Plastic waste has been a nightmare for environmentalists in Kenya for decades.
In August 2017, they scored big when the Kenyan government banned the use of plastic bags and replaced them with a number of eco-friendly biodegradable materials.
Consequently, the government imposed a Sh4 million ($40,000) fine or a four-year jail term for anyone found in possession of plastic bags.
However, debate still rages on what to do with plastic bottles. Kenya, on World Environmental Day this year, barred all single-use plastics such as water bottles and straws from its national parks, beaches, forests and other protected areas.
It was a little victory for the proponents. However, they still feel that is not enough and want them totally banned to avoid harming the environment further while opponents want them spared as they do ‘little’ damage to the ecosystem.
The two sides are yet to reach a middle ground on the contentious issue but as they haggle, a group of youth in Kibera, Kenya and Africa’s largest slum, is already a step ahead.
Through their initiative ‘Turning Slum Green and Clean’, the group has found an ingenious way of putting waste plastic bottles into good use.
Incubation centres
The youngsters use the plastic bottles to build mud-walled houses which are used as incubation centres for various agricultural activities while their bottle necks are used to make skipping ropes to keep them fit and for sale.
It’s on a sunny Saturday morning in September when I catch up with the group in Kibera’s Ayani area as they embark on the day’s task.
It’s their sixth day here as they continue putting together ‘building block’s to this makeshift structure.
The structure is sandwiched between a number of shanties next to a railway line and just 10 metres away from a dump site where their building materials (plastic bottles) are collected from.
To put it up, they dig up some soil, mix it with water to create thick mud then erect wooden poles horizontally and vertically.
The mud is then put in between the poles to form one building block then a number of plastic bottles are inserted to form the next block. The two blocks will alternate until the structure is four metres tall when it’s termed complete and ready for roofing.
It’s a task that takes these youth, seven of them, two weeks to complete.
Once the structure is complete, the youth build little farms inside, then source organic manure from residents who rear chicken and rabbits within the slum.
Their source of water? Rocks within the slum from which water is connected to small tanks on the structure for irrigation purposes.
Dreams about nature
After all these, vegetable seedlings and mushroom samples from nearby agrovets are sourced for planting and voila, the project is up and running.
But for an age bracket and a population that environmental conservation is the least of their worries, how did the group get into this?
“I have weird dreams. I dream about nature,” Kevin Muller, a 27-year-old nurse, born and bred in Kibera tells this writer.
Muller is the brains behind ‘Making Slum Green and Clean’.
“I came up with these ideas because I’ve grown and live here. I saw the need to make a difference. I sat down with my peers and brainstormed on how to go about it then came up with something big,” adds Muller.
Muller is among the lucky few in Kibera who have an education and a job.
Most of the youth here are school drop outs because their parents are either too poor to afford secondary and university education, died from various diseases or the police bullet.
As such, they become idle, disillusioned and hopeless, a perfect environment for breeding drug addicts and criminals.
Seeing his peers, some known to him, waste away at an early age, Muller decided to engage them in something meaningful that will not only save them but also the ecosystem, while earning them a living.
“Since it’s something that helps many people in my community, I decided to do it as it empowers the youth. It gives me happiness seeing these youth engaged in something I am passionate about,” gushes Muller.
Highly infectious
Back to the vegetable and mushroom farm, Muller and his group will wait for a month before their farm produce is ready.
They will consume some and sell what is left but it’s a long process before getting there.
It needs patience and proper care. Watering constantly, weeding, sourcing manure and guarding against predators.
“Mushrooms are highly infectious and need proper care. Because of that, only one person is allowed in the farm until it is ready. However, its returns are good since we will be harvesting twice a day for three months,” says Muller.
It’s a story of triumph amid adversity, what residents of Kibera wish was told more than the negative picture painted by many about the area.
They have seen various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) come to Kibera in the name of uplifting their standards of living when in fact it is the NGOs who are out to use them as a way to quick riches.
It is for this reason that this group decided to do it for themselves and not wait to be exploited.
Gisore Nyabuti, a 21-year-old high school dropout and a member of ‘Making Slum Green and Clean,’ has seen it all, having served as a tour guide for slum tourists in the area.
“I worked at Kibera Tours after dropping out of school due to lack of fees. The little I made from them, I used it to start this project to empower myself and engage the youth,” reveals Gisore, a younger brother to Muller.
While the older youth take care of the big project, the group has engaged kids in their other assignment.
Skipping ropes
From the same bottles used to build the mud-walled farm, their bottle necks are collected, cut into pieces and used to weave skipping ropes.
It’s an intricate process that involves carefully putting together the bottle necks to the desires and needs of the clients.
“Ropes come in different colours and sizes depending on the kind of orders we get. It can be the colour of your favourite team or flag. For kids, we make ropes as long as two-feet while for adults, it is four-feet,” says 20-year-old Nancy Muga, a second year marketing student, who is also a member of the group.
Nancy is already putting her modest marketing skills into practice. She goes from place to place, sourcing for a market for the ropes and so far, she has secured a few orders.
“We charge between Sh200-250 ($2-$2.5) for kids’ skipping ropes and Sh400-450 ($4-$4.5) for adults. This is a fair price given a standard skipping rope will set you back Sh800 ($8) from the supermarket,” adds Nancy.
She goes on: “Our biggest order was 10 two-feet skipping ropes from a school in a neigbouring estate. We also go to schools to teach kids how to skip at a fee.”
Rope making has been a great past time for the kids involved. It has kept them busy since the coronavirus pandemic forced closure of schools in Kenya in March.
“It is a huge distraction for them. We normally witness numerous cases of violence among children here during holidays because of idleness but now, they are busy and have no time for such,” says Nancy.
With schools in Kenya set to be closed until January 2021, Covid-19 may just have been a blessing in disguise for these kids as they have plenty of time to perfect their craft.
