Introduction
As history has severally proven, in the times of extreme crisis, women sometimes take charge over society and save the day. The central region of Kenya in East Africa is a textbook example of this phenomenon. Mt. Kenya region is perhaps one of the most arable lands globally with temperate climate that needs neither greenhouses nor irrigation (Muturi, 2016). This clearly shows that problems relating to food are rare or managed with no intervention from the outside world. However, the African version of bootleg alcohol is a perennial problem in the central region of Kenya occupied by the industrious Kikuyu community (Muturi, 2016).
Coupled with an explosive population increase, the issue of alcoholism was rapidly transforming the central Kenya highlands into an extreme poverty zone few years ago. One of the hardest hit areas is a village called Kaitheri, situated only a few kilometers away from the Mt. Kenya forest (Kenya News Agency, 2015). In this village, women have come together, taken over the masculine obligation of farming and turned the tide of poverty. This research paper looks at the social transformation in Kaitheri village, as occasioned by the Kerera Women Group, an innovative solution by women for a predicament occasioned by their husbands’ alcoholism.
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Statement of the Problem
Most stories out of tropical Africa in international media regard hunger, poverty, war, and depredation. The central Kenya story is however, quite different. The climate is perfect for farming even with the least human input (Muturi, 2016). Further, since most of the area was cleared out of the forest and its bushes, there was a lot of free land. There was, therefore, more than enough food and demand was out done by supply. An element of lethargy started creeping in since people did not have to work hard for their daily need and this is how the problem of alcoholism started developing (Muturi, 2016).
The demand for alcohol was higher than the supply of traditional brews. Modern brews were however, too expensive for the local populace and an ingenious solution was found in a semi industrial concoction referred to as ‘power alcohol’ (Muturi, 2016). This substance had high alcohol content, was highly addictive, and severely weakened the consumers. The introduction of this alcohol to the then unregulated alcohol market was the advent of alcoholism in central Kenya. As many men took into the drinking spree, the increasing population made the available land too small and forest encroachment was banned by the government. The men could no longer work, the land was no longer enough and suddenly hunger, poverty, and destitution became a reality in central Kenya (Muturi, 2016).
Essence of the Solution
Alcoholism started as a purely social problem that was almost handled in jest. The chemicals used in the illicit concoctions later severely affection the capacity of the men to function sexually (Muturi, 2016). Women protested through demonstrations that even appeared on social media and national TV. It was until food ran out that the problem no longer seemed funny. The probability of starving children immediately loused the maternal instincts of the women (Muturi, 2016).
Women started coming together in groups to pool ideas together on how to save themselves and their children. A new social movement dubbed Ngurubu which is a corruption of the English word ‘group’ emerged (Kenya News Agency, 2015). In these groups, the women pooled resources together and saved any and all the monies they could earn by performing manual labor. They then scouted for innovative ideas to invest the little they had to create sustainable income earning projects. It is this social movement that has created a story of hope, out of the utter desperation that alcoholism had visited upon central Kenya.
Kerera Women Group
The Kerera women group started in 2004 with a membership of 39 women. This was around the time when Kenya was voted as one of the most optimistic populations in the world. The initial target of the group was to receive funding from the national government through a very well marketed but still born empowerment project. Due to corruption and mismanagement, the funds never reached groups such as Kerera and they disintegrated. The aforesaid alcohol problem peaked in the year 2014 and the women were stirred into action and12 of the initial 39 members revived Kerera women group as a social self-help group that no longer relied on government assistance or funding. They pooled together what they could and each member contributed as little as less than US$2 per month. However, pooling together created an economy of scale. With the resources collected, they were able to negotiate cheaper prices for farming implements and seeds.
The Kerera Women Groups Projects
As indicated, land had gradually become a limited resource in central Kenya. This was also true for Kaitheri village. The average land size in Kaitheri village was fifty feet by one hundred feet (0.25 acres) per household yet it is still on this piece of land where the family home will stand. Kerera women group sought expert advice on how to innovatively utilize the miniscule pieces of land to derive economic development. The solution was in the adaptation of hybrid forms of agribusiness that combines animal and crop farming. The women rear poultry, which produces the rich guano manure and they use this manure to farm high yield bananas.
The banana has been a common agricultural crop in central Kenya a fact that has created saturation in the available markets in the Kenya capital; Nairobi. This saturation is mainly from western Kenya where they still have large chunks of arable land. To resolve the issue of market for their produce, the Kerera women group reverted to innovation again. Using simple and cheap innovative methods, they made ‘banana crisps’ out of their bananas. These are hardened and oil fried banana slices, which are packaged in polythene and hawked around at US$1 or 2 per kilo (Kenya News Agency, 2015).
Social and Economic Impact
The worst prerequisite of poverty is perpetuity, which is occasioned by the inability of the current generation to set a good economic foundation for the coming generation. Currently, the best economic foundation for the future generation is a good education. The Kerera women group emphasizes on a good education for all the children of their members (Kenya News Agency, 2015). They ensure that the children are taken to good schools, are well fed and clothed, and that their healthcare needs are also met.
Figure 1: Members of Kerera Women Group in one of the member’s Banana farm
The second social impact is the avoidance of the negative social effects of desperation as combined with idleness. In Kenya, this creates a high propensity for promiscuity in general and prostitution in particular. As with most third world countries, HIV prevalence is quite high. Poverty, idleness, and desperation are some of the drivers of HIV spread (Kenya News Agency, 2015). The Kerera women members are neither poor nor idle, which reduces the chances for HIV infections among them. Finally, the Kikuyu men are a proud lot. Noticing that their women are thriving and have taken charge of their societies has roused many of them out of their drunken stupor. The Kerera women have reported that many of their husbands have abandoned illicit liquor and joined them in their businesses (Kenya News Agency, 2015). As the picture above shows, the economic projects have also had the social impact of bringing families back together.
Conclusion
Sometimes it takes an actual crisis to create the realization that social problems can be solved through simple social solutions, which are readily available within the society itself. The alcoholism crisis created a myriad of social and economic problems that almost created desolation in Kaitheri village. However, the crisis managed to bring women together. Poultry rearing and banana farming are not new to central Kenya, but had just been ignored because there was no crisis yet. When these were activated however, they resulted in a social and indeed economic revolution. This has also resulted in the reversal of the initial problem of alcoholism. The Kerera women group is a perfect example of how coming together can help solve a social problem when all other options, even legal ones have failed.
References
Kenya News Agency. (2015, November 13). Agribusiness turns around fortunes of Kirinyaga farmers. The Nairobi Star . Retrieved from <http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2015/07/28/agribusiness-turns-around-fortunes-of-kirinyaga-farmers_c1175445/>
Muturi, N. (2016). Community perspectives on communication strategies for alcohol abuse prevention in rural central Kenya. Journal of health communication , 21 (3), 309-317
