Food In/Securities and Mutual Interdependencies in a Kenyan ‘Slum’: A Study of the Social Impacts of an Urban Farming Programme

Drawing upon fieldwork undertaken in a ‘slum’ in Nairobi, this chapter explores how experiences of food in/securities contribute to mutual interdependencies. The longitudinal research commenced in March 2020, immediately prior to Covid being identified in Kenya, and ended after restrictions had been lifted in January 2023. Key findings include how urban farming helped reduce food insecurities within the wider community. The youth group responsible for this innovative food chain became integral in new forms of mutual interdependencies that incorporated other marginalised peoples. These different relationships resulted in the youths’ status shifting from criminal ‘outsiders’ to the ‘established’ and the wider community’s views of the residential area changed from a stigmatised place to fear and avoid to one of the safest, most desirable parts of the ‘slum’.