The Mbichas will this month earn more than Sh400,000, an income few C-suite executives make, and even fewer Kenyan retirees dream about. This windfall isn’t from stocks or pensions; it’s from 20 hardworking Friesian cows on a five-acre farm in Joska, Machakos County, a project the couple started planning in their 20s.
Nearly five decades ago, Nemuel (75) and Nyaboke Mbicha (71) determined that their retirement story would not be about a slow fade into obscurity. They had foresight, grit, and a shared commitment to build the foundation for their profitable golden years.
“We started planning for retirement immediately after we got employed and married,” Mr Mbicha says, seated beside his wife under the shade of an avocado tree on their bustling farm.
Milk stored inside a freezer at the Mbicha’s dairy farm in Joska, Machakos on June 11, 2025.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
Nemuel was 24 when he married Nyaboke. He had just secured a position as a Children’s Officer at the Office of the Vice President. His wife worked as a secretary in various government departments. Even at that young age, the couple was clear-eyed about the long game.
In 2000, after years of disciplined saving, they bought five acres of land in Joska at Sh80,000 per acre. The property, barely a kilometre off Kangundo Road, was nothing like the vibrant farm it is today. “It was bare, bushy, and full of snakes, hyenas, and even zebras,” recalls Mr Mbicha. Water was scarce, and the area was classified as arid and semi-arid.
In 2006, the couple moved to the land and began building their retirement dream, quite literally from the ground up.
“The move enabled us to strategise on how to turn the space into a productive home,” Mr Mbicha explains.
Cows and goats at the Mbicha’s dairy farm in Joska, Machakos on June 11, 2025.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
The next year, they borrowed Sh490,000 to invest in six Friesian calves and build cow sheds. It was a devastating blow when all six calves died of East Coast Fever. But they didn’t give up.
Instead, they started again, this time wiser and more determined. Ms Mbicha, then stationed in Eldoret, expanded the dairy operation there. “I used to supply milk to government offices and even my colleagues,” she says.
The returns were so encouraging that she took early retirement at 46 to fully focus on their agribusiness.
Today, nearly two decades later, the results of that persistence are staggering. Their farm now hosts over 40 cows, alongside goats, ducks, turkeys, and indigenous chickens that roam the compound freely. “The cows are like doctors to me,” says Mrs Mbicha. “I'm happy when I walk around and see them.”
Geese at the Mbicha’s dairy farm in Joska, Machakos on June 11, 2025.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
They milk 20 cows daily, producing between 250 to 300 litres of milk, which they sell to the New Kenya Cooperative Creameries (New KCC) at Sh50 per litre. Even during dry seasons when production dips to around 200 litres, the income remains substantial at between Sh375,000 to Sh450,000 a month.
Their cows are housed in clean, well-ventilated pens built from concrete and wood, with iron sheet roofing. The pens are divided into sections for calves, mature cows, and in-calf cows.
“We even entertain them using a radio when feeding and milking,” Mr Mbicha chuckles.
Milking is done with machines, and the milk is stored in coolers awaiting daily collection by New KCC at 2pm.
To cut feeding costs, which is a major concern for most dairy farmers, the couple grows their own fodder on a separate four-acre plot near Athi River. The feed is harvested, crushed using a chaff cutter, and stored as hay and silage. Their Joska home is also fitted with drip irrigation systems powered by solar-pumped borehole water.
Maize plantation at the Mbicha’s dairy farm in Joska, Machakos on June 11, 2025.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
Next to the cowsheds is an orchard bursting with indigenous fruit trees, while their kitchen runs on biogas generated from cow dung, a sustainable touch that speaks to how deeply integrated their life and farm have become.
The couple employs several workers and starts their day at 4 am, overseeing cleaning, feeding, and milking. With five grown-up children, their farm is now not just a retirement plan, but a legacy.
Mr Mbicha urges young people to start early and think long-term.
“My call to young people is that they should begin preparing for retirement during their youth,” he says. “Reinvesting profits into a venture is key to growth and success.”
Asked about lessons learned, he leans back with a knowing smile: “Rome wasn’t built in a day. Starting a business requires time, patience, and financial discipline. The future depends on what one does in the present.”