Region: East Africa
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Bio-slurry transforming the coffee sector
Philip Mutahi Ngunjiri is a commercial coffee and dairy farmer in Nyeri County. He learned about biogas through the Kenya Biogas Program’s (KBP) Biogas Extension Service Providers based in the region and immediately got interested in installing one. “It cost me a total of Ksh 66,000 (equivalent to 571 USD) to install this 6-cubic-meter digester…
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With biogas, I can focus on other money-making activities
Grace Nyambura Gachuki, a dairy farmer in Kiambu County, used to refill the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tank every three weeks. This was in addition to using charcoal and firewood to take care of all the household’s fuel needs. She had seen biogas digesters on TV, but got a better idea when her neighbour installed…
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Biogas alleviates health problems
Mirriam Wachuka lives in Bahati, Nakuru County with her husband and grandchild. She owns two dairy cows that enabled her to install a 6-cubic-meter biogas digester in May 2016. She had seen one on TV, but thought it was an expensive affair. Then one day at the community centre, her friends told her more about…
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Bio-slurry increases farm productivity
Alfred Karanja of Kiambu County prides himself in being a biogas digester owner because of its many benefits. He purposely installed a bio-digester to take advantage of the organic manure (“bio-slurry”) that is produced as a by-product, as well as gas for cooking and heating. His family no longer has to fetch firewood, and the…
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Food systems solution platform launched in Buikwe, Uganda
Buikwe District is located in the central part of Uganda. With approximately 98,000 households engaged directly or indirectly in small-scale farming, agriculture is the district’s main economic activity. Buikwe residents face myriad challenges every day, among which malnutrition, a wide income gap between producers and co-producers in rural and urban centres, inadequate extension services, poor…
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A reflection of morality with regards to Sexuality Education in Kenya
The recent survey on Kenya’s teens demanding condoms has led me to reflect on societal failures. Let us for one minute shelve the blame game and focus on the adolescent girl and boy, in school and out of school, who is clearly inadequately reached and served with quality sexual reproductive health services, commodities and information.…
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Reporting on renewable energy in Kenya is far from adequate
Kenya has approximately 139 radio stations, 60 publications – four of which are daily newspapers – and about 2 million online news consumers. Despite having a vibrant media, coverage of issues such as renewable energy and development work in general remains low as politics and entertainment are allocated much of the space. It is in…
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Ketebul Music: Kenya has an identity to offer in the music scene
Morning musings with Ketebul Music Hivos East Africa is predominantly known in the region as being amongst the pioneering organisations that have supported the arts and film scene for close to 10 years. This support to the creative economy sector is part of our freedom of expression portfolio that seeks to bolster co-working spaces where…
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Uganda Biogas Programme registered by Gold Standard
On April 20, the Uganda Biogas Programme (UBP) received an official registration under Gold Standard. The registration is an important milestone for the programme that, since its founding in 2014, has constructed more than 6,000 household biodigesters in the country. Each biodigester reduces emissions of CO2. Through a rigorous certification processes to verify emission reductions…
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To achieve energy access in Kenya, electrification must go hand-in-hand with other energy interventions
Over the past two years, the government of Kenya has set out on an ambitious plan with regards to electrification of both households and public institutions through grid extension, resulting in astronomical jumps in connectivity of both schools and households. As of June 2016, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum (MoEP) reported that 95 per…
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Call for Proposals: Community Media Fund
Call for Concept Notes for the Community Media Fund in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa The role of media and journalism is not confined to news organisations, broadcasting companies or governments—within Africa, a large and growing community media sector is linked to enterprises, civil society, educational institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that focus on issues…
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Pro-active disclosure can help curb flawed procurement processes in Kenya
In the past couple of weeks, news about fraudulent tendering processes have been making headlines. The scourge of flawed procurement processes has unfortunately denied many Kenyans crucial services such as health, education, water and infrastructure amongst others. While discussions in public discourses lightly delve on proper mechanisms to fight corruption; billions of tax payers’ money…