Two years ago, Dominic Orina, a teacher, arrived at Kugerwet Primary School and initiated a project to promote vegetable farming and improve nutrition. He explains that he also sought to challenge gendered farming norms.

“I started the project after learning that fruit and vegetable consumption was very low in the area because people were not growing them. The few who did grow some vegetables did so for domestic use, not for sale,” Orina explains.

He added that locals lacked both the knowledge and skills needed to grow vegetables, as well as an understanding of the health benefits they provide. Orina later discovered that although local women had always wanted to grow these crops, it had not been possible because tea is grown on nearly 90 per cent of the land. He says, “This makes it difficult for them to find space for other crops. With most of the land in this area owned by men, they hold the final say on what crops are grown and which are not.”