renovate my small single room to abig four roomed house which is enough for me and my four children.”
Maxy Educan is a retailer who buy fish from Natogo and sell to fish consumers and hotels. On her interview she said the following: “From my fish trade I make a net profit of KES. 700 (USD 7) per day. I use the money to pay school fees for my child in university at KES. 60,000 per year and one child in high school at KES. 32,000 per year. I was able to transfer my 3 children from public primary school to private one which performs better than public ones. I have used my savings to buy a piece of land which I intend to buy a piece of land and stop paying rent.