Nakuru was once dubbed the ‘cleanest town’ in East Africa, but recent population growth and rapid urbanization is altering the urban environment. An inadequate waste collection system based on one dumpsite off the shores of Lake Nakuru National Park implies that not all organic or inorganic waste is being collected, while most of the uncollected waste lies in the poor income residential areas, causing human and environment health concerns. An alternative to waste dumping is its reuse, which benefits communities and the natural environment in several ways by providing a source of employment, extra income for poor households, a source of compost for urban farmers, contributes to a cleaner natural environment, and empowers youth and women’s groups.

With the expansion of the city, policy makers have not been able to keep up with the new challenges the city faces or meet certain demands from the influx of new residents. These new and even old residents have found that urban agriculture and the informal waste recycling system to be a means of extra income and food security regardless of the harsh regulations imposed by the city council.

Urban Harvest and key partners, like the Municipal Council of Nakuru and the NGO Greentown, set up a community based research and development center for urban agriculture and waste management at the Gioto dumpsite. The land for the Center was allocated by the African Inland Church and will be used for research / training purposes and to use the center as a demonstration site in order to promote urban agriculture and waste recycling.  One of the initial objectives was to determine the position of the Center in the existing institutional framework and to identify key actors at the political and community level. The Center received much interest from the Municipal Council of Nakuru and from its residents, while other organizations and groups expressed enthusiasm in participating in the policy review process. These interests worked well for the Center in order to establish a Steering Committee comprised of stakeholder institutions and community groups.   .

The Center’s main aim is to conduct research on waste recycling in Nakuru, while incorporating it into the urban agricultural context and integrate individuals and groups into the waste recycling system through educational courses and participatory research. The Center, using rapid appraisal along with focus group discussions, found the reality of the waste collection systems in high, medium, low and poor-income residential areas. These collection systems can be categorized according to the income of the residential area, ranging from the higher income resident neighborhoods, who have a collection system carried out by the private sector and the municipality, to the poor income resident areas, where no collection system exists, encountering free-range animals, stagnant wastewater and heaps of animal manure. The latter is a matter of concern and a focal point for research and development at the Center because of the human and environmental health risks implied in waste collection and recovery. Studies found that the demand and supply for compost, derived from waste recovery, was high and with a positive market potential, although certain aspects needed improvement, such as: research and development methods, training facilities, waste collection system, information on community needs.  The main hindrance to these developments was mostly the limit of funds.  

The development component of the Center aims to provide training courses to the variety of individuals and community groups in the area. For example, faith based groups, self-help groups, women’s groups, and others NGOs on composting, bio-intensive gardening, briquetting of waste for energy, risks and benefits of waste recycling, group dynamics and leadership and other relevant issues. 

The Center is on the path to change the attitudes of policy makers, communities and interested groups on the issues of urban and peri-urban agriculture and particularly on waste recycling. Awareness building continues on the communities over various technologies for urban agriculture and waste recycling. Certain constraints that need to be addressed include; the access to land; unregulated agriculture, livestock keeping and waste recycling are other issues . Positive steps are being taken in Nakuru in order to reclaim its status as Kenya’s ‘farming capital’, although much works still need to be carried out at the political and community level.