Kenya's women-led project transforms food security and resilience

A new project in Kenya is working to improve food security and resilience by putting women at the centre of its efforts. The CASCADE programme, led by CARE Kenya and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), focuses on empowering women through training, savings groups, and farming support. Officials say the approach is already reaching thousands of women across the country with practical skills and financial resources.

The project uses Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) to help women build financial independence. By last year, it had strengthened 314 such groups, collecting nearly Ksh 8 million in savings. Around 80% of the loans taken by members went toward farm inputs and nutrition-focused businesses.

Through Farmer Field and Business Schools (FFBS), over 3,000 farmers—two-thirds of them women—have received hands-on training in climate-smart agriculture. The programme also runs nutrition workshops, reaching nearly 100,000 women with advice on breastfeeding, dietary diversity, and food safety. Structured dialogue sessions encourage men and women to discuss power dynamics and share decision-making responsibilities. Women in Kenya often handle food production, household nutrition, and childcare but face barriers like limited access to land, credit, and cooperatives. The project aims to shift this by treating women as key actors rather than passive recipients of aid. Local women-led organisations and community groups play a crucial role in driving change. Their involvement helps mobilise communities around nutrition and resilience, though exact numbers of participating groups remain unclear.

The CASCADE programme highlights the need for coordinated action between government, private sector, and NGOs to address systemic barriers. By focusing on women's leadership in food systems, it aims to create lasting improvements in food security and economic resilience. The initiative's success so far suggests that embedding gender equity into interventions can lead to measurable change.