Dr. Catherine Kaingu
From hatch to market. Solar powering women backyard poultry (WBYP) farmers
in Kenya and Rwanda as clean energy entrepreneurs in a post covid world.
Overview: Women backyard poultry (WBYP) keepers in Kenya and Rwanda face a
triple burden: 1) The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent loss of life, economic
devastation, and social disruption; 2) Gender inequities, burdens associated with paid
and unpaid work, and deeply rooted and restrictive social norms that limit women’s
choices and access to opportunities; and 3) The climate crisis which worsens existing
vulnerabilities and injustices. In Machakos district of Kenya, WBYP keepers consumed
their stock during the pandemic to survive. The remaining birds were decimated by
Newcastle disease due to vaccine inaccessibility. In Rwanda, many WBYP keepers sold
their animals at throwaway prices just to make ends meet. Our project will demonstrate
the importance of women-led innovations in supporting and sustaining a scalable clean
energy WBYP economy. We will generate evidence that empowers women as
entrepreneurs by supporting WBYP farmers to establish solar-powered poultry
hatcheries and livestock
vaccine centers, and to create a women-driven sustainable hatch-to-market distribution
network and business model for WBYP. Through building on a production system that
requires limited time, does not compete for human food resources, and is
environmentally friendly, we will support gender-responsive social, economic and
marketing practices that improve women’s lives while promoting economic growth.