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English: Breaking ground on a new bio-mass toilet project at the Kwa Njenga Primary School. Toilets will turn human waste into enough energy to power the school.

At the South East of Nairobi lies the sprawling Mukuru Kwa Njenga slum. Life here is fast-paced as boda boda riders, roasted maize hawkers, water vendors and food kiosks compete for a share of the economy. These roadside businesses operate from day break to nightfall when everyone flees to the safety of their shanties in fear of darkness. The densely populated slum is beset by insecurity, poor sanitation and unmet power needs. However, one man is determined to change this. Mr. Amos Nguru is putting the final touches to a biogas unit that he has strategically located at the Kwa Njenga Primary School, deep in the heart of the slum. Mr. Nguru, the Chief Executive Officer at Afrisol Energy Ltd and his men have been working on the project since April and are set to generate off-grid power in January 2015. The picture taken by the corporate photobooth hire

Mr. Nguru explains that his simple bio-digester unit was born out of the desire to use locally available materials for off-grid power solutions. In the Mukuru Kwa Njenga slum, the biggest problem is sanitation and toilets are such a big burden; he says. “Bio-digester manages waste in a sustainable manner to give both hygiene and energy. It is the future of power and sanitation in high density slums in Kenya and by extension, Africa,” he says. Afrisol Energy Ltd has been operational since October, 2010 and specialises in biogas system installations and consultancy in biogas generation. The 15KW electricity Afrisol project at Kwa Njenga primary school is a beneficiary of the Power Africa Off Grid Competition. General Electric (GE) teamed up with the US Africa Development Foundation (USADF) to launch this competition in 2013 in order to address the energy needs of marginalized communities in Africa who are not reached by the national grid.

Mr. Nguru is one of the competition winners and his project is the recipient of a $100,000 (Sh8.8 million) grant from USADF.