In the original masterplan, formal markets and shopping facilities were planned in the central spine. Often, people ended up having to walk distances on insufficient streets to the next shop. The appearance of Informal Kiosks all over the residential areas can therefore be seen as a result of this situation. On his blog, one Dandora resident lists five different reasons why he and others shop at these local kiosks rather than the formal supermarkets or city stalls. Two overriding themes emerge from it: the need to support fellow residents, and the social exchange that takes place when shopping locally.
Informal Commercial Infrastructure
Road crossing with commercial spaces. Source: Google Maps Street View, 2018.
The construction of kiosks, which protrude onto the street as an extension of the properties, and often also as extensions of former temporary shelters, affects both the infrastructure and life on the street. When the kiosks were built, sometimes the water drainage was influenced, as well as the accessibility of the roads themselves. The influence is reciprocal, however, and so when roads are resurfaced, kiosks can get destroyed. The area manager ordered the destruction of several kiosks located on a road being renewed as recently as October 2022. This was followed by protests by various shopkeepers, most of them female. A so-called ‘Mama Mboga’, which literally means Mother Vegetable, is a female vegetable vendor in Swahili.
Photograph of a Kiosk in a Field Survey conducted by Mungai Julius Mbugua in 2008. Source: Mbugua, Mungai Julius. Towards Improving Provision and Management of Road Infrastructure in Urban Site and Service Schemes: Case Study of Dandora - Nairobi. Nairobi: University of Nairobi. 2008.
Many of the women of Dandora are rural immigrants who previously contributed to the family economy through farming and handicrafts. They traded in various goods, and with the resettlement to the cities, the women simply took on the role of procreation, household management, and raising children, while their husbands worked in factories to earn a living. Since it was very difficult for women to find jobs, they soon reconfigured their former role and adapted it to the new circumstances by becoming sellers of food or vegetables, and then again trading in various goods. This part of the informal economy remains an important mainstay today,as well as a platform for women to engage in the urban life of Dandora outside of their domestic sphere. With the construction of a kiosk, a woman not only breaks out of the boundaries of the property, but just as much out of the domestic sphere and the tasks that were initially assigned to her.
Street with Kiosks. Source: Photo Library International Mission Board. https://www.imb.org/image/dandora-slums-6/. Photograph by Roy Burroughs.
Sources
1. Anyamba, Tom. “Informal Urbanism in Nairobi.” Built Environment, vol. 37, no. 1. 2011.
2. Kinyanjui, Mary Njeri. Women and the Informal Economy in Urban Africa: From the Margins to the Centre. London: Zed Books. 2014.
3. Kiasman, Tony. “5 REASONS Why I Rarely Buy in Supermarkets, Shopping Malls and City Stalls.” Kiasman World, 29 Nov. 2016. (Accessed 1 Dec. 2022) Link.
4. “Dandora Phase 5 estate traders stage protest.” YouTube, uploaded by KBC Channel 1, 24 Oct. 2022, Link.
Cover Image
Informal Commercial Infrastructure. Source: Own work, based on the common drawing.