When Carolina Chelele’s husband suffered a paralyzing stroke, she took control of their farm in Morogoro, Tanzania. The 49-year-old mother of four now feeds her entire family and runs their business. She is also the winner of Tanzania’s most popular reality TV show, Mama Shujaa wa Chakula, or Female Food Heroes.

The Oxfam-funded series is not like American reality shows—there is very little backstabbing and no wine. Each season, 15 women from around Tanzania gather to compete in the small village of Kisanga for 21 days. Many are mothers, and all are struggling small-scale farmers trying to support themselves and their communities in the face of climate change.

Instead of dwelling on drama, episodes show the women on a scavenger hunt to identify various plants, repairing government buildings, and being tested on bookkeeping and agronomy—skills they can take back to the farm. Participants also learn about leadership, women’s rights, and HIV/AIDS awareness.

In developing countries like Tanzania, up to 20 percent of landowners are female, and far more women work in fields. Yet women often lack training, fair access to markets, and adequate tools. Most are not granted titles for the land they tend, and some even risk violent and sexual assault while working or fetching water.

“Society places value on men, but the work is being done primarily by women,” says Oxfam advocacy manager Eluka Kibona, who runs the show. “TV is not a platform normally used for women, especially women farmers. This show in particular provides a breath of fresh air in the crowded, sexist media market in Africa.”

Now in its fifth season, Female Food Heroes has become more of a movement than a show. Airing on the East Africa Television network, the program reached Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi this year. Fans tuned in via YouTube and public radio to vote for contestants.

Chelele’s wit and perseverance quickly made her a favorite. When contestants were given a bag of mortar and a seed, many of her competitors planted the seed in the cement, confident that it would grow. Chelele was the only one to step back and cross her arms—the task was impossible; a seed will not grow in pavement. She won the challenge and the entire competition, claiming her 20 million shillings (about $10,000) in cash and equipment. While there is only one winner, contestants are not voted off the show, so everyone has a chance at the prize money, not to mention a free education.

But the show leaves participants with something even more valuable—pride. Many go on to serve on their local agricultural councils, and a few even travel to speak at international conferences.

“They can lend their voices to the issues—their experiences with the land and their deep roots contribute to the conversation on climate change,” Kibona says.

From his home in South Africa, Marc Wegerif, who helped create the show in 2011, sees many women who are already using sustainable agro-ecological farming practices. But while times are changing, the climate is changing faster. By 2050, Africa is predicted to face temperature increases of up to 4 degrees Celsius and crops losses of up to 20 percent.

“If others could learn from the example of African women farmers, we would solve our food and climate change problems,” Wegerif says. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, if female farmers in developing countries were given the same resources as men, farm yields could increase by 30 percent and feed an additional 150 million people per day.

Kibona says that's the goal of future seasons of Female Food Heroes: to get the word out before it’s too late. When it comes to climate change, the real housewives of New York probably won't be our saviors, but the female farmers of Tanzania just might be.

Watch an excerpt from the second season of Female Food Heroes: 

Video courtesy of Oxfam International and Maisha Plus