In the heart of Kibera, one of Africa’s largest informal settlements, a group of innovative women is leading a green revolution, turning the neighborhood’s mounting organic waste into valuable fertilizer and clean-burning cooking fuel. Faced with the dual challenges of waste management and the high cost of energy, the women’s collective, supported by UN Women and local NGOs, has established a community-based waste processing center. They collect food scraps from local markets and households—diverting tons of waste from clogged ditches and unsanitary dumps—and feed them into large, solar-heated biodigesters and composting systems, creating a circular economy that benefits both the environment and their families.
The process yields two crucial products. The first is rich, organic compost, which is packaged and sold to urban farmers and nurseries, providing a sustainable alternative to chemical fertilizers and improving food security in the city. The second, and perhaps most transformative, output is biogas. As the organic matter decomposes in the airtight digesters, it releases methane, which is captured and piped directly to a communal kitchen. This provides the women with a free, smoke-free source of fuel for cooking, eliminating the need to purchase expensive and polluting charcoal or firewood. This shift has profound health benefits, significantly reducing respiratory illnesses caused by indoor air pollution, and also saves the women precious time and income, which they can reinvest in their families and small businesses.
The long-term impact of this initiative extends beyond immediate economic and health gains, fostering empowerment and environmental stewardship. The project provides the women with a stable income and positions them as respected green entrepreneurs within their community. Their success is inspiring similar ventures in other informal settlements, demonstrating a scalable model for addressing urban waste and energy poverty simultaneously. By taking control of a perennial problem—waste—these women are not only cleaning their environment but are also building a more resilient, healthy, and economically independent future, proving that the most powerful solutions often grow from the grassroots.