Aisha Mohammed (left) and Julia Njuguna hold freshly picked BT cotton balls on Aisha's farm at Mpeketoni, Lamu County. [Paul Mbugua, Standard]
Before setting off for Lamu County, I found myself weighing two options: I could endure the more than 10-hour road journey from Nairobi through Garissa, or take the equally long coastal route via Mombasa and Kilifi.
Both promised an exhausting trip. In the end, I chose the quicker option: a one-hour, 20-minute flight to Manda Island.
Little did I know that the flight would only be the beginning of the adventure.
From Manda, the journey continues by a small motorised boat across the Indian Ocean to the Mokowe Jetty before a drive inland to Mpeketoni.
The crossing is not for the faint-hearted. On the day of my visit, the sea was unusually choppy. Waves tossed the boat from side to side, spray soaked passengers as water found its way into the vessel, and every bounce was a reminder that reaching some of Kenya's most remarkable farming communities is rarely straightforward.
But as the boat finally docked and the dusty road to Mpeketoni unfolded before me, the difficult journey quickly faded into the background.
Beyond the mangrove-lined shores and scattered villages lay a different story altogether: one of resilience, innovation and renewed hope.