Who we worked with
We partnered with Shamba Connect, a local nursery that provided seedlings and an educational talk.
Our group also managed to locate an institution that aids students with education in Mathare, a local informal settlement in Nairobi, which suffered from malnutrition due to a lack of a balanced diet — above all, a lack of greens.
Types of seedlings we collected
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Kale (sukuma wiki)
Shallow roots, harvest leaf by leaf for months, and one of the cheapest sources of iron and vitamin A we can grow.
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Spring onions
Ready fast, regrows from the base, and adds flavour to food that would otherwise be plain. Quick wins keep people interested.
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Strawberries
Partly grown to keep the younger children interested. It worked — they check the strawberry bottles first every morning.
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Spinach
Grows quickly from seeds in cool conditions and needs moist, well-drained soil. Its leaves can be harvested while the plant continues growing.
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Lettuce
Grows best in cool weather from seeds and needs regular watering. The leaves form a loose or compact head depending on the variety.
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Blueberries
Grow on long-lasting bushes and need acidic, well-drained soil. They take longer to establish before producing many berries.
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Chilies
Grow on small, warm-weather plants from seeds. They need plenty of sunlight and eventually produce flowers that develop into chilies.
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Mulberries
Grow on trees and produce berries after flowering. They need sunlight and can take a few years to become well established.