It is a dry land wonder. For centuries it has been used for medicinal purposes for both humans and animals. Its fleshy, cactus-like appearance is not hard to forget.

It is the Aloe Vera. Close to 60 species of the aloe family are found in Kenya and in each area they are found in, all the communities have specific uses for it. The Kikuyu use aloe in the brewing of the traditional rum, Muratina and treatment of various illnesses, while the Samburu and Maasai use it also for treating ailments and also as a mosquito repellent. The Kikuyu refer to it as Thukurui, which is almost similar to the Maasai who call it Sukuroi.
Aloe grows in the tropics in relatively dry and hilly areas. Kenya is no exception, as aloe grows in the wild in Kenya and even in the places where it grows, many view it as a weed. The Aloe plant is well known worldwide thanks to its multiple medicinal functions. The Aloe juice obtained either through pressing and crushing or boiling to give out its sap. The dried sap is then made into balls, which are used to treat animals of constipation. Humans drink it for constipation, deworming, indigestion, urinary ailments, bruises, wounds, sores, and even the dreaded malaria. (See below for more Aloe Uses)

Whilst Aloe does well in Kenya, and is a money-spinner world wide, a 1987 Presidential Decree (not a Legal Notice) that banned its exploitation has seen to it that this plant has not been fully utilised for the benefit of locals. Its commercial value has yet to be quantified, yet the plant commands millions of dollars in the world market. Especially now with a worldwide boom for herbal products.

According to Alan Hamilton of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF-International) the West is the largest market of herbal medicinal products. Leading in the world market for herbal medicines is Germany, which commands annual sales of some $1.2billion. The USA comes second with annual sales raking a cool $480 million on herbal medicines alone.
Ignorance, legal loopholes and the circumvention of the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) permits are what have made few well-to-do Kenyans to cash in on the trade. These few Kenyans (who are mostly found in Rift Valley Province – Laikipia to be precise) are extremely well connected and they traverse the entire country harvesting the plant and ship it in raw form to Europe, Asia and the Americas where demand is high and the profits, lucrative.

The majority of Kenyans are ill informed and discouraged to venture on the proper utilization of aloe and how they can reap maximum benefits from this all-important dry land plant. As a result, foreign companies have browbeaten the existing vacuum and are now flooding the Kenyan market with their finished Aloe products in the form of ointments, creams and other cosmetics.

In January 2004 stakeholders converged in Nanyuki to deliberate on the way forward and come up with ways and means to enable the country to sustainably exploit the vast potentials of this plant. Key presentations were made by the government agencies concerned with aloe and even the Attorney General’s chambers. The slow pace at the domestication of international treaties to enable Kenya to reap maximum benefits from aloe vera and the poor implementation of policies and enforcement of laws were pointed out as the main threats to the utilization of the plant. Presenting a paper during the meeting, Anne Mutindu and Martha Maina from the AG chambers noted:

“At this age of globalisation when the world is rapidly getting interconnected, it is imperative that we domesticate international treaties that we have ratified, to boost our national interests. Kenya being an agricultural-based economy, the regulated farming and export of aloe vera could go a long way in boosting our GDP. The challenge is how to balance the exploitation of the plant without making it extinct.”

A market survey conducted by the highly influential wildlife lobby, the Laikipia Wildlife Forum made some startling findings, when it reported that:

“The trade has been a fall-back position in times of drought, with over 46% of households deriving part of their livelihoods from aloe business in recent years with an average annual income of Kshs. 46,000.” The survey notes.

The major international treaties and conventions that Kenya has signed and ratified and do have a bearing on aloe vera include, the CITES, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). Kenya is a signatory to all these legally binding conventions.

Under the CITES treaty the Aloe is listed on Appendix 1. For a species to be listed in Appendix 1 it simply means that they are threatened with extinction. According to a CITES Secretariat Communiqué “Appendix 1 includes species threatened with extinction. Trade in specimens of these species is permitted only in exceptional circumstances.”

The Communiqué goes on to specify the necessary procedures to be followed in the trading of species listed in Appendix 1: “An import permit issued by the Management Authority of the state of import is required. This may be issued only if the specimen is not to be used for primarily commercial purposes and if the import will be for purposes that are not detrimental to the survival of the species. In the case of a live animal or plant, the Scientific Authority must be satisfied that the proposed recipient is suitably equipped to house and care for it.

“An export permit or re-export certificate issued by the Management Authority of the State of export or re-export is also required. An export permit may be issued only if the specimen was legally obtained; the trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species; and an import permit has already been issued.”

In Kenya the CITES Management Authority is the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Scientific Authority is the National Museums of Kenya (NMK). Incidentally for decades these two institutions have denied the many would be indigenous Kenyan aloe traders the necessary information, hence hindering their participation in the multi-billion trade.

A probe report appointed by former President Daniel Moi a decade ago and chaired by the then Director of Internal Audit at the Treasury found out that the then director, Richard Leakey, had discriminated against indigenous Kenyans preferring to give CITES Permits to those of European descent. It is this favouritism, which has seen many Kenyans shying away from the aloe business and any other wildlife related trade.