Traditional beliefs scare residents away from planting umbrella tree

Locals planting trees at Kipkenyo water treatment plant in Eldoret Uasin Gishu County on May 10, 2023. [Christopher Kipsang, Standard]

When Dr Jephthah Odera, the founding director of the Kenya Forest Research Institute, introduced a tree species, it never occurred to him that it would be shunned.

Although Terminalia mantaly, locally known as an umbrella tree, is associated with many health benefits, communities in several parts of Luo Nyanza believe it is a sign of bad luck.