The role of women enterprises for the conservation of Kakamega forest, Kenya

Abstract

Aim: This paper seeks to demonstrate how local women’s community-based entrepreneurial activities have enhanced the management and conservation of Kakamega Forest. Past studies showed that Kakamega Forest in western Kenya faced rapid deforestation. Local people are often blamed for this problem. However, this paper argues that local people have traditionally played important roles in sustaining the forest environment.Method: A questionnaire survey was administered to 149 women who belonged to various entrepreneurial/conservation groups called chamas near this forest.Findings: We found that many of these women found opportunities to earn more income from forest conservation activities. For example, about 58% of the respondents were involved in the cultivation and domestication of indigenous/medicinal plants that they harvested from the forest. These activities led to the conservation of indigenous species and, at the same time, eased ecological pressure on the limited forest resources. Also, about 19% of the respondents were involved in making eco-friendly jikos or cooking stoves for business purposes. This effort reduced fuelwood harvesting from the forest.Implications/Novel Contribution: The novel contribution of this research is that it seeks to investigate how women’s community-based entrepreneurial activities have enhanced the management and conservation of Kakamega Forest. As we do not yet know to what extent women networking and entrepreneurial activities have contributed to forest conservation.