This archive report was first published on 6 September 2019.
Soil for landscaping in Nairobi can be a costly affair, with prices varying depending on the type and quality of soil. According to a recent report, red loam, a popular choice for gardening, can cost around Sh9,000 per seven-tonne lorry.
On the chaotic Ngong Road in Nairobi, traders have piled soil that they sell to homeowners looking to grow vegetables on their backyards or do landscaping. One of the roadside soil sellers, Margret Nyambura, stocks red loam, which is in high demand.
Ms. Nyambura, who has been in the business for 23 years, sources her red soil from construction sites and also buys from forests. She mixes the red loam with cow or goat manure to ensure healthy growth.
"For example, we mix three sacks of red soil with one sack of manure," she explains. "For manure, a seven-tonne lorry costs about Sh24,000 while red soil costs around Sh9,000 per seven-tonne lorry."
Ms. Nyambura's highest earnings from soil at once was Sh200,000, which she earned from a client who was building three houses and needed soil mixed with manure for landscaping.
However, Benson Oruko, a landscaper at Garden Consultancy Services, says one can get cheaper red loam. He gets the soil from Dagoretti, Ngong, and Kiambu, and mixes 18 tonnes of red soil with seven tonnes of manure, which is the recommended measurement.
For a quarter an acre of land, Mr. Oruko says one can use up to 18 tonnes of red soil, which translates to about Sh16,200, minus transport cost. He also notes that red soil is fertile and does not need a lot of water, making it a better choice for gardening.
Ms. Nyambura agrees that red soil mixes well with manure, hence gardens, farms, and landscapes thrive better. She also notes that most of the soil traders sell the red loam to people who use it as top soil to cover the ground, to create new beds, borders, or to provide a base for turf laying or sowing grass seed.
For those buying for small patches of land, one sack of red soil weighing 70 kilogrammes costs Sh200 while manure of the same quantity goes for Sh500.
Through the soil business, Ms. Nyambura has been able to create employment for three other people and also sells plants. In good seasons, the business earns her as much as Sh5,000 a day, but sometimes business is low and she gets Sh3,000.
Ms. Nyambura adds that the business has also enabled her to buy land and build her home, which she says she is proud of considering that she does not have to pay rent.
