Global Leadership Training Programme in Africa Title of Research Current status and continuous factors of Sack Gardening in Nairobi, Kenya Name

English Summary Currently, urban agriculture has gotten a great attention as an effective prescription to solve serious urban problems such as “food desert” in inner city. Food self-sufficiency by urban agriculture is primary of importance in developing countries, since they consistently suffer from unstable market affected by rapid inflation and riots. This study identified the current status and continuous factors of the vegetable growing activity using hemp sack, called “Sack Gardening”, practiced in inner cities of Nairobi, Kenya. Sack Gardening was spread widely by financial support of NGO, but it has been shrunk rapidly after NGO left. We conducted an interview to two groups: current gardeners (40 people) and former gardeners (17 people), and compared their living standard and individual attributions. The result showed that there is hardly difference in economical level in the two groups, while participation ratio in mutual financing association and educational standard are significantly different. We concluded that continuous factors of Sack Gardening are not always financial one, but it may include self-subsistence of individuals and problem-solving abilities developed by better education.