Cooking up a storm: Community-led mapping and advocacy with food vendors in Nairobi’s informal settlements, June 2015. IIED.
Authors: Sohel Ahmed, Edwin Simiyu, Grace Githiri, Alice Sverdlik, Shadrack Mbaka
Food security is rarely prioritised in African cities, and food vendors are similarly ignored or stigmatised, despite providing a range of affordable, accessible meals. Furthermore, past research and urban policies usually overlook food hawkers selling inside informal settlements. Based on participatory research in Nairobi, this pap
Balloon-mapping and other novel mapping techniques were combined with focus group discussions to explore vendors’ practices, challenges, and opportunities for promoting food safety. Our detailed maps, vivid narratives, and community-led strategies may cook up a storm that can create safer foods and more secure livelihoods, with benefits extending across African informal settlements.
