Women of the sun: How Maasai women have embraced farming after prolonged drought

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]Now for decades, women in Oloika Village in Kajiado County depended on livestock to feed their families and earn a living. But after a devastating drought wiped out cattle and livelihoods, a group of Masai women chose to rewrite their story through farming. Today, Naanyu Dopoto Women Groups or women group is using a solar-powered irrigation to grow vegetables throughout the year in Kenya's harsh semi-arid regions. And as Michelle Mwangi now reports from Oloika Village, the once dry land is now blooming with more than just a farm.

[00:00:45]>> [music] >> The scorching sun of Oloika Village in Kajiado County tells the story of a land that has long battled with drought.

[00:00:56]One that saw various generations and families rely on livestock for survival, but when prolonged dry spells wiped out cattle and livelihoods, a group of Masai women chose to fight back. Not with livestock, but with farming.

[00:01:10]We met up with the Naanyu Dopoto Women Group, a group of 25 women that began in 2011 as a simple savings group where women pulled money to support one another.

[00:01:22]>> [laughter] >> For years, these women depended entirely on livestock keeping, but as droughts became more frequent, many families found themselves losing both their animals and their source of income.

[00:01:45]Kiangazi nakucha. With pastures dried up and livestock dying, many families were pushed to the edge, left depending on relief food to survive.

[00:01:57]The drought that was experienced between 2021 to 2022 in various regions of the country so women here in Oloika Village move from livestock keeping [music] to farming vegetables in order to earn a living.

[00:02:12]>> What started as a way to survival soon grow into something much bigger. In 2023, the group established a small one-acre demonstration farm with support from the Kajiado County government, Eileen and clasp. But farming in Kajiado comes with its own challenges as rainfall here is unpredictable and water remains scarce.

[00:02:32]>> I didn't say it was by choice that we chose Kajiado because um Nanyu demonstrator farm is one of the 11 demonstrator farms we are supporting in Kenya.

[00:02:44]>> Clasp, a global nonprofit organization promoting clean energy technology, saw potential in the women's effort to transition from livestock keeping [music] to climate-smart farming and supported them through efficiency for access that is co-chaired by UK Aid from the UK government via the transformation energy access platform and the IKEA Foundation. As of now, an 11-kW solar system now powers a submersible pump inside a borehole.

[00:03:11]>> So for us this project is to ensure that there is food security [music] and also um just improve the uh economic productivity of the women group.

[00:03:23]>> The system moves water through more than 100 m of pipework [music] into drip irrigation lines across the farm allowing women to grow crops throughout the year.

[00:03:32]>> So the reason for laying the drip system [music] is also to manage um the water usage uh because they also have animals.

[00:03:41]So uh besides using the water for agriculture, they can use it at their homes and they can use it uh for their pastoral activities. [music] >> The adoption of solar irrigation farming demonstrates how such a semi-arid land can be transformed into a fertile land fit for farming.

[00:04:02]Today, rows of onions, watermelons, and vegetables stretch across land that was once dry and bare.

[00:04:30]The farm is not only putting food on the table, but also becoming a source of income for women who for years depended entirely on their husbands.

[00:04:45]The project is also changing long-held social norms in this Masai community, where women were traditionally expected to remain at home.

[00:05:30]The group is now expanding the farm from 1 acre to 2 acres, while also establishing a tree nursery with indigenous and fruit tree seedlings suited for Kajiado's climate.

[00:05:41]>> So, we wanted to expand uh that into 2 acres, and then uh train them on how they can venture into agriculture on at a commercial scale.

[00:05:50]>> In their first farming cycle, the Nare Nudo Poto Women Group harvested onions and watermelons worth nearly half a million Kenya shillings. A major achievement in a region where farming was once considered nearly impossible.

[00:06:19]But even with the success, farming here is still a daily struggle as the soil found in this area easily dries up during hot weather, yet holds too much water during heavy rains.

[00:06:48]For years, women in the Maasai community were largely confined to their homes, expected to raise children and care for their families. But now farming is changing that narrative, transforming women from primary caregivers [music] into empowered women in the society.

[00:07:05]Michelle Mwangi, TV 47, Ololayka Village, Kajiado County.