Nairobi, Feb. 9 -- Overcoming middlemen exploitation for women fruit farmers in Wote, Makueni County, was a thorn in their flesh for many years.

This was until 2012, when 75-year-old Benjamin Kithuku raised the red flag. He had seen women labour in vain to produce some of the best mangoes, oranges, pawpaw and other juicy fruits, only for them to be duped into selling them at throwaway prices, mostly because of poverty.

Formidable force

Out of sympathy and determination to liberate the women from this form of vicious cycle of exploitation of individual farmers, Mzee Kithuku thought of how the community could form a self-help group.

He also believed a formidable force would address gender disparity by uniting men and women to tackle com...