Karure Community Garden

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Kenya

Nairobi

This 1/8 acre garden is found in Karure village, Thika district, Kiambu county, and is cultivated by 22 community members (9 women and 13 men) that are engaged in activities aimed at improving their living standards.
Agriculture is one of the activities they are engaged in with the garden acting as a “class without walls” where members learn and replicate their new knowledge at their individual farms. Apart from being a training ground for the group members, the garden serves as a training center for other community members and regularly hosts visitors from other parts of the country for exchange visits. The Grow Bio-intensive Agriculture Centre of Kenya (G-BIACK), a local Ngo that promotes bio intensive farming, introduced the group to Slow Food.
The garden is currently cultivated with: amaranth, kale, spinach, arrowroots, sweet potatoes, sorghum, maize, millet, etc. Mangoes, bananas and passion fruits are also found in the garden. The garden also acts as a seed multiplication site where seeds are selected, multiplied, and shared amongst the group members. What is harvested is shared and in some cases sold to cover the costs of garden expenses. Products in the garden are also used during group meeting and in other special occasions.
The group applies sustainable agricultural practices in the garden as a way of improving the soil and ensuring quality food production. Some of the methods used include: the use of organic manure (farmyard manure, composts etc.), natural pesticides from plant extracts (neem, onions, pepper, mexican marigold, stinging nettle, etc.) and crop rotation. Training sessions have been conducted to equip the farmers with practical knowledge on sustainable food production and consumption, while tools and equipment have been provided.

Area
Karure Village, Thika district, Kiambu county

Coordinator
Peris Kamau

Slow Food in Kenya

Kenya, the richest and most dynamic East African country, whose capital Nairobi is home to a series of major international institutions (the UN, FAO, World Bank and others), has for years embodied great contradictions and is constantly grappling with difficult challenges. These include the internal movement of people due to climate change—the extended droughts experienced over the last 30 years are becoming increasingly frequent and intense—and political instability, as well as constant pressure from multinationals on the government, pushing Kenya to focus on production for export. This is resulting in the pollution and depletion of resources, arable land speculation and the privatization and financialization of public services. In 2016 the National Assembly Committee of Agriculture confirmed a ban on GMO cultivation, but experiments continue. The main investments in the national agriculture sector, which engages around 75% of the population, are focused on specific categories (maize and grains, intensive livestock farming) and revolve around increased productivity rather than differentiated production, better environmental sustainability or the improved distribution of community goods. Slow Food has been active in Kenya since 2004 and now has a strong network working to defend local biodiversity, promote sustainable food production and responsible consumption and create links between indigenous groups, herders and farmers and producers and cooks. The association is formally registered and recognized by the government and partners with local and international organizations, public authorities, institutions and the media. Young people are involved in the Gardens in Africa project and the fight against food waste, promoting sustainable agriculture, raising awareness about threats to food sovereignty, encouraging peaceful coexistence between communities through knowledge exchanges and fostering pride in Kenyan culinary traditions. The important task of mapping foods at risk of extinction has been going on over the last few years, leading to a book on Ark products in Kenya and the launch of several Presidia, thanks to the involvement of an extensive network and collaboration with the University of Gastronomic Students. Through the Slow Food scholarship program, so far more than 10 students from the country have been able to study at the university in Italy. The Chefs’ Alliance was launched in 2016 and the Slow Travel responsible tourism initiative has started to raise awareness among consumers and visitors on local foods and initiatives and sustainable development. Blog: slowfoodkenya.wordpress.com

Garden Informations

Types:	Community Garden
Surface in m2:	505
Persone coinvolte:	22
Slow Food Convivium:	Sustainable Agriculture Convivium
Coordinatore:	Charles Waweru
Sibling with:	Lingenhel GmBH, Austria

Photos