Wangari Kuria was born and raised in Nyahururu to a father who worked as a mechanic and a mother who farmed. Despite her mother’s hard work in harvesting crops, she never saw the profits, as her father sold them and managed the proceeds. Witnessing this, Wangari’s mother did not view farming as a reliable income source.
In 2010, Wangari left Nyandarua to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, Political Science, and Communication at the University of Nairobi. Subsequently, she pursued a Master’s Degree in Business Administration-Strategic Management at USIU from 2015 to 2018.
After struggling to secure employment post-graduation, Wangari ventured into selling light bulbs and later facilitated maid services from her village to make ends meet. Forming a friendship in Eastleigh, they pooled resources to rent a house for Ksh 2,000 per month and began offering cleaning services.
Wangari eventually secured a position at a real estate company, starting with a modest salary of Ksh 60,000. Progressing in her career, she took a loan to purchase land in Nairobi for rental property development. However, losing her job unexpectedly presented challenges as she continued to repay her loan with uncertainty about future employment.
During this difficult period, Wangari met her partner, and they relocated to a farm in Kitengela. She began farming by utilizing idle plots from neighbors, initially starting with a garden at home and gradually expanding with borrowed spaces.
Today, Wangari cultivates strawberries, sage, coriander, and mushrooms on her small farm. She emphasizes the profitability of mushrooms, which yield between Ksh 360,000 and Ksh 400,000 every six weeks. Wangari highlights the importance of maintaining consistent room temperatures for successful mushroom cultivation and also farms black soldier flies for livestock feed.
