[et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”on” specialty=”off”][et_pb_fullwidth_image admin_label=”Fullwidth Image” src=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/taking-root\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Edmonton-Mugita-tending-to-his-box-garden-in-Kibera.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”fade_in” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [\/et_pb_fullwidth_image][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title admin_label=”Post Title” title=”on” meta=”on” author=”off” date=”off” categories=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” featured_placement=”below” parallax_effect=”on” parallax_method=”on” text_orientation=”center” text_color=”dark” text_background=”off” text_bg_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.9)” module_bg_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0)” title_all_caps=”off” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_font_size=”16″]<\/p>\n
Youth living in Africa\u2019s largest informal settlement have traded in their guns for a different kind of weapon. Urban farms are transforming ex-armed robbers into green revolutionaries.<\/p>\n
Edmonton Mugita, 30, was born and raised in Kibera, located just southwest of Nairobi\u2019s city centre. Edmonton started his urban farm in Kibera three years ago after spending a year and a half in jail for robbery.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/taking-root\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Edmonton-Mugita-having-a-smoke-break-after-a-hard-days-work-at-Junction.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”fade_in” sticky=”on” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_font_size=”12″ text_font=”|on|||”]<\/p>\n
Edmonton smokes on a break from farming at the Junction.\u00a0[Photo \u00a9 Evelyn Harford]<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_font_size=”16″]<\/p>\n As a reformed, self-professed gangbanger, Edmonton has influenced other former gang members to join his small green revolution.<\/p>\n \u201cWe turned our guns into gardens and our fish into bullets,\u201d says Edmonton.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_code admin_label=”Code fish swimming”]<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uPAk9LiSRBc?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen><\/iframe>[\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_font_size=”16″]<\/p>\n Edmonton now tends to his kale, fish and poultry that grow among the grime and dust blanketing Kibera. Edmonton and his crew of 12 have transformed from gangsters to gardeners. They call their urban farm The Junction Self-Help Group.<\/em><\/p>\n The Junction, like other farms in Kibera is \u201cgender balanced\u201d, meaning they have both men and women represented in their organization. The farm has also been invested in by Nairobi Province\u2019s Ministry of Agriculture to stimulate employment among both male and female youth.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/taking-root\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Working-together-at-the-Junction.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”fade_in” sticky=”on” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”center” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_font_size=”12″ text_font=”|on|||”]<\/p>\n Junction members harvesting herbs.\u00a0[Photo \u00a9 Evelyn Harford]<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_font_size=”16″]<\/p>\n Unemployment in Kibera is extremely high and disproportionately affects youths. Many families don\u2019t have enough money to support their children\u2014including Edmonton\u2019s parents.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard here. You grow up with six siblings. Because you\u2019re big, your father sends you out of the house and you live between homes, clubs and the streets,\u201d he says. Edmonton did brief stints as a hard labourer but life on the streets soon turned into a life of crime.<\/p>\n The men from The Junction chatted for hours about their life and past. Slowly as their hard exteriors began to melt away, they told me about their criminal past. All of the five men surrounding me, including Edmonton, say they had been in a gang together.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s because of hardship. There was no food, no money, no clothes. So, I had to look for money,\u201d says Edmonton.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are victims of circumstance,\u201d says Jamil Ochieng another member of the group. Edmonton and his friend Jamil were leaders in the gang before teaming up to garden. Their crew was involved in armed robberies of Kibera\u2019s neighboring gated communities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/taking-root\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Jamil-Ochieng-reflecting-on-the-newly-cleaned-fish-tanks.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”fade_in” sticky=”on” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”center” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_font_size=”12″ text_font=”|on|||”]<\/p>\n Jamil working at the Junction fish tanks.\u00a0[Photo \u00a9 Evelyn Harford]<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_font_size=”16″]<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t have a name, but it was just a gang. We don\u2019t have an exact number but we had like 100 guys under us,\u201d says Edmonton. He explained that his crew would storm a home and take whatever they could; electronics and jewelry were the ideal grabs.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was every man for himself and God for us all,\u201d says Edmonton.<\/p>\n Violence and theft is normalized for young boys within Kibera. It is often the only option to afford a meal at the end of the day. Now, having discovered the benefits of, and a knack for urban farming, Edmonton feels remorse for the past.<\/p>\n \u201cStealing from old people was bad,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd sometimes, beating somebody around when you\u2019re drunk, that was bad.\u201d Now, a father to a six-year-old son, Edmonton\u2019s priorities are different. He wants to set a good example for his child and his community.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are reformed now,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Although reformed, Edmonton is still respected but in many ways is still feared by the community. This gives him influence and power to change more young men whose shoes he was in only a decade ago.<\/p>\n The glimmer of a lost young man still appears in Edmonton\u2019s eyes, even years after reforming his life.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen most of our friends were killed or taken to jail, we says we need to be an example,\u201d he says. Edmonton spent a year and a half in jail himself when he was 18 years old.<\/p>\n \u201cI stole from someone who knew me and he traced me to the police,\u201d he explained. \u201cOnce I got out I knew I needed to stay busy.\u201d<\/p>\n So, he started a farm.<\/p>\n \u201cWe sat down and found a piece of land from the county representative. So we cleared the place, cleaned the bushes and devised that we should do something better. We came from a background of agricultural people and decided that\u2019s what we should do,\u201d says Edmonton.<\/p>\n They first started with sack gardens and quickly expanded into rearing chickens, rabbits and most recently fish. The Junction provides fresh and affordable vegetables and meat to the surrounding community.<\/p>\n Edmonton explains proudly that the farm now clears about $1,000 per month from sales of poultry, fish and fresh vegetables. Each group member is able to take home around $100 dollars each month.<\/p>\n Urban farming is a trend capturing the imaginations of some youth.<\/p>\n Lucy Mbrgua, an agricultural ward officer with Kenay\u2019s Ministry of Agriculture often visits The Junction providing guidance and support for to Edmonton and his crew.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is my wish they can embrace agriculture. I want them to get income. I want them to succeed,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Their compound has over two-dozen sacs, two box planters over a dozen chickens and rabbits and nearly 600 fish.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ padding_mobile=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_gallery admin_label=”Gallery of The Junction Urban Farm” fullwidth=”on” show_title_and_caption=”off” show_pagination=”off” background_layout=”dark” auto=”on” hover_overlay_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.9)” caption_all_caps=”off” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” gallery_ids=”424,428,432,425,430,429,426,433,434,431,427,237″ auto_speed=”5000″] [\/et_pb_gallery][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”center” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n The Junction is a community-based organization run by ex-gang members. The raise chickens, rabbits, ducks, mud fish and grow kale, lettuce and herbs.<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_font_size=”16″]<\/p>\n Increasing interest is stirring around their project by the community and government members of parliament and county assembly. The newly built fish tanks containing mudfish were funded by Nairobi City County.<\/p>\n For this group, the donations of the fish and the tanks have made a big improvement. \u00a0Fish farms are the most profitable and rarest type of urban agriculture venture in Kibera.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”http:\/\/cusjc.ca\/taking-root\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Edmonton-Mugita-hanging-out-by-his-new-fish-tanks.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”fade_in” sticky=”on” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_font_size=”12″ text_font=”|on|||”]<\/p>\n Edmonton hangs out at the fish tanks after the interview.\u00a0[Photo \u00a9 Evelyn Harford]<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_font_size=”16″]<\/p>\n \u201cThe NGO\u2019s don\u2019t support us so we have to do something. We need to make the money. That is why we put on our gum boots, go to the farm and get dirty,\u201d says Edmonton.<\/p>\n Youth like Edmonton will continue to sow the seeds of change by providing a reliable food supply for Nairobi\u2019s poorest residents and an example for future generations.<\/p>\n This project was made possible by an investment from the Nairobi county government before the urban agriculture reforms were passed last summer. The government\u2019s shift to actively support projects like The Junction was seen by some as a sign there could be more funding for the women I encountered as well.<\/p>\n The Junction is considered to be gender balanced but when I visited it was far from the picture of gender equality. There was only one woman that I saw in my two weeks visiting this farm; her name was Faith Mwekali. She was not included in the afternoon gatherings with the men and spent her days working on the side of the road to repair shoes and tending to customers when they came.<\/p>\n Faith, a 24-year-old mother of a young daughter. She had chickens of her own at home. I planned to interview her, but before I visited, they died. She also reported that while the men were making money, she didn\u2019t receive what they claimed each member got.<\/p>\n Her duties at the farm fit into the typical gender roles. As a side project from farming, The Junction built community toilets on their land. Sanitation is a huge problem in Kibera. Faith was responsible for cleaning up the toilets and indeed most of the men\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”center” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_code admin_label=”Code Faith interview”]<iframe width=”1280″ height=”720″ src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/62xoY97ag1s?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen><\/iframe>[\/et_pb_code][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_font_size=”16″]<\/p>\n Ironically, but not surprisingly, the male-run, \u201cgender-balanced\u201d group had the most government attention I had seen on any urban agriculture plot. They had visits by Kenya\u2019s Minister of the Environment, Water and Natural Resources and multiple visits from the city\u2019s agricultural ward officers.<\/p>\n When I asked the men why Faith was always cleaning the toilets or off on her own working, they simply say that they all work together.<\/p>\n Diana Lee-Smith, an expert on gender and urban agriculture, says that it\u2019s common for the division of labour to be set up the way I observed at The Junction.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s difficult to change gender perceptions,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Traditional gender roles are still prevalent despite government action to enshrine gender equality within their constitution and, while it\u2019s easy to change laws, says Lee-Smith, it\u2019s more difficult to change behaviour.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”on” specialty=”off”][et_pb_fullwidth_portfolio admin_label=”Fullwidth Portfolio” fullwidth=”on” show_title=”on” show_date=”off” background_layout=”light” auto=”off” hover_overlay_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.9)” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” include_categories=”9″] [\/et_pb_fullwidth_portfolio][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Youth living in Africa\u2019s largest informal settlement have traded in their guns for a different kind of weapon. Urban farms are transforming ex-armed robbers into green revolutionaries. Edmonton Mugita, 30, was born and raised in Kibera, located just southwest of Nairobi\u2019s city centre. Edmonton started his urban farm in Kibera three years ago after spending […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"project_category":[10],"project_tag":[],"class_list":["post-235","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","project_category-the-women"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/taking-root\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project\/235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/taking-root\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/taking-root\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/project"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/taking-root\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/taking-root\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/taking-root\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project\/235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":540,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/taking-root\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project\/235\/revisions\/540"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/taking-root\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/taking-root\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"project_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/taking-root\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project_category?post=235"},{"taxonomy":"project_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/taking-root\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project_tag?post=235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Listen to how Faith’s gender impacts her income and roles at the Junction.<\/h2>\n
Click on the section “Why women?” to find out how gender intersects with agriculture and poverty.<\/h2>\n