more on kibera...

Snapshots of this morning still swimming in my head:

*Imagine a 4 foot high, mile long heap of smoldering garbage. Now insert a man sprawled out on his back, his hat tipped hanging off his head, an empty bottle of gin in his hand. At first sight we found this slightly amusing as he was clearly drunk and passed out in a pile of garbage. But the reality of it was too sad. And very humbling.

**On top of a hill sat a school. The walls were painted white and blue. The school children were practicing their traditional dances out on the lawn in blue and white school uniforms to the beat of some awesome drumming. We drove around to the back and down the hillside was a huge and gorgeous garden. With many sack plants, raised beds and a greenhouse. This site is for the school children. Again, those most vulnerable are identified by the teachers and given the opportunity to (voluntarily) learn how to grow their own vegetables. Each participating student is given a sack, dirt and seeds and are trained in growing and keeping the plants alive! The students are able to take home the first harvest to their families for consumption and the harvests following are sold back to the school cafeteria and the money is used directly to pay for their school fees; guaranteeing the child is not kicked out of school due to an inability to pay. The plants are their security. The school knows they will continue to grow as the project is closely monitored by educated facilitators. It's a pretty neat deal.

There are so many elements to this urban farming project that are sustainable. One of them is that money is never exchanged. Any kind of profit or exchange is given through materials. Pesticides are grown organically - by crushing up chilies and garlic (and maybe another herb or locally grown veg) and mixing with water to spray on the plants, distracting bugs but enabling the farmer to harvest and sell the next day without fear of consuming harmful chemicals. The plants grown are locally consumed and most importantly providing immediate food security for households. The element of community is strengthened through mobilizers, leaders and association groups working together on the community garden plots and training neighbors to start their own sack gardens. Natural fertilizer is created through composts. The benefits are numerous. And the impact is successfully proven to be significant. I like this project. We are hoping to replicate it in Maputo, Mozambique. Another urban community in desperate need of food security in a low cost, sustainable, easy to manage way.

***And a little bonus to our morning - my Mozambique colleagues and I had the opportunity to eat a traditional Kenyan meal today. In the fanciest restaurant in all of Kibera. It was a hand eaten meal. Complete with delicious hot chapatis! We are all a bit anxious to find out if the toilet will be our friend tonight, as we did not see clean water all morning. However, lunch was delicious!