Re-using plastic containers in Kenya

While hiking in the rift valley recently I came across a cow wearing this plastic gadget on his nose. It’s made from an old plastic container …..the local herdsmen said it was to stop him from suckling his mother – which is especially critical due to the severe drought in the region.

cow gadget

Simple and effective I’d say!

And here’s another one from Dominic Wanjihia – he calls it his vertical shamba

doms hanging veg garden

and it’s water efficient and space conserving… perfect for a tiny yard.

Here’s another clever use of plastic water bottles – bird feeders are impossible to find in Kenya

bird feeder

So Maina Maina fabricated this at Kitengela Glass where virtually nothing is thrown away

maina maina

These feeders have pieces of mirrors attached and attract a huge assortment of birds at all times.  He’s selling them at Ksh 200 (US $2.50 )

8 comments for this post.

Comment from Jodie
24 September 2009 - 8:26 am - :

Love this! Would there happen to be more pictures? I would love to see how it’s put together. Making something like this would be great for the small garden patch I have!

Comment from jenny
25 September 2009 - 4:18 am - :

I love the vertical shamba, looks like it would be perfect for a balkony garden too.

Comment from Char (PSI Tutor:Mentor)
25 September 2009 - 1:27 pm - :

yes, the hanging shamba is a gorgeous idea, more information would be great. i will have a go myself, thank you so much for sharing your wonderful ideas.

Comment from Anouk Zijlma
26 September 2009 - 12:53 pm - :

Just wanted to let you know how much I’ve enjoyed reading your blogs. You’re my first “blog of the week”. Will enjoy following you regularly now,

Anouk Zijlma (Africa for Visitors, About.com)

Comment from gmoke
27 September 2009 - 7:28 pm - :

The hanging shamba is very like the window farms some artists/designers are building in NYC. See http://windowfarms.org/ for directions on how to construct them.

Comment from paula
28 September 2009 - 12:41 am - :

Hi gmoke, Anouk, Jenny, Char and Jodie, thank you all for your supportive comments. I’m making sure that all the inventors are getting them!

Comment from Roger Sharland
28 September 2009 - 9:33 am - :

Great to see more uses of plastic bottles. The ore uses we have for them the fewer will add to the rubbish mountains! Another version of the vertical shamba is that made in a sack. There is also a bird feeder made from a platic bottle at the Giraffe Centre in Nairobi.

Comment from Izzy
26 February 2010 - 2:49 pm - :

What exactly is a “shamba”, usually?

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