Katy Fentress, Nairobi Community Manager
For many people in Nairobi’s Mathare slum, food insecurity is a simple fact of life. Even the slightest hike in prices can prove sufficient to exclude them from their daily meal. A large proportion of the inhabitants of Mathare, as well as those living in Nairobi’s other informal settlements, can be considered to be living in a perpetual state of emergency. Humanitarian policy makers are actively seeking to address this problem, but with mixed results. Meanwhile, however, Mathare residents are learning to supplement insecure food sources with an urban agricultural alternative dubbed “Farm in a Sack.”
The inability to always guarantee food on the table, whether because of market fluctuations or unemployment, has for decades pushed Mathare residents to make do with tiny patches of land on which to grow a few heads of sukuma wiki (kale — literally, “push weekly”: it pushes you through the week). Over time, however, with the amount of farmable land decreasing along with the quality of the soil, sustaining this practice has become a major challenge.
In light of that challenge, urban agriculture (UA) has recently become a priority in both emergency and development policy planning, according to Robert Biel and Yves Cabannes, affiliates of the Development Planning Unit (DPU) at University College London. In an article on UA co-authored by Biel and Cabannes, they say urban farming has not only helped to see impoverished urban families through difficult times, but also helped keep communities together by encouraging them to “guarantee their own social and economic reproduction in a low-cost way or outside of the monetary economy” (2009, DPUnews, issue 51).
One of the more popular solutions to creating sustainable urban agriculture in impoverished neighbourhoods has been the concept of “Farm in a Sack” agriculture. This concept involves taking a burlap (or similar) sack, filling it with a core of rocks surrounded by soil, and growing crops out of little holes in the side. This “vertical” method increases dramatically the amount of produce that can be grown: instead of 15 plants of sukuma wiki per square metre, the “Farm in a Sack” method can enable families to grow up to 60.
Farm in a Sack, which has been introduced to Mathare over the years by various NGOs, has produced differing results depending on the methodology used. The most successful project so far appears to be the most recent, a project completed in 2010 by the Italian NGO COOPI.
Claudio Torres, an architect who works with COOPI in Mathare, tells us that “different organisations have tried this technique and failed.” According to Torres, the problem stems from unrealistic expectations: the “projects didn’t work out because they just gave people sacks and seedlings and expected them to go and get the earth themselves.”
“The shacks that people live in were simply too small for this to work,” adds Torres, who spearheaded COOPI’s Mathare urban agriculture initiative. “Also, the soil that was used was depleted Mathare soil,” which was not rich enough to make the plants grow abundantly.
Taking a more hands-on approach, COOPI took great pains to provide all the necessary materials to get the project underway, including a rich soil sourced in a nearby forest. The full sacks came to about $10 each, a cost that was covered by the NGO and its donors. The sacks were placed together in plots of land that were protected by a fence and irrigated by a water tank. This communal aspect of the initiative was, in Torres’ view, one of the major factors that guaranteed its success.
The project officially ended after six months, but has been continuing informally ever since. A quick trip down to an assigned plot by the Mathare River reveals how many of the bags that COOPI provided are still there, proof that people continued using the method even after the logistical support had ended.
According to Torres, sack farms could eventually provide a sustainable solution for the community. He feels, however, that there is still much room for improvement, emphasizing that in order for this method to be sustainable, there are several steps that must be taken. These would include creating a local nursery for seedlings and installing a water treatment plant, so users can access the Mathare River and benefit from year-round irrigation. It would also be necessary to create a compost system using manure and other organic waste collected from around the area, Torres adds.
In Tahrir, people have become familiar with how protests happen. Two years after the 2011 revolution and numerous protests later, there is a general feeling that this is going to be a fight, and June 30 is just day one. The stands for food, tea, water, soda, and chips were already in place all around the square and business was good. The festivities, dancing, and chanting, were located more on the side streets and entrances to Tahrir rather than in the square itself. What makes these protests different from those of two years ago, however, is that the people have decided from the start that they will settle for nothing except Morsi’s resignation and the removal of the Muslim Brotherhood from power. The strength of the Egyptian people is as evident as ever as young, old, poor, rich, men and women stand together in the square.
Another interesting point about Sunday’s protests was that there was a huge support for the police and the army. On the way to Tahrir from Zamalek, before crossing the Kasr el Nile bridge, policemen had climbed on top of their police trucks and were singing and dancing, and protestors had even given them flags to wave while chanting “El shorta wel sha3b f 2ed wahda” (the police and the people are in one hand). This same chant was repeated in the square for the army: helicopters continued to circle over Tahrir every ten minutes and occasionally drop flags over the crowd. At night, everyone with a laser pointer would point it up and the helicopter was lit by little green dots that would follow it on its path over the square. In those moments, everyone in Tahrir would stop what they were doing, look up, and cheer. It is hard to describe such a feeling of solidarity.
We parked in Zamalek again to walk across Kasr el Nile into Tahrir. Again, there were police and army trucks parked nearby, and those on duty were smiling and interacting with people on the streets. Volunteers in neon vests organized the traffic on the bridge, and a wall of motorcycles blocked cars from passing. The volunteers stood on top of their motorcycles to direct people crossing the bridge to leave the other for car traffic.
In Tahrir, protesters had created seating areas near the entrance using plastic chairs, which protesters could rent for 5 EGP. There was a much more celebratory and festive vibe in the square compared to Sunday. At sunset, protesters set off fireworks above the square, and everyone was waving the Egyptian flag. Everyone had hope that the end of the Muslim Brotherhood had come.
Urban Indian women, like all Mumbaikers, are flooded with images — on television, radio, and billboards — that flash ideas for new ways of being, acting, and doing. These influencers open up ideas and avenues not necessarily discussed or advertised in villages. Urban women, even in slums, have access to doctors and clinics and information about their health that they otherwise may not have been exposed to outside of the city. Despite this, many pregnant women in slums still opt for home deliveries rather than deliveries conducted by skilled attendants. Initiatives working on maternal and neonatal care have been tracing the roots of why some women take advantage of better services while others continue to take the risk of giving birth at home with almost no follow-up care for the infant.
Sebagai contoh adalah para pendatang di Jakarta yang berasal dari berbagai wilayah di Indonesia. Jumlah pendatang kian banyak terutama saat setelah lebaran. Menurut Dinas Kependudukan dan Catatan Sipil DKI Jakarta, pada tahun 2013 jumlahnya mencapai 54.757 yang berarti mengalami kenaikan sebesar 12,6% di banding tahun lalu. Banyak dari mereka memutuskan menetap setelah melihat keberhasilan saudara atau teman mereka. Salah satunya seperti yang dilakukan oleh Bapak Surya yang berasal dari tegal.
According to a 2012 article on rural-urban ties in Nairobi, 80 percent of rural migrants maintain contact with their rural homes. Young men and women set off from the homestead, often leaving children behind as they struggle to establish themselves and maintain a flow of small-scale remittances to their families.
In certain communities, a far higher emphasis is put on investing in land or bricks and mortar. While livestock is useful and can be bought and sold, land can be used as collateral for loans and, if properly managed, can mean the money invested back home can be multiplied.
Hortelões Urbanos é uma iniciativa recente que procura expandir a agricultura urbana em São Paulo. Esta oferece uma plataforma de troca de experiências em agricultura urbana, produção local de alimentos, reciclagem e estilos urbanos saudáveis que atualmente tem mais de 5 mil seguidores no Facebook. Embora a iniciativa seja bem recente, em menos de um ano, tem conseguido desenvolver hortas comunitárias em espaços públicos da cidade e promovendo a colaboração entre vizinhos pelo trabalho conjunto de comunidades mais sustentáveis. Sendo que as hortas comunitárias estão localizadas em espaços públicos, a iniciativa tem sido muito cuidadosa para conseguir delimitar os espaços das hortas e garantir que elas respeitam as normas dos espaços públicos e asseguram a passagem de pessoas, suas mascotas e bicicletas.
A segunda iniciativa é o Festival Cultivar, um evento anual criado para gerar conhecimento sobre praticas sustentáveis e conservação dos recursos naturais da cidade de São Paulo, tais como suas fontes de agua e árvores que são compartilhadas com a área metropolitana e o entorno rural. O evento foi estabelecido em 2010 e a partir de sua criação tem lugar num parque público no mês de setembro, justo para coincidir com o dia da árvore (Setembro 21) e o Dia Mundial Sem Carro (Setembro 22), para reforçar as prioridades alinhadas com a sustentabilidade da cidade.
La llegada a las zonas urbanas trae consigo necesariamente un impacto en los emigrantes, que deben adaptarse al nuevo entorno. Sin embargo, es importante destacar que los recién llegados también ejercen una influencia significativa en las ciudades en las que se establecen. En paralelo a las complejas consecuencias económicas y sociales del movimiento migratorio, éste también tiene un significativo impacto cultural. Las estrechas relaciones de solidaridad que forman entre los emigrantes son, precisamente, un claro ejemplo de este tipo de impactos. Constituyen un ámbito en el que perviven costumbres y tradiciones culturales, que facilitan la supervivencia y el arraigo en circunstancias a menudo muy adversas. En ocasiones, estas costumbres de origen rural pasan a formar parte del patrimonio común de las ciudades, que acaban por aceptarlas como propias. Este es el caso de las mingas en Cali.
I managed to drive across Kasr el Nile bridge at 8:30am to find people already on the streets, cleaning up after four days of protests. I passed the Constitutional Court, where police forces had secured the area so that Judge Adly Mansour, the new interim President, could take his oath. What became publicized rather quickly was the coincidence that Judge Mansour was appointed the Head of the Constitutional Court on June 30, after his predecessor’s term had ended. While some suspect that this might be foul play, he has served on the Constitutional Court since 1992 and has held the position of Vice-President until appointed as the leader by former President Mohamed Morsi. Read more.
The entire country waited in apprehension for the 48-hour ultimatum to end. Local media had placed a countdown timer on the screen while showing the live feed of Tahrir, Itahedaya, and other major squares around the country. Large numbers of protesters started taking the streets around 3:30pm, waiting for the 4:30pm mark. With the Muslim Brotherhood supporters occupying the square at Cairo University, I stayed in the suburb of Maadi rather than go to Tahrir, especially considering the rumors that they had stopped traffic on all major bridges. Read more.
In the early afternoon, the army released the aerial footage that they captured above Itahadeya and Tahrir on June 30. This was a political move used to show the huge amount of people that had came out against Morsi, and to show that the army is dedicated to following the will of the people. Read more.
We woke up the next morning to find that those in Moqattam had stormed the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters to find rooms filled with Molotov cocktails and other types of weapons. Six were killed in the struggle. Read more.
In response, leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood called upon all the President’s supporters to take to the streets during a press conference taking place at 8:00pm. They claim to legitimately have the will of the people, as the President was elected through free and fair elections. Moreover, they refused to acknowledge the current protests as a revolution, because for them, the true revolution occurred in 2011. The Brotherhood continues to call all of those that are protesting in opposition as “feloul”, or supporters of the Mubarak regime. This shows that the Muslim Brotherhood isn’t going to step down from power without putting up a fight.
Los fuertes movimientos migratorios del campo a la ciudad que han tenido lugar en toda Latinoamérica se han visto acentuados en Colombia por la emigración forzosa que han generado los conflictos armados. En Cali, la población pasó de unos 280.000 habitantes en 1950 a unos 2.300.000 en 2013, según datos del DANE. La mayor parte de los considerables flujos migratorios que reflejan estos datos tienen un origen rural. Los sentimientos y tradiciones comunitarias que unían a estos emigrantes en sus lugares de procedencia se difuminan considerablemente a su llegada a las grandes ciudades, pero no desaparecen del todo: se ven sustituidos por lazos de solidaridad por parte de personas, generalmente de su entorno familiar, que habiendo llegado con anterioridad tienen un mayor arraigo. Estas relaciones de solidaridad se extienden especialmente en el ámbito de la búsqueda de vivienda y de trabajo. Leer más o discutir.
Without the ongoing support of their rural families, migrants in Nairobi slums would have little chance of making it. Family networks provide a crucial backbone on which migrants can rely on in order to be able to survive in the city and save money for their future. Grandparents and extended family contribute in the upbringing of children while parents seek urban work. The older generations act as custodians of wealth, overseeing how remittances are invested and providing informal insurance/retirement schemes to safeguard their descendants’ future. Read more or join the discussion.
São Paulo, the biggest city in Brazil, has 11 million residents and is the epicenter of the third largest metropolitan area in the globe. It is fully urbanized and presents few connections with close by rural areas, with the exception of two fundamental aspects: (i) food supply; and (ii) shared natural resources. The following two initiatives contribute to São Paulo’s sustainable development through the expansion of urban agriculture and the conservation of natural resources, bringing greater balance between the megacity and nearby rural areas. Read more or join the discussion.
Migrasi masyarakat pedesaan ke daerah perkotaan merupakan fenomena umum. Dengan alasan keterdesakan ekonomi mereka hijrah ke kota demi perbaikan kesejahteraan keluarga. Umumnya mereka datang karena telah memiliki saudara atau teman yang sudah lebih dahulu tinggal di kota. Kerap para pendatang mengalami kebingungan karena harus menyesuaikan diri di wilayah baru perkotaan. Keruwetan kota dan sistem nilai yang berbeda membuat mereka tidak nyaman dengan kehidupan kota. Di tempat yang baru mereka juga dibenturkan dengan kendala ekonomi dan kesulitan mencari pekerjaan seperti yang mereka harapkan. Bantuan kelompok pendatang yang sudah mandiri di kota yang berasal dari daerah yang sama kerap menjadi solusi atas permasalahan bagi mereka yang baru sampai di kota. Ikatan persaudaraan dan bantuan ekonomi yang ditawarkan oleh kelompok ini membantu para pendatang untuk menyesuaikan diri secara budaya dan ekonomi dengan kehidupan dan tantangan di kota. Baca lebih lanjut atau bergabung dalam diskusi.
Many rural traditions and customs carry over into urban life for India’s migrant communities. Local festivals, artisanal expertise, and languages turn Mumbai’s slums into vibrantly diverse amalgamations of India’s villages. The city also offers greater freedom from the strict caste structures of rural areas, and the role and freedoms of women in Mumbai’s slums often change as well. In fact, the autonomy that women gain as they move from rural to urban India provides insights into their healthcare choices, especially when it comes to reproductive care. Read more or join the discussion.
“Welcome to Lagos” was a 2010 BBC documentary that introduced Vocal Slender to the world. Vocal – real name Eric Obuh – was a rapper by night, and a scavenger, at the Olusosun rubbish dump, by day. Read more.
There has likely been no greater generational divider than the advent of technology. Across the world, youth populations have access to technology — smarter, sharper, and more affordable — that was not available to previous generations. Youth in places like India, for example, can access a vast new world with mobile technology — and a vast new world can access them. The result is that more poverty-alleviation initiatives have focused on catering to youth with innovative uses of technology, particularly focused around education and training initiatives. Learn more.
Public space in Mumbai is a rarity. In fact, a recent report by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Environment Improvement Society found that just six percent of the city’s land is reserved for open spaces. Within that meager amount, some 60 percent is neither developed nor accessible. The few green parks that do exist are unknown to most residents or have been encroached upon or abandoned by the city. As Neera Punj of CitiSpace said in a New York Times article on the lack of open space in Mumbai, “The biggest challenges to open spaces in the city are misuse, abuse, and neglect.” Learn more.
In a distant northeastern corner of the city, Mumbai discards its waste — refuse, animals, and unwanted people. M-Ward is home to the city’s dump yard, slaughterhouse, and some of the worst squalor in a city of dire extremes. There is one toilet for every 87 people, children attend school at the lowest levels in Mumbai, medical care is nearly non-existent, and 85 percent of its 800,000 residents live in slums. In short, “M-Ward is an extreme example of skewed development in the city.” Learn more.
India’s urban poor newborns have some of the lowest survival rates in the world. There are more than 52,000 babies born to urban poor families every week in India, and that number is expected to double by the end of this decade. Each year, nearly 1.2 million newborns in India die within their first four weeks. The shockingly high number amounts to a quarter of all neonatal deaths worldwide. These newborns face grave risks to survival given the complex circumstances into which they are born. Poor nutrition, inadequate housing, and unsafe water are among the myriad issues that reduce life expectancy and make healthcare solutions more than just medical interventions. Learn more.
Climate change is no longer lurking in some remote or hypothetical future. Cities across the developing world now face the realities of extreme weather caused by global warming, as flooding, heat waves, and severe storms wreak havoc on ill-prepared urban centers. Coastal cities like Mumbai are at such risk, scientists warn, that parts of the city could become completely uninhabitable due to flooding and rising seas. Mumbai was brought to a standstill in 2005, when in just 24 hours nearly three feet of rain fell on the city, leaving more than 1,000 dead — mostly in slum settlements — and 14,000 homes destroyed. Rising temperatures could make such nightmare scenes a more regular — and even more disastrous — occurrence. Learn more.
Stories of community life in Dharavi are often told through the shocking statistics — from life expectancy to labor hazards — that form the backbone of arguments to tear down Mumbai’s “eyesore” and replace it with shining towers of pride. Redevelopment plans rarely try to fathom the social fabric woven among the house-of-cards shanties stacked tightly in this tiny space. Recently, though, more creative platforms have emerged to tell the stories of Mumbai’s best-known slum. There, art provides a powerful means to educate the local community and a creative way to bring the private struggles of the poor to a very visible place. Read and discuss.
Mumbai is a city filled with complexity — economically, socially, religiously, and politically. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Dharavi, the city’s largest informal settlement and one of the world’s most famous. The one-kilometer-squared area houses 600,000 residents who come from all over the country, speaking dozens of different languages and practicing a variety of traditional customs from their home regions. While the diversity of the area is evident, most of the half-million residents have been united on one particular issue: the tenuous future of their community. Read and discuss.
Fourteen tangled lanes in Mumbai’s Kamathipura area house the city’s oldest, and Asia’s largest, prostitution district. An estimated 100,000 female sex workers live in deplorable conditions, with little hope of escape. The back-room brothels expose many of the social ills of Mumbai’s underbelly: human trafficking, prostitution, poverty, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Though each woman has her own story, nearly all share backgrounds of extreme poverty, coming from some of the most deprived areas of India and neighboring countries like Bangladesh and Nepal. Read and discuss.
High maternal and infant mortality rates continue to burden the developing world. Despite calls by international organizations for an increased focus on maternal health, more than 500,000 women in developing nations die during pregnancy or childbirth each year. But a new three-year initiative, Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA), is showing mobile phones’ potential to improve the state of women in India — giving expectant and new mothers access to vital, often life-saving information. Read and discuss.
In Mumbai, the ragpickers’ daily collections most likely end up in the city’s largest — though officially unrecognized — recycling center: Dharavi’s 13th compound. In this small area of Mumbai’s sprawling slum, 15,000 single-room factories recycle an estimated 80 percent of Mumbai’s plastic waste. Could it be that these shanty room enterprises — whose supply chain is maintained by one of India’s poorest and most marginalized groups — are actually leading the city’s green movement? Read and discuss.