Kenya: The city women fighting high cost of living with urban farming
Wilfred Nyangaresi I Nation Media Group
Njiru Feminists Network, comprising 25 women based in Siranga informal settlement in Nairobi, has adopted hydroponics.
By Agatha Gichana
Nation Africa
August 11, 2023
Excerpt:
The women show us a set of interconnected waste pipes that occupy a quarter of the little piece of land belonging to one of their members. Siranga, like most informal settlements in Nairobi, experiences water shortages and receives low annual rainfall.
Getrude Wahu, one of the members, explains to Nation.Africa why they decided to invest in urban farming.
“I sell plastics in Nairobi and on a day like this, I have not even made Sh200.That amount of money is only enough for a packet of maize flour. I thought growing our own food would supplement our diets and increase our incomes,” she says.
The women began the project in January by purchasing 360 sukuma wiki (collard greens) seedlings for Sh100 each, a water tank, pipes, pumice, coconut peat and metal planks. The total cost of the project was about Sh100,000, which they raised from their savings and contributions from well-wishers.
“Water was a major challenge for us, so we opted to harvest rainwater that we recycle for our farm. If we were to purchase water, we would have to spend at least Sh1,500 a week, which would reduce our profits.”
