Kenyan Women Are Quietly Revolutionizing Farming

For people in central Kenya who are trying to live off the land, the challenges are many as the region is not known for its agriculture-friendly conditions.

But, thanks to the work of an organization working to spread innovative farming techniques, that could be changing — and women are at the forefront of the quiet revolution.

As the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported in a story last month, the Kenyan arm of GROOTS (Grassroots Organisations Operating Together in Sisterhood) is working to help women take up sack farming in order to both provide for their families and generate income by growing crops like kale, spinach and beets in a way that is less susceptible to the region’s erratic conditions.

In order to create a sack farm, bags must be filled with soil, manure and some pebbles, with plants grown both on top of the mix and out of holes in the sides of the bags. According to Thomson Reuters, it is preferable to other farming techniques because it requires little land and uses less water — which is scarce there — than traditional farming.

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By Joseph Erbentraut at The Huffington Post