Kapsokwony is an isolated farming region about 600 km north west of Nairobi. It is located between 2000 and 3000 metres above sea level on the slopes of Mount Elgon near to Kenya’s western border with Uganda. The natural landscape of this area is thick tropical forest. This forest has been cleared in some areas to provide much needed farmland for the local peoples’ fields and government tea plantations.

Over 40 000 people live in this region. They are mainly poor farming families making a living from small plots of land. The average farm size is three hectares, about the size of three football pitches. Many of the farms are much smaller than this and the area is characterised by high levels of poverty.

There are three main tribal groups in Kapsokwony. The largest group is the Saboat, followed by the Teso and Bukusu tribes. Although Kapsokwony is a very poor region, it has great agricultural potential. Its red volcanic soils are very fertile and it has reliable rainfall supplies.

The economy of this area is based on farming. The dominant crop is maize. Over 50 per cent of fields are planted with this crop, which is the main staple food. The poverty of this area is illustrated by the local farmers selling off most of their maize crop for low prices immediately after the harvest. This is to meet the cash needs of the family, even though they would receive higher prices if they could store their maize until prices rise at the end of the year. In November, when the maize has just been harvested its price is Ks 6 / 2kgs, by September, before the next crop has been harvested, its price has risen to over Ks12 / 2kgs.

Farmers also sell their maize early because of the problem of storage. Much of the harvest can be destroyed by pests or mould. School fees also have to be paid in November, just after the maize harvest, which means farmers sell much of their crop to finance their children’s education.

Other ‘food crops’ include cabbages, bananas, spinach and potatoes. Crops which are grown exclusively for sale – ‘cash crops’ – include coffee, pyrethrum, and sunflowers.

Kapsokwony is a very remote region with only two earth roads connecting it to other areas. These roads frequently become impassable during the rainy seasons. The only major settlement in this area is the town of Kapsokwony. It is an administrative centre and the only place with electricity, a telephone service and a post office. It is to the Kapsokwony market that local farmers bring their crops to sell, and to buy goods for their families.

Matatus, minibuses, link the town to the lowlands. However there is no transport into the farming region so farmers have to either use donkeys or carry their crops themselves to the market.

The remoteness of this region means that farmers are unaware of agricultural advances, which could improve their crop yields. The Kenyan government does provide agricultural trainers for Kapsokwony, but they cannot cover the whole of such a large area. Small farmers also do not have access to banks from which they could take loans to invest in their farms.

It is estimated that 30 per cent of children under the age of five are malnourished. Preventable diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, tetanus and typhoid are very common. There are only two health centres serving 40 000 people.
The overall level of education is low and only 40 per cent of adults can read and write. There are village primary schools, although the cost of school fees prevents many parents sending their children to school. Children also stay at home because their work on the farm provides a valuable contribution to a family’s welfare. Less than 50 percent of children in Kapsokwony attend school.

There are few alternatives to faming jobs. The government tea plantations do provide some opportunities for paid work, at Ks 20 a day, however people are still reliant on their farms for their livelihood.

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