Tapping Women's Resource Knowledge: The Marketing of Medicinal Plants by the Maasai in Gikomba Market, Nairobi

Abstract

Throughout East Africa, Maasai women have always managed and utilized plant resources. Masaai women are not merely passive gatherers of plant products They actively manage and utilize plant resources. They decide where and how much of a given plant resource to harvest. African women have imparted this tradition of indigenous plant knowledge to their children and grandchildren. Yet, their traditional management and utilization of plant resources for income-generating activities is little recognized or explored Besides the lack of recognition and exploration of the Maasai woman's role in mobilizing her plant resource knowledge to generate cash and income, little attention has also been given to her ability to ',wield her plant utilization and management skills as a means of increased access t0 and control over their personal economic development and sustainability in an attempt to alter the direction of her life for the better,