TakaTaka - Waste management creating jobs for young people in Nairobi slums
Functioning waste management is one of the leading challenges facing rapidly growing cities in developing countries like Kenya. Inadequate planning and a lack of financial resources for public entities mean that only about one third of the waste generated in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi is managed in a way that more or less protects the environment and public health.
Most residents burn their trash or dump it illegally in the city and often suffer health consequences. Yet more than 90 percent of waste could be recycled or composted as recyclable materials in an environmentally friendly manner that also brought in income. Siemens Stiftung is currently working together with an African partner TakaTaka Solutions (taka taka is the Swahili phrase for trash) and the German group AT Association for the Promotion of Socially and Environmentally Appropriate Technology to implement a socio-economic solution in the Kangemi slum.
A youth group collects organic waste at a street market in Kangemi slum, Nairobi; Photo:© Siemens Stiftung
Waste is a complex issue. That’s why different project goals are being pursued at the same time. First, an affordable waste management system is being established locally that ensures sustainable resource conservation by recovering up to 80 per cent of the waste. As a result, the living conditions within these communities improve significantly in terms of pollution and health. At the same time, young slum-dwellers without employment and prospects receive permanent jobs and the necessary training.
The business approach involves groups of local young people working to collect waste for a small fee, sort it and sell recyclable materials, as well as turn organic waste into valuable compost for farmers. Particular attention is paid to the quality of the natural fertilizer, which is produced in its own plant and is one of the social enterprise's main sources of income. In the pilot phase, more than twenty young people without work and vocational training are already gaining an opportunity to earn their own living.
In an own composting facility the organic waste gets professionally processed into useful organic fertilizer within three mont; Photo: © Siemens Stiftung
The collaboration with Siemens Stiftung primarily entails developing and using targeted training for actively involved young people, coupled with urgently needed actions to raise awareness among the population. In addition, the partnership is developing, testing, and installing waste collection containers that are adapted to the social and cultural context and allow people to sort waste at the source.
Within the partnership, the AT Association is providing TakaTaka Solutions with valuable knowledge and experience with managing waste in Germany and Europe, and also ensuring that all measures are tailored to the local business, social, and cultural environment.
Project partners:
TakaTaka Solutions Ltd., Nairobi
AT Association for the Promotion Socially and Environmentally Appropriate Technology
