The urban renewal and regeneration of Mbita Town is becoming reality. Among the upcoming improvements are cold storage facilities for fishermen to reduce post-harvest losses, and general improvements to the public space by providing trees and benches.
Homa Bay County’s urban Change Project in Mbita, planned together with residents and local stakeholders as part of the SymbioCity Kenya programme, will contribute to a cleaner town, improved livelihoods and business opportunities, and improved safety.
Fishing constitutes an important livelihood in the town situated next to Lake Victoria; currently, due to lack of cold storage facilities, a lot of fish either go to waste or the fisherfolk are forced to sell their catch at throw-away prices. The new facilities are planned to be managed by the Beach Management Units (an association of fishermen) and a group selected, trained and capacitated to cater for management and maintenance of the fish market.
A new market is planned, that will serve different functionalities including open green spaces for social activities, among other functions that are planned to be implemented within the first phase of the project.
As the first signs of the urban improvements to come, one can already see new bins for source segregation of waste set up around Mbita. A lot of the waste consists of recyclables and organic waste, which can be recycled or composted, reducing that which ends up in landfills.
View Mbita Town’s Urban Sustainability Review (PDF)
