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African Urban Harvest pp 193–212Cite as

Recycling Nutrients from Organic Wastes in Kenya’s Capital City

Abstract

The question how much of the potential soil nutrients contained in urban wastes are being used and what processes are involved led to this study in the early 2000s. The issue is of central importance to understanding the potential benefits of a properly managed urban agriculture sector, since soil fertility is a major problem in Sub-Saharan Africa and urban wastes represent a large potential source of nutrients (Savala et al. 2003). Mougeot (1993, p.114) highlighted the importance of solid waste management and offered insights into the use of organic wastes by farmers as compost for their crops. When the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) was starting up its new system-wide program – Urban Harvest – in Africa in late 2000, stakeholders called for better documentation of these processes. In response, we came together from a number of institutions in Kenya to identify and map out the basic market and material flows for composts and manure in Nairobi and identify opportunities for improving the functioning of the system.

Keywords

  • Informal Settlement
  • Urban Agriculture
  • Cattle Manure
  • Livestock Manure
  • Livestock Keeper

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Fig. 10.1
Plate 10.1
Fig. 10.2

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Urban Harvest, c/o CIP, P.O. Box 25171, Nairobi, 00603, Kenya

    Mary Njenga & Nancy Karanja

  2. CABI Africa, ICRAF Complex, United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, P.O. Box 633-00621, Nairobi, Kenya

    Dannie Romney

  3. Kenya Green Towns Partnership Association, P.O. Box 69420-00400, Nairobi, Kenya

    Kuria Gathuru

  4. Kilimo Trust Foundation, Plot 2, Serukuma Road, P.O. Box 71782, Kampala, Uganda

    Stephen Kimani

  5. World Agroforestry Center, (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya

    Sammy Carsan

  6. University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

    Sammy Carsan

  7. formally with the World Agroforestry Center, Nairobi, Kenya

    Will Frost

Authors
  1. Mary Njenga
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  2. Dannie Romney
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  3. Nancy Karanja
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  4. Kuria Gathuru
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  5. Stephen Kimani
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  6. Sammy Carsan
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  7. Will Frost
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Correspondence to Mary Njenga .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. CIP, Urban Harvest, Av. La Molina 1895, La Molina, Lima, Peru

    Gordon Prain

  2. Mazingira Institute, Nairobi, 00800, Kenya

    Diana Lee-Smith

  3. Urban Harvest, CIP, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya

    Nancy Karanja

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Njenga, M. et al. (2010). Recycling Nutrients from Organic Wastes in Kenya’s Capital City. In: Prain, G., Lee-Smith, D., Karanja, N. (eds) African Urban Harvest. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6250-8_10

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