Healthy food from rural farming to Nairobi’s informal settlements – connecting farmers and consumers.

Many people in poor settlements suffer from malnutrition. In Nairobi, Biovision wants to give them access to healthy food.

Initial situation: Poor nutrition and food insecurity

In Viwandani, an informal settlement in Nairobi’s industrial area, people suffer from poor nutrition and food insecurity. This also presents a major challenge for the local healthcare system. Biovision is working to build a sustainable and healthy food system that serves both farmers and consumers.

Goals: Linking farmers and consumers

The project creates a direct link between rural farmers and people in informal urban settlements. This supports both income security for farmers and better access to nutritious food for consumers.

Biovision promotes agroecological practices among smallholder families in Makueni County. These methods protect the soil and biodiversity while increasing crop diversity. At the same time, the project aims to raise awareness of healthy diets in Nairobi’s informal settlements to prevent malnutrition and related diseases.

At a glance

Project name:

Organic food for slums

Beneficiaries:
Kenya

Project budget in CHF :

696331

Participants:
Actors in the value chain
Community Health Officers
Consumers in poor settlements
Government employees
Konsument:innen in Armsiedlungen
Regierungsmitarbeiter:innen
Smallholder farmers

Project Officer:

Séverine Erismann, Dr

Project phase:
2023-2025

Partner organizations:

Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT

Diabetes Awareness Trust (DAT)

Feedback to the Future (FttF)

The project addresses the following SDGs from UN Agenda 2030:

This project is supported by SDC

Region

Subsahara-Afrika

Topics

Consumption Knowledge

Impact to date: A promising start

The project was launched in April 2023. Biovision and its partners are currently conducting baseline data collection. Initial impacts are not yet available.

Next steps: From agroforestry to local food markets

In Makueni, farmers are trained in agroforestry systems where most plants are edible and contribute to reforestation. They also receive support in business planning and marketing.

A new distribution system ensures that their produce reaches Viwandani. In parallel, Biovision and its partners provide training to local health workers in Viwandani, enabling them to educate families on healthy diets and organize community cooking sessions.

The project also engages local vendors – so-called Mama Mbogas – in workshops to explore collaboration opportunities. Today, people in Viwandani can buy healthy food at small community shops or directly from Mama Mbogas.

Donate now

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CHF

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To support this project or get further information, please contact

Sharon Nehrenheim

Head of Communication & Fundraising, Member of the Executive Committee

E-mail

+41 44 512 58 13

Project region

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