Nubian women in Kenya revive traditional crops through urban farming

(21 Oct 2025)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nairobi, Kenya - 10 September 2025

1. Various of Mazingira Women Initiative members planting Nubian indigenous vegetable seedlings in plastic containers with pumice
2. Various of woman putting seedlings in a hydroponic farm
3. Various of Salma Rashid, Mazingira Women Initiative member, putting seedlings in a hydroponic farm
4. SOUNDBITE (Kiswahili) Salma Rashid, Mazingira Women Initiative member:
“In our community, almost 90% of the people prefer traditional foods like the indigenous vegetables. When farming in an urban area like this, you must do research and find out what type of food the community likes. You can’t farm what the community doesn’t like. You farm what you know will get a market easily. That’s why we prefer to grow indigenous vegetables because they are profitable because many people in our community like to eat them.”

5. Various of Nubian indigenous vegetables in a hydroponic farm
6. Various of Mazingira Women Initiative members planting indigenous vegetable seedlings in plastic containers with pumice
7. Wide of hydroponic farm
8. Close of woman putting seedlings in a hydroponic farm
9. Various of Nubian indigenous vegetables in hydroponic farm
10. Mid of Asia Abdalla, Mazingira Women Initiative member, and other women planting indigenous vegetables in a circular garden
11. Close of vegetable seedling
12. Various of Abdalla planting Nubian indigenous vegetables
13. SOUNDBITE (Kiswahili) Asia Abdalla, Mazingira Women Initiative member:
“Before I joined Mazingira Women Initiative, I didn’t know how to plant, grow and preserve our indigenous vegetables but when I joined Mazingira Women Initiative two years ago, I learned how to grow, plant and preserve the vegetables after harvesting. I can now teach the younger generations and other people in our culture how to grow the vegetables and to grow our culture.”

14. Mid of Abdalla and other women planting Nubian indigenous vegetables in raised tiered planting beds (circular gardening)
15. Close of seedling being planted
16. Various of Mazingira Women Initiative members planting Nubian indigenous vegetable seedlings
17. Close of vegetable seedlings
18. Various of Malasen Hamida, Mazingira Women Initiative founder, planting Nubian indigenous vegetable seedlings
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Malasen Hamida, Mazingira Women Initiative founder:
“In informal settlements, at times there is no guarantee that you will actually be growing your own vegetables for a very long time. You will grow for some time and then something comes up. Somebody decides that they want to utilize the land for a different purpose. Land use changes — we are in urban areas, informal settlements. Maybe development wants to be done on a particular land and that is where you are doing your farming. So at times you find yourself in a catch-22 situation. You want to continue doing your urban farming but the use of that particular land has changed.”

20. Various of vegetables

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nairobi, Kenya - 2 October 2025

21. Wide of Hamida in kitchen with her mother, Kaltuma Tahir, preparing bamia (lady’s finger/okra), an indigenous vegetable
22. Various of Tahir preparing bamia to cook
23. Various of Hamida and Tahir preparing mulkia (jute mallow), an indigenous vegetable
24. Close of mulkia
25. Various of vegetables cooking

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nairobi, Kenya - 17 September 2025

26. Various of Stephen Otieno, urban planner and food systems strategist
27. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen Otieno, urban planner and food systems strategist:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nairobi, Kenya – 2 October 2025
LEADIN

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