When Malasen Hamida was a child, Kibera was full of green forests, fruit trees and open land where her community farmed and raised animals. Today, that same neighborhood in Nairobi is Kenya's largest informal settlement, crowded and struggling with waste. But Hamida is working to bring back the green she remembers—and she's doing it through the women of her community.
Hamida, a Nubian Muslim woman, founded the Mazingira Women Initiative to tackle waste management, teach smart farming and fight for land rights in Kibera. ("Mazingira" means environment in Swahili.) She mobilizes women to clean streets and teaches them techniques like hydroponics—growing plants in water instead of soil—and vertical gardening, which stacks plants upward to save space. Today, the women grow enough food to feed their families and sell extra vegetables for income.
"If an environmental issue becomes a priority for a woman, she will ensure it works because she knows it is not for her alone. It is for the long-term well-being of the whole family," Hamida said.
The history behind her work runs deep. The Nubian community has lived in Kibera for generations—long before Nairobi became a major city. Their ancestors came to East Africa as soldiers in the King's African Rifles during the world wars and were resettled on land the British colonial government allocated to them. In 1917, that land covered 1,698 hectares (about 4,200 acres). Over the decades, however, urbanization, forced evictions and land-grabbing reduced their territory to just 116 hectares (288 acres)—and the community has never received compensation for what was taken.
"We were in Kibera before Nairobi became the city it is today," Hamida explained. The settlement's name, she notes, comes from the Nubian word meaning "land of forests."
Beyond her community work, Hamida is also pursuing political change. She has run for Parliament three times and plans to run again in 2027, hoping to represent Kibera from inside the government rather than outside it. With over 25 years of activism behind her, she sees environmental justice and land rights as inseparable issues for her people.
Walking through her neighborhood, visitors notice what sets it apart: no stagnant water pooling in the streets, no garbage littering the ground. It is noticeably cleaner than the rest of Kibera—a small but visible sign of what becomes possible when women are empowered to lead.
Hamida's vision is clear. She wants to rebuild what her community once had: green spaces, clean air, and enough land to grow food. The Mazingira Women Initiative is her answer to a question she has carried since childhood—how to restore dignity and nature to a place that has lost both. And the women around her are proving every day that it is working.