Abstract:
Communities in dryland areas of West Pokot in
Kenya rely on fragile degraded ecosystems that have led
to famines, low productivity and income. Although
cultivating bamboo provides solutions to part of these
problems, the benefits of bamboo cultivation are species
and site-specific. However, no research has established
the ethnobotanical knowledge of bamboo in West Pokot,
making it difficult to upscale its cultivation. The study
aimed at 1) determining the level of awareness of bamboo
2) the uses of bamboo 3) factors motivating and hindering
its cultivation. The study adopted an analytical crosssectional survey research design. Simple random and
purposive sampling techniques were used in selecting the
study site. A Systematic random sampling technique was
used in selecting households to be used in establishing
local knowledge through questionnaires. Data were
analysed using chi-square test of fit, chi-square test of
association and cochran’s Q test of K-related samples.
Results showed that farmer to farmer approach (38.9%)
was the main source of information. Among the
respondents, 70.6% of them were aware of bamboo out of
which 67.6% were aware of its uses. The commonly
identified uses were soil conservation (48.1%), shade
provision (39.5%), fencing material (38.8%) and
construction material (36.9%). The findings revealed that
74.1% of the respondents were willing to cultivate
bamboo due to its environmental, economic and cultural
benefits among others. However, inadequate knowledge
of bamboo planting and management techniques (51.8%)
is the main impeding factor to the cultivation of bamboo
in the region. Therefore, forestry and agricultural
extension agents in the county should sensitize and train
farmers on bamboo establishment and management for
farmers to realize its full potential .
