The house and sheds are round or square, with roofs of thatch or iron sheets. Farm animals kept at such shambas include dairy cows, a few goats, sheep or donkeys, a flock of chickens and a guard dog. Cash crops, such as coffee, are sold for export and earn money for families to buy school books, amongst other things. Food crops, such maize bananas and potatoes, are grown for family meals or sold locally. A clump of trees, including the sweet smelling eucalyptus provide firewood for cooking and for heating the house.
Many small farmers have market gardens where they grow vegetables for the market.
Most of the work on family farms in Central Province is done manually, or by hand, while only large estate farms producing cash crops are mechanized using tractors. Farm activities include planting, weeding, harvesting and plucking tea leaves or coffee berries, or digging potatoes and picking maize. This is done by the farmers themselves and their families. Maize is the staple food at mealtimes. For breakfast, porridge may be made using maize flour although most people prefer porridge made from millet flour.