Kibera Sack Gardens (Nairobi)

'Sack gardening', which spread in Nairobi's Kibera slum following the 2007–2008 post-election violence. It is an urban farming method in which landless residents secure food through vertical cultivation in soil-filled sacks, with women playing a leading role.

Landless residents of the Kibera slum, especially women, grow leafy vegetables vertically in the sides and tops of large sacks filled with soil and organic matter. Many are organised into women's groups that receive seeds, soil, materials and training from NGOs and grow food around their homes, on tiny plots, fences and rooftops.

A supported citizen-farming model in which NGOs and research partners provide seeds, materials and training; produce is mainly for household consumption, with surplus sold locally to supplement income.

Adopted by over a thousand residents; studies report that farmers feel more food-secure than non-farmers and that sack gardening builds social capital. Participants regard their homegrown vegetables as fresher and safer than market produce, supporting nutrition and livelihoods in the slum.

Landless residents grow in sacks around their homes, on tiny plots and rooftops; use is largely informal with no formal land tenure.

This entry is compiled from the public sources, official sites and research below.

• PaperStrengthening Vegetable Production and Consumption in a Kenyan Informal Settlement: A Sack Garden Intervention - PMC ↗pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
• PaperCreating Space: Sack Gardening as a Livelihood Strategy in the Kibera Slums of Nairobi, Kenya - Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development ↗foodsystemsjournal.org