Matopeni Women Group

Kisumu, Kenya

Primary information

Year formed

2002

Formally registered

No

Number of members

12

Type of members

Waste picker support organization

Occupation of members

Itinerant buyers, Waste collectors

Type of Organization

Women´s group

Organizational Reach

Local

Workplace of members

Fixed

Membership

Yes

Organization Structure

The group meets every Wednesday to weave and also have a management committee which meets every week. The leaders are selected through elections which are held every year. A membership fee of 50 shillings is charged and the group’s activities are funded through sale of the products and better trade. Records kept include financial contributions and activity records.

Objectives

Job creation

Partnering organizations

KIWAMA

Affiliations

Waste picker organization

Funding

Self funded

Internal elections

Annually

Women composition

75,0%

Social networking sites

Benefits

Member benefits

Job creation & source of income

Services

Types of materials

Plastics

Are they selling to middlemen?

No

Activities

Farming, New items made from collected materials

Challenges to access waste

Foul smell & contamination from waste, Lack of infrastructure & resources, Transportation

Complementary Information

Information source

Africa 2009

Comments / Narrative

Only plastic waste is reclaimed by this group and they buy it from street children and carried by head to processing site. Two and a half kg of plastics are handled weekly. These plastics are used to make baskets, mats and carpets which are sold in the market and around Kisumu town. The group benefits from diversification of income sources, keeps the jobless young women busy, promoting use of the baskets instead of polythene bags and achieving a plastic free environment.