This archive report was first published on 12 June 2021.
The World Bank has extended a Sh1.08 billion grant to Kisumu National Polytechnic to construct an ultra-modern textile factory and training institution.
Principal Catherine Kelonye said the construction will start in one or two months, with 35 bidders showing interest in the construction tender.
''This will be one of the biggest textile and clothing industries in East Africa,'' Kelonye said.
The textile factory is expected to open its doors in a year's time, and Kelonye looks forward to seeing her students absorbed into the factory.
Recently, students Diana Oloo and Angeline Akoth showcased their talent in turning waste products into useful items at a national cultural and technology exhibition.
By recycling, the students say they are contributing to a global effort to improve the environment for everybody, and for the future.
The students, who are fashion and design students, make dresses from waste products such as polymers, newspapers, plastics, tires, cans, bottle tops, and metals.
''This is what we do here with wastes. We sort the different polymers from one another, melting the waste polymer and making the polymer into a new product,'' Akoth said.
The polytechnic management now usually asks the students if they want to recycle some wastes before disposing them.
''They have to ask us if we need the wastes before they are dumped,'' Akoth said.
The institution now treats dumping sites as opportunity zones for harnessing new innovations, because students explore various wastes to make something out of it.
