Creating Space: Sack Gardening as a Livelihood Strategy in the Kibera Slums of Nairobi, Kenya

Gallaher, Courtney M.; WinklerPrins, Antoinette M. G. A.; Njenga, Mary; Karanja, Nancy

doi:10.5304/jafscd.2015.052.006

Cited by 12 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Through urban farming, migrants gets opportunity to grow food for consumption purposes and may even sell surpluses (Beckie & Bogdan, 2010), Migrants have important skills and culture which they can share with urban farmers. (Gallaher et al, 2015) found out that the majority of farmers and non-farmers (85% and 75%, respectively) have had previous experience with mixed farming in rural areas, mostly before they migrated to Kibera. A report by World Bank (2013) indicates that most of the residents engaged in urban farming had stayed in the city the longest or always lived there.…”

Section: Last Place Of Residencementioning

confidence: 99%

Perception and Adoption Level of Urban Horticulture Technologies, Nairobi County, Kenya

2019

International Journal of Forestry and Horticulture

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Urban Horticulture is the cultivation, processing, and sale of fruits, nuts, vegetables, ornamental plants, and flowers as well as many additional services (Shyr & Reily, 2017). The products of urban horticulture include a large variety of vegetables, cereals, flowers, ornamental trees, aromatic vegetables and mushrooms. The significance of urban horticulture as an important and growing sector of the urban space economy can be appreciated at individual household, community, and national levels. Urban horticulture is also a source of employment, income and favors both social inclusion and reduction of gender inequalities as 65% of urban farmers are women (Orsini et al. 2013). A key challenge is developing policy, strategies and technical support mechanisms for the sustainable management of urban agricultural systems, addressing production issues and marketing needs within a broader framework of environmental planning and management, water supply and utilization schemes, and food safety assurance (FAO, 2010). Kenya is one of the countries in East Africa with high population growth rate of 2.11% (World Bank, 2013). Most of the people work within the agricultural sector and their households depend on the harvest (World Bank Group, 2008). However, food insecurity is still a major problem and malnutrition is common in urban areas (Dubbeling, de Zeeuw and van Veenhuizen 2010). Within this reality, urban agriculture/horticulture has become a key component of the survival strategies of poorer sections of the population, while also providing a significant contribution to the urban fresh food supply chain (FAO, 2010). The Government of Kenya has outlined four priority areas for the next five years. These are agricultural and food security, affordable housing, increased share of manufacturing, and universal health coverage (World Bank, 2018).

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Section: Last Place Of Residencementioning

confidence: 99%

Perception and Adoption Level of Urban Horticulture Technologies, Nairobi County, Kenya

2019

International Journal of Forestry and Horticulture

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“…The two research assistants Sustainability 2017, 9, 1310 7 of 20 knew most of the participants, and often joined in with asking questions or discussing certain topics with the gardeners. At several gardens, we used audio recording for the interviews, which can be particularly useful because of the anecdotal nature of ethnobotanical research (e.g., [29,62], but mostly we relied on recorded notes of their responses. …”

Section: Gaining Local Perceptions On Gardenscapesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Home Gardenscapes as Sustainable Landscape Management on St. Eustatius, Dutch Caribbean

Berkowitz

Medley

2017

Sustainability

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Abstract:Home gardens are an important topic for landscape research due to their intersectional contributions to plant diversity conservation and local livelihoods. As sites of ecological restoration, gardens transform small-scale landscapes toward higher plant richness and density. We examine "gardenscapes" on St. Eustatius, a small Caribbean island, focusing on how plants growing around a home contribute to ecological and ethnobotanical measures of plant diversity, and how residents value the importance of gardens to their livelihoods. Through a survey of 14 gardenscapes and 11 home interviews, we report 277 plant species, including 31% native and 69% non-native, high plant densities and structural evenness, 260 plants with uses, and a total of 363 uses, especially as ornamental plants (184) and for other environmental services (16), but also food (101), health remedies (50), material uses (10) and symbolic services (2). Participants indicated that home gardening could be difficult due to drought and pests, but provided resources and incomes to livelihoods, especially through the production of food products. Several respondents reported that gardening was a declining activity on St. Eustatius, but this study shows how gardening activities offer a biocultural approach to conservation that supports plant diversity and livelihoods across the island's highly-modified natural landscape.

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“…However, it has been noted that there is endemic poverty in Kibera with over half of the households living below the official poverty line of USD 1 per day. Poverty levels may even be higher given that the income level for which the poverty lines are set in Kenya ignores the cost of non-food essentials in the urban areas, such as water, healthcare and education [13]. Poverty manifests itself in the lack of access to basic requirements, including water, electricity and sanitation [13,14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Poverty levels may even be higher given that the income level for which the poverty lines are set in Kenya ignores the cost of non-food essentials in the urban areas, such as water, healthcare and education [13]. Poverty manifests itself in the lack of access to basic requirements, including water, electricity and sanitation [13,14]. It is further reported that as many as 63% of slum households feel unsafe due to major crime occurrences within the settlement [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is further reported that as many as 63% of slum households feel unsafe due to major crime occurrences within the settlement [15]. Furthermore, the complexities of landlordship and tenancy are always a source of strife, specifically during election periods, when ethnic identities, socio-economic status and political patronage are at stake [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Socio-Economic Drivers of Fish Species Consumption Preferences in Kenya’s Urban Informal Food System

2021

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In an effort to contribute to resilient food and nutritional security in urban slums, a food system approach was applied to understand the key socio-economic factors driving fish species consumption in Kibera, the largest informal settlement in Africa located in Nairobi, Kenya. Data were collected from 385 randomly selected households using a structured questionnaire. A multivariate probit model was applied to estimate the relationship between the variables in order to determine the socio-economic drivers of preferences for different fish species. The results indicated that Lake Victoria sardine (Rastrineobola argentea) had the highest preference (73%) among the respondents, followed by Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) (70%) and Nile perch (Lates niloticus) (23%), respectively, with other fish species at 12%, including African catfish, marbled lungfish, common carp, fulu and tuna (Clarias gariepinus, Protopterus aethiopicus, Cyprinus carpio, Haplochromine cichlids and Thunnus sp., respectively). Large household size showed an increase in preference for the Lake Victoria sardine, while higher income influenced preference for Nile tilapia and Nile perch positively, implying that when more income is available, Nile tilapia is the preferred fish over other fish species. Increased fish prices positively influenced preference for Nile tilapia, which is explained by the willingness to pay extra for quality and origin, for instance, to avoid the cheaply cultivated Chinese fish. In the case of the Lake Victoria sardine, lower prices positively affected the preferences. Religious and cultural practices and beliefs influenced preference for species and consumption of fish. Residents who migrated from western Kenya had a higher preference for the Lake Victoria sardine, while residents born and raised in Kibera had a higher preference for Nile tilapia. Neighbourhood effects reduced the preference for consuming Nile perch. These findings provide insights into future market opportunities for specific target groups. For instance, given that small-sized fish like the Lake Victoria sardine is highly demanded, in order to increase resiliency in food and nutrition security, small-sized cheap Nile tilapia will have a large potential in the future, with ever higher demand specifically from the residents born and raised in Kibera.

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Creating Space: Sack Gardening as a Livelihood Strategy in the Kibera Slums of Nairobi, Kenya

Cited by 12 publications

References 27 publications

Perception and Adoption Level of Urban Horticulture Technologies, Nairobi County, Kenya

Perception and Adoption Level of Urban Horticulture Technologies, Nairobi County, Kenya

Home Gardenscapes as Sustainable Landscape Management on St. Eustatius, Dutch Caribbean

Socio-Economic Drivers of Fish Species Consumption Preferences in Kenya’s Urban Informal Food System

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