OUR FELLOWS
Edna Mutua grew up in Athi-River, a town located just south of Nairobi, where her mother raised broiler chickens, and she and her three younger siblings helped raise, slaughter, and package the birds for the market.
Her university studies initially took Mutua in a seemingly very different direction, as she earned a BA in Literature and Philosophy. But ultimately, these disciplines brought her back to agriculture, and she decided to pursue an MA in Gender and Development Studies.
I realized that I liked studying how people interact in communities. From philosophy, I learned to critically analyze issues, and from literature to look at the patterns of peoples’ lives and why they behave the way they do or make certain decisions,” says Mutua.
Field of Research
Evaluating the impacts of livestock value chains and microcredit programs on women’s empowerment using the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) methodology.
Fellows Stories
Edna Mutua, 2013 AWARD Fellow, Kenya
Date: December 19, 2015
AWARD Fellow Edna Mutua has been awarded a PhD scholarship with the University of Nairobi. Edna will be undertaking anthropological studies, examining gendered community adaptation to Rift Valley Fever and Malaria in Baringo County, Kenya. Edna’s university studies initially took a seemingly different direction, as she earned a BA in Literature and Philosophy. But ultimately, these disciplines brought her back to agriculture, and she decided to pursue an MA in Gender and Development Studies.