This study examined rural Ugandan women's lives to discover reasons why they may or may not practice agroforestry. These women are responsible for the triple roles of reproduction, production and community maintenance work, all carried out within the context of a gendered social environment. From the perspective of the social manifestations of gender, six key factors were identified. The findings were used to create a theoretical model of the interaction between rural women's lives and agroforestry systems. The model shows that agroforestry is not only a biophysical farming system; There is a human component in that interacts with other components to determine the success or failure of an agroforestry initiative. The model can be used to identify and understand the human component of the agroforestry system on an individual and community level.