<
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/08/meet-the-indigenous-women-restoring-kenyas-mau-forest-and-reshaping-gender-roles/>
"Before dawn breaks over Eor Ewaso, a village in southwestern Kenya, Judy Mukut
is already awake. By 6:30 a.m., she has fetched water, milked the family’s
cattle, prepared breakfast, cleaned the house and seen her children off to
school. Only then does she leave home for a resource center run by the Paran
Indigenous women’s organization, where another day’s conservation work begins.
For Mukut, conservation of the Mau Forest is squeezed into the few hours left
after fulfilling the responsibilities expected of her as a Maasai wife and
mother. Yet it is this balancing act that reflects a quieter transformation
taking place across one of Kenya’s most important forest ecosystems.
As Indigenous women restore degraded sections of the Mau Forest, they are also
earning independent incomes, participating in household decisions and reviving
traditional ecological knowledge that once sustained their communities for
generations before going dormant.
Founded in 2005, the Paran Women Group has grown into a network of 64
registered Indigenous women’s groups, mostly drawn from Maasai and Ogiek
communities in Narok county, as well as communities in West Pokot and Samburu
counties. Through community-managed tree nurseries, kitchen gardens, village
savings groups, beekeeping and landscape restoration, the organization has
linked environmental conservation with women’s empowerment.
To coordinate its expanding network, Paran established seven community resource
centers. Rather than functioning as offices, the centers serve as demonstration
sites where women raise seedlings, receive technical training and exchange
traditional knowledge.
“The work has taught us how to organize ourselves,” Mukut said. “Even with all
the responsibilities at home, we have learned that if we plan our day well, we
can still attend meetings, take care of our families and contribute to
restoring the environment. We are no longer waiting for other people to make
decisions because we know our contribution matters.”
Research increasingly supports such approaches. A 2025 study by CIFOR-ICRAF
(now operating as Landscape Alliance) found that restoration programs
intentionally designed to transform unequal gender relations strengthen women’s
participation in household decision-making while improving long-term
restoration outcomes."
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
