Co-designing and testing protective footwear among rural female farmers in Rwanda

Focus Group Interviews conducted with rural female farmers. This qualitative community-based participatory project aimed to co-design and test a women-centered farming boot to address previously identified barriers to protective footwear access among rural Rwandan farmers. Boots were distributed for testing, to male and female farmers, in four villages with the highest podoconiosis prevalence across Rwanda. Sixteen audio-recorded focus group discussions were subsequently conducted to explore farmers’ experiences with the boots. Farmers reported that receiving the footwear led to a more consistent use of farming boots, with female participants expressing pride and empowerment stemming from owning and wearing the boots. While community reactions to the boots varied, most female farmers noted that restrictive gender norms and expectations related to boot wearing persist but do not deter them from wearing the boots.