Kenya's Slum Transformation Flashcards

Vocabulary terms and definitions summarizing the methods used by residents and the Kenyan government to improve shanty towns.

Sack farming

A low-cost agricultural technique involving growing vegetables in a bag filled with soil, used in Kibera to provide fresh food and income.

Kibera

An informal settlement in Nairobi described as having approximately $1$ million people living on $400$ hectares, resulting in a density of $80,000/\text{Km}^2$.

Rural exodus

The migration of people from the countryside to Nairobi in search of jobs, frequently leading to the growth of informal settlements.

Map Kibera Trust

An NGO that reported sack farming increases weekly household income by at least $5$ and produces $2$ or $3$ meals per week.

Alice Atieno

A resident of Kibera featured in the article "Slum farmers rise above the sewers" for her use of sack farming as a source of livelihood.

Job dignity

A concept stated by President Ruto emphasizing that the affordable housing project is about creating employment and a better future for the youth.

Nzambi Matee

A material science graduate and engineer who founded Gjenge Makers to turn discarded plastic into bricks.

Gjenge Makers

A company that employs $112$ people from marginalized communities and recycles $500/\text{kg}$ of plastic per day.

Plastic bricks

Sustainable building materials developed by Nzambi Matee that are described as being "twice as strong as concrete."

Dangote Cement, Bamburi Cement, and PPC Ltd

Large African cement groups that dominate the industry and may face competition from recycled plastic brick innovations.

Multi-dimensional approach

A strategy for urban improvement that combines small-scale resident resilience with large-scale government actions and private innovation.