In the quiet town of Mogotio in Baringo county, a 65-year-old woman sits in the corridor of a corner shop waiting for clients.
On a display table is a variety of herbs that she collects in the forest to treat her clients.
Curious to know what she is selling, we soon discover that she is a respected herbalist and has clients from as far as Nairobi.
Abigail Chebet, who hails from Chemoch village in Baringo county, has been a herbalist since 2006, a craft she inherited from her mother.
“I use to go with my mother to Chemgot forest to collect herbs, and she would tell me which herbs are used to treat which illness,” she said.
Most of the herbs that she collects can treat illnesses such as common colds, stomach upsets and allergies.
Collecting the herbs is not an easy thing and she has to travel far into the forest to get the right herbs.
“It is expensive because I spend like Sh1,000 to get to the forest to collect the herbs,” Chebet said.
Chebet is also growing old and travelling is increasingly becoming a challenge for her.
Even though this is not a moneymaking venture, she added that she charges a modest fee to help her meet some of her expenses.
Chebet, who has received recognition for her work, said her daughter is next in line to inherit her trade but this will only happen when she (her daughter) turns 60 years old.
“When my daughter reaches 60 years, I will see the signs and will immediately start training her just as my mother did to me,” she said.
Most of her clients are women and children who mainly come to be treated for stomach ailments. She makes between Sh1,000 and Sh2,000 on a busy day.
“I am well known in this area and people trust the services I give them,” she said.
Caroline Kiplebei, one of her clients, brought her sick one-month-old baby.
“I came for herbs to clean my baby’s stomach. I have done this for my other children. I believe that these herbs will make my children healthy,” the 30 year-old mother of four said as she held her sleeping baby tightly.
Collins Kirui from Nairobi says he used Chebet's herbs to reduce asthmatic attacks.
“Sometimes it is exhausting to use generic medication so I visit ‘gogo’ (grandmother) often for some herbal treatment,” he said.
Last year, the National Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association chairperson Paul Okibo said they are advocating for research on medicine and natural drugs as an alternative, cheap and quality medicine to enhance Kenyans’ health status.
He said the association was collaborating with the University of Nairobi to train members on herb accreditation to ensure the personnel administer correct and quality drugs to patients.
The organisation oversees traditional medicine practitioners and offers support, and training while fostering unity and protecting indigenous medicine as alternative medicines to conventional ones, working closely with the government.