On the outskirts of Kenya’s sprawling capital city of Nairobi, Nyambura Simiyu, a 35-year-old scientist, runs a farm in the back yard of her townhouse. She lives in a gated community – an unlikely place for farming – but keeps up to 200 animals at a time and grows enough vegetables for her family of four.
Simiyu is one of a rising number of Kenyans growing their own food in the city. Elzie Chebet, who runs Organic Kitchen Gardens Kenya, says urban farming saw a dramatic increase after food supply chains were disrupted during the Covid pandemic. With limited space, some city-dwellers began growing produce in their kitchens and on balconies.
