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Source publication
Based on participatory research in Nairobi, this paper aims to address the invisibility of vendors in informal settlements and to inform more appropriate, inclusive urban food security strategies.
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... thoroughly investigate street foods and to encourage community control of the research, we introduced 'focus group discussions plus' (FGDs+), which combined traditional FGDs with indoor mental mapping exercises (see Figure 1). During the FGD+ sessions, participants located themselves and community facilities on paper and digital maps, indicating where street vendors were concentrated and dispersed in each village. We involved vendors, consumers and livestock keepers for two reasons: first, to gather rich narratives about these actors' relations, food-vending practices and challenges, and people-place linkages; and second, to identify major issues for our subsequent mapping research (discussed below). Mental mapping was also used to select 15 villages for data collection, reflecting where residents had highlighted issues of greatest concern to ...
Context 2
... such practices can expose the animals to risks of theft, road traffic accidents and electrocution as a result of illegal electricity connections. Diseases are also easily spread by roaming livestock, especially poultry and goats, which were observed eating from dumpsites and even from open sewers (see Figures 9 and 10). Food traders in informal settlements are faced with an array of constraints, including poor physical infrastructure, environmental hazards and spatial conflicts. Street vendors must grapple with highly contested public spaces, as they sell from the same areas used for livestock grazing, playgrounds and commuting by large numbers of people. Vendors often compete for spaces along major streets and may pay formal businesses to use their frontages. On the other hand, given the high contestation for private spaces for shelter and food production or storage, there is little room available to keep livestock despite widespread interest in doing so. Many livestock keepers must enclose their animals because of the prevailing insecurity in informal settlements, while others have no choice but to co-habit with livestock due to inadequate space. Limited private space for cooking and the high costs of food or fuel have also made vendors' items more appealing to customers, but such foods are exposed to various hazards on the street. As summarised in Table 2, our community-led mapping, observations and FGDs+ identified several overlapping threats to food safety and vendors' livelihoods, ...
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Citations
... This study took place in Nairobi, Kenya, where there are over 200 informal settlements that are home to over two million people; informal settlements account for over 60 % of Nairobi's population yet only occupy about 5 % of the city's land [2,47]. The study is set within one of the largest clusters of informal settlements in Nairobi, Mukuru (home to over 150,000 families), which is located in Embakasi South and Makadara sub-counties of Nairobi on 650 acres of privately and publicly owned land in an industrial area [37]. ...
... Yet, informal food vendors face challenges. They are concerned with food availability, affordability, price fluctuations, food safety management, and foods near uncollected rubbish (Ahmed, Simiyu, Githiri, Sverdlik, & Mbaka, 2015). Food vendors operate in a volatile environment that is inherently fragile. ...
... Informal settlements and informal employment are linked but not identical: many (but not all) residents of informal settlements work in the informal economy. Where they do overlap, precarious living conditions and precarious working conditions can compound the risks faced by individuals and households (Ahmed et al., 2015;Loewenson, 2021). Indeed, it is the combination of haphazard city planning; profound economic crises; socioeconomic and political exclusions (based on gender, race, class, and other intersectional sources of disadvantage); and escalating climate change that creates the deep-rooted problems facing urban residents in many LMICs (Amorim-Maia et al., 2022;Reckien et al., 2018). ...
The informal economy is crucial for making cities function, and it provides the main means of income for a significant proportion of all workers globally. At the same time, informal workers are extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change, with higher temperatures and more intense weather events causing direct physical harm and contributing to ill-health. This paper analyzes research from three cities in India and Zimbabwe (Indore, Harare, and Masvingo) to describe the vulnerability of informal workers in several sectors. It highlights the ways in which the direct impacts of climate change are compounded by other factors, including low-quality living conditions and the absence of provision for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). Informal workers in the three cities have adopted a range of responses to reduce risk, and there are some recent inclusive engagements with local officials to enhance living and working conditions. However, key interventions such as expanding access to social protection (which has important potential to foster climate resilience) often fail to reach the most vulnerable urban informal workers. We conclude with recommendations and an agenda for more equitable policy and practice that can support multiple benefits for informal workers' health, livelihoods, and climate resilience in urban areas.
... More strikingly, street food vending is almost never presented as a contribution to achieve food security and/ or the right to food. Notwithstanding, a few scholars have pointed to the important function of hawkers as a source of food ( Adhikari, 2011;Babb, 2018;Sohel et al., 2015;Steyn et al., 2013). In Nairobi, Sohel et al. ( 2015) demonstrate how important they are to offering a wide array of affordable meals to low-income households struggling with rising food prices. ...
... Notwithstanding, a few scholars have pointed to the important function of hawkers as a source of food ( Adhikari, 2011;Babb, 2018;Sohel et al., 2015;Steyn et al., 2013). In Nairobi, Sohel et al. ( 2015) demonstrate how important they are to offering a wide array of affordable meals to low-income households struggling with rising food prices. In this sense, vended street food can offer benefits to consumers who may lack time, money, and facilities to cook for themselves. ...
... This study took place in Nairobi, Kenya, where there are over 200 informal settlements that are home to over two million people (Beguy et al., 2015); informal settlements account for over 60% of Nairobi's population yet only occupy about 5% of the city's land (Ahmed et al., 2015;Mberu et al., 2016). The study is set within one of the largest clusters of informal settlements in Nairobi, Mukuru (home to over 150,000 families), which is located in Embakasi South and Makadara sub-counties of Nairobi on 650 acres of privately and publicly owned land in an industrial area (Kim et al., 2019). ...
Introduction
Few studies have examined gendered benefits of transitioning from polluting cooking fuels (e.g. charcoal, kerosene) to cleaner fuels (e.g. liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)). This study investigates pathways between adoption of pay-as-you-go (PAYG) LPG and women’s empowerment in Nairobi, Kenya.
Methods
Female (N=304) and male (N=44) primary cooks in an informal settlement in Nairobi were surveyed from December 2021-January 2022. The majority (84%; N=293) were customers of PayGo Energy, a company offering PAYG LPG. Other individuals (16%; N=55) cooking with full cylinder LPG or polluting fuels were randomly sampled from the community. The 45-minute telephonic survey examined how access to PAYG LPG affected the livelihoods of PayGo Energy’s customers.
Results
PayGo Energy customers were 50% more likely to cook exclusively with LPG (60%) than those using full cylinder LPG (40%). Due to reduced cooking times (average reduction: 42 min/day among previous polluting fuel users) from the adoption of PAYG LPG, the majority (58%; N=70) of female household heads took on additional employment compared with 36% (N=55) of females living in male-headed households. A greater proportion of married female household heads used their monetary savings from cooking with PAYG LPG for investment (41%) or savings (35%), compared with married women that were not household heads (3% and 21%, respectively). Increased dietary diversity and consumption of protein-rich foods (legumes, meat, fish) from cooking with PAYG LPG was reported by 15% of female household heads.
Conclusion
Female household heads were more likely than non-household heads to experience economic and nutritional gains when adopting PAYG LPG, illustrating how the agency of women influences their social co-benefits when undergoing clean energy transitions.
... For instance, in Nigeria, about 60% of consumers engage with IRFV on a daily basis for their food consumption (Leshi and Leshi, 2017). However, the safety, health-related and hygiene practices of IRFV are a concern to the government and policymakers Ahmed et al., 2015). Many urban poor face the challenge of accessing quality and balanced diets as they lack adequate income and housing while inadequate infrastructure complicates their mobility. ...
Understanding the interaction between urban daily lives and patterns of food consumption in the Global South is important for informing health and sustainability transitions. In recent years, the lives of poor urban dwellers have undergone significant transformations which have been associated with shifts in patterns of daily food consumption from household-based towards primarily out-of-home. However, as of yet, little research has explored how changing everyday contexts of consumers' lives interrelate with their food vending-consumption practices. This study seeks to understand the interrelations between everyday urban lives and out-of-home food consumption practices among the urban poor in Ibadan, Nigeria. A situated social practice approach is employed to understand how everyday contexts shape practices of out-of-home food vending consumption. Multiple methods were employed, including GIS mapping of food vending outlets, quantitative consumer surveys, in-depth consumer interviews, and participant observation. The study provides an overview of food vending-consumption practices in terms of the socio-demographic situation of consumers and the embeddedness of food vending in the practice arrangements making up their daily lives. The findings reveal three key daily life practices that interlock with their ready-to-eat foods consumption practices: daily mobility practices, working arrangements, and domestic engagements These three categories of daily urban practices that have undergone rapid transformation in line with socio-economic change and urbanisation and emerged as particularly important in shaping out-of-home food consumption. The paper concludes by considering the importance of understanding the embeddedness of food vending practices in the daily lives of the urban poor for sustainable food systems transitions in the Global South.
... Accessing a diverse diet, necessary for a healthy life, is a serious challenge among the urban poor. This has raised concerns among policy makers and development practitioners, especially where food insecurity is prominent (Ahmed et al., 2015). IRFV practices have been identified as critical because of their increasing significance within urban food systems and the generally low diversity of the foods provisioned (Mwangi et al., 2002;Steyn et al., 2014). ...
The way people access food in Nigeria is of central relevance for food security, health and sustainability. One key trend is the shift from household-based to primarily out-of-home food consumption as an increasing majority of the urban poor derive their daily nutrient intake from street foods. However, few studies have yet explored the role of the ready-to-eat food vending sector in urban food systems and the diets of the urban poor. This paper investigates the interrelations between these practices and the diversity of food groups provisioned among the urban poor in developing city contexts. A social practice approach is employed to explore differentiation among informal-ready-to-eat food vending practices in the city of Ibadan, Nigeria, in terms of their daily activities, competences and resources. Applied methods include GIS mapping, food log diaries, in-depth interviews and participant observation to map and classify informal-ready-to-eat food vending practices according to the nature of food provisioned and explore the everyday performances of different informal-ready-to-eat food vending practice initiatives and their relation to dietary diversity. The results reveal three key categories among these practices: traditional, processed and unprocessed—with varying levels of diversity in the food groups on offer. Traditional food vendors offer more diversified food compared to processed food vendors and unprocessed food vendors. The results reveal that material infrastructure, cooking bargaining and purchasing skills and nutritional knowledge are key to the diversity of food groups provisioned. The paper concludes by considering the wider relevance of these findings for urban food science and policy.
... The main focus of studies on urban agriculture in developing countries has been on the urban poor particularly those in the informal settlements (Gallaher et al., 2013). Contribution of food vendors to food security in informal settlements has also been a key research area (Ahmed et al., 2015). Studies on (peri-) urban agriculture (UPA) among the high-and middle-income earners have mainly been done in the global north (Astee & Kishnani, 2010;Gondhalekar & Ramsauer, 2017;Saha & Eckelman, 2017). ...
Kenya is rapidly urbanizing at an annual rate of about 4.3%. One of the consequences of urbanization has been the problem of food insecurity in peri-urban areas. Increased migration to urban from rural areas has enhanced food insecurity in these areas. The peri-urban area of Kangundo-Tala in Machakos County is one of the fastest-growing peri-urban areas due to its proximity to the capital city of Nairobi. This study investigated the impact of home gardening in enhancing food security in the rapidly urbanizing middle-income Kangundo-Tala peri-urban areas of Machakos County, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were: to identify the causes of households' food insecurity in the study area; to examine the factors influencing the adoption of home gardening and; to establish the role of home gardening as a measure of households' food security. To measure food security, three consumption behaviors were analyzed: consumption changes, food expenditure reduction and income expansion. A qualitative approach was adopted where a total of 120 newly settled households were interviewed. The three main causes of food insecurity were identified (i) small land sizes, (ii) low and erratic rainfall and, (iii) the socialization of peri-urban dwellers. About 68% of the households were practicing at least one form of home gardening. The need for safe and nutritious food, seasonal unavailability, and inaccessibility of food encouraged the establishment of home gardens. From the gardens, households were able to diversify their diets, access safe food and have food readily available. With enhanced stability in food availability, accessibility, and utilization, the study concluded that home gardens played a major role in enhancing food. However, the production was at a very small scale. Up-scaling of home gardening by the Ministry of Agriculture through training was recommended.
... In Nigeria, urban residents spend up to half their food budget on street foods, while in Accra this accounts for 40 percent of low-income families' food purchases [28]. In low-income settlements of Johannesburg, over 80 percent of households source food from informal vendors [39]. Consumption of street foods also tends to increase when food and cooking fuel costs rise since their price usually goes up more slowly as a result of economies of scale in production [28]. ...
... Food sourced from informal street vendors contributes significantly to the energy and protein intake of people in developing countries (Steyn et al., 2013). Informal food markets are often the main way in which poor people obtain protein-rich foods, including meat, milk, eggs and fish (Grace et al., 2014) and fresh vegetables (eg Ahmed et al., 2015). However, not all food accessible through the informal sector is healthy. ...
Informal food systems contribute to the food and nutrition security of hundreds of millions of people around the world, particularly in the global South. But the concept of sustainable diets – which brings together global priorities around food and nutrition security, environmental protection and economic affordability – is built around the formal food systems of industrialised countries.
Drawing on lessons from the Sustainable Diets for All programme, this paper considers the function and performance of informal food systems in achieving sustainable diets. With a focus on evidence, agency and advocacy, we review research and experiences around informality and sustainable diets from Bolivia, Indonesia, Uganda and Zambia.
The paper highlights how informal food systems are often unfairly assumed to be inefficient and unsafe, which leads to inappropriate policy and planning for sustainable diets. We argue that a transition to sustainable diets that works for people and planet should build on rather than criminalise or replace functioning informal food systems. We call for greater support for informal economy actors and recommend that donors, policymakers, NGOs and CSOs work with informal food systems to achieve sustainable diets for all.