Kenya: Scientist revels in success of edible landscaping project
Dr Murage has been working on nutrition and health issues in Kenya for a long time, particularly among the urban poor in Nairobi.
By Sammy Waweru
Nation
June 17, 2023
Excerpt:
The programme promotes agro-ecological urban farming, by supporting women and youth groups in towns to grow healthy safe food to feed themselves and their communities, while making a living.
The kitchen garden has since led to a wider farming project in her neighbourhood. “I started the garden and edible landscaping at the height of the coronavirus, triggered by the desire to promote sustainable healthy food for my family and others in urban areas,” Dr Murage says.
The Zero Hunger Initiative started in March 2022.
Dr Murage’s socio-commercial venture comprises a kitchen garden and an edible landscaping farm.
In the garden within her own compound, Dr Murage grows fruits such as pawpaw, avocado, bananas, fig, guava, tree tomatoes, apples, pomegranates, water melon, grapes, strawberries, and other types of berries.
She also grows vegetables like kale (sukuma wiki), spinach, cabbage, amaranthus (terere), black night shade (managu/sucha) and cowpea leaves (kunde).
Others are lettuce, beetroots, broccoli, tomatoes, capsicum, zucchini, carrots, onions, butternuts, pumpkins, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and eggplant.
The advocate for healthy eating also grows herbs and spices including lemon grass, coriander, mint, hibiscus, and rosemary.
The success of the kitchen garden saw her convert a neighbouring plot into a hub for a variety of vegetables in November 2022. She leases the parcel.
