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CASE STUDY – KNOWLEDGE OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE BEING USED TO EMPOWER WIDOWS IN KITUI COUNTY, KENYA

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Woman dressed in green overall and boots bent picking plants on a farm

Sustainable agriculture is empowering widows in Kitui County, Kenya

Widows are a vulnerable demographic lacking in economic means, social capital and means to protect their individual rights. In recognition of their unique status as societal pariahs, community-based organizations in Kitui County came together and brainstormed ideas for creating sustainable livelihoods for widows living amongst them. Earlier on, it was evident that sustainable agriculture would be transformative and practical. It was a consensus that through a communal collaborative effort, widows could grow crops and raise livestock to guarantee them a source of food and income. 

Sustainable agricultural practices were intended to protect the environment, expand the natural resource base, and maintain and improve soil fertility in areas where it was practised. Based on a multi-pronged goal, sustainable agriculture was chosen as it increased profitability, and income, and promoted environmental stewardship.

Kitui region is located in the Arid and Semi-arid region of Kenya that receives little rainfall which is often sporadic. 

Among the activities undertaken were:

  • Rotating crops and embracing diversity.
  • Planting cover crops and perennials.
  • Reducing or eliminating tillage. 
  • Applying integrated pest management (IPM). 
  • Integrating livestock and crops. 
  • Adopting agroforestry practices. 
  • Managing whole systems and landscapes.

It should be understood that these widows were women previously displaced from their matrimonial homes, and they lacked the technical skill of utilizing scanty ecological resources to practice agriculture.

The introduction of this activity was therefore revolutionary in a sense. Previously destitute mothers could now look forward to harvesting their crops and selling them at local markets. The proceeds from this would then be used to pay for their children’s school fees, rent living quarters and purchase dignified clothes. The resultant social effect was the emergence of a class of empowered widows, who no longer looked at society with a bowl in hand, begging for sustenance. 

As a sustainable agricultural practice, the resulting effect was;

  • Increase in productivity, employment and value addition in food systems.
  • Protection and enhancement of natural resources.
  • Improved livelihoods that fostered inclusive economic growth.
  • Enhanced resilience of widows, whose socioeconomic ecosystem could withstand different economic shocks.
  • Adapt governance to new challenges especially as widows acquired social capital and economic power, they were able to hire legal aid to advocate for and speak for their rights.

The example of how widows were rescued from the throes of poverty and propelled to a life of hope and dignity is what the goat foundation aspires to and continues doing across the country. Scores of women have received a pair of goats from this foundation and the socioeconomic outcome has been similar. At the Goat Foundation, we felt encouraged to observe how different aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals were being attained by the simple act of communal cooperation, training and inculcation of relevant skills. It is for this reason that our foundation not only offers a pair of goats to widows, but we also provide crucial financial literacy training that ensures these women can start to grow their financial base through making informed decisions. 

 

THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON WIDOWED HOUSEHOLDS

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Climate change is affecting widowed households

The Goat Foundation has traversed the far reaches of Kenyan communities visiting widows far and wide. These widows have no access to grain storage facilities or bank account savings. Being dependent on the produce generated on land, it follows that these widows depend on a steady and predictable climate to raise their meager crop and livestock holdings.

A saying goes, when it rains it pours, and climate change brings with it severe and unpredictable weather phenomena. If it isn’t flooding, it is a prolonged drought that completely devastates all vegetation. Crops wither and die, and animals lack food, and simply fall down and die. Poor widows end up with no means of earning a livelihood.

Elsewhere in the world, the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events like hurricanes, wildfires, and droughts threaten lives in these front-line communities, driving people from their homes and jeopardizing food sources and livelihoods. All these effects increase the likelihood of more conflict, hunger, and poverty.

The Goat Foundation collects data on the economic situation of widows around the country and we know that they rely on agriculture and natural resources to survive. For these widows, the effects of climate change — shifting weather, limited water sources, and increased competition for resources — are a real matter of life and death. Climate change has turned their lives into a desperate guessing game.

To earn a living, widows are forced to seek work as casual laborers, work as prostitutes or simply stay home and starve. Their children drop out of school as their mothers can no longer afford to pay school fees. Some of these children are then exploited as child workers, sold off in human trafficking, or into prostitution.

In 2010, the United Nations declared that “climate change is inextricably linked to poverty and hunger.” Seventy-five percent of the world’s poor living in rural areas count on natural resources such as forests, lakes, and oceans for their livelihoods, the organization noted. And climate change is playing havoc with those resources.

Here’s how climate change is impacting the families of widows and their children in Kenya:

  • ‌Prolonged droughts devastate food supplies and dry up water sources.
  • ‌Withered crops and starving animals destroy families’ livelihoods.
  • ‌Torrential rains, floods, and landslides flatten or sweep away their homes.
  • ‌Strife can occur within communities, as widows compete for available arable land.
  • ‌Widows’ families become separated, as their children relocate to search for work.

It is therefore a matter of paramount urgency for us who work in aid relief to advocate for the adoption of strict measures to mitigate the risk in global temperatures.

The lack of financial cushioning against emergencies is another factor that we must consider. If widows can be helped to save some income, they will be in a position to withstand the absence of direct agricultural produce.

Lastly, The Goat Foundation also emphasizes the need for diversifying means of agricultural production by practicing climate-smart agriculture so that if one practice, say crop planting, is devastated by floods, widows can rely on goats for food and as a source of income.