Bamboo farm pilots cheaper, greener path to housing

Crown Paints’ Jesse Agoi and Rohaki Investment’s Mike Kihaki plant bamboo during World Bamboo Day at Kamwenja Teachers’ Training College in Nyeri on September 19, 2025. [Mose Sammy, Standard]

Kenya is racing to meet its affordable housing targets while tackling the twin threats of deforestation and carbon emissions.

With urban populations rising and climate pressures mounting, policymakers and innovators are exploring alternative building materials that are both sustainable and locally sourced.

Bamboo is fast-growing, carbon-absorbing and versatile, and it is emerging as a promising candidate.

A new pilot farm in Nyeri County is now putting that promise to the test.

A 2-acre bamboo carbon sink farm has been established at Kamwenja Teachers’ Training College to explore bamboo’s use in cement, clean energy and local manufacturing.

The project was launched on World Bamboo Day and is backed by Crown Paints Kenya in partnership with Rohaki Investment and the college.

“This is more than a tree-planting ceremony. It is an investment in a greener, more self-sufficient future for Kenya,” said Richard Muturi, group chief operations officer at Crown Paints.

 He added that the initiative is meant to act as a model for corporate involvement in national development.

The effort supports the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, the National Climate Change Action Plan and the Kenya National Bamboo Development Strategy and Action Plan 2025 to 2035.

Beyond construction, bamboo harvested from the farm will be processed into briquettes for energy and textiles for local production.

Kamwenja College leaders expect the farm to become a hands-on learning site for students. “This bamboo farm will transform our college grounds into a learning hub for sustainability and innovation,” noted Chief Principal Wycliffe Wafula.

He noted that the project will expose students to technologies expected to drive future economies.

The launch involved planting bamboo seedlings, marking the beginning of a long-term plan to build a circular economy through climate-friendly solutions.