Drivers of environmental conservation activities among rural women around the Kakamega forest, Kenya

Past studies show that rural women in Kenya and elsewhere have played vital roles in sustaining household supplies of water and firewood by carefully maintaining their surrounding natural environment. However, we do not yet know what motivates these women to engage in nature conservation activities. This paper seeks to investigate what drives women to join and participate in environmental chama activities, and how these chamas promote conservation behavior among women in Kakamega County, Kenya. A questionnaire survey was administered to 149 women residing near the Kakamega forest in this County. Interviews were also conducted with nine key informants, including elders. We found that Kakamega women customarily established networking groups called chama that inspired them to participate in environmental conservation activities. About 98% of the respondents agreed that they were motivated to participate in environmental chama activities because they could earn income from these activities. About 88% agreed that they were driven by the desire to protect the environment. Our interview with elders and other women found that cultural and religious significance they attached to some plants and sites in the Kakamega forest motivated them to strictly observe traditional conservation customs. They also cultivated and preserved important medicinal plants to prevent their depletion.