SumBolg 11

In class we watched the documentary “Good Fortune.” It showed Kibera, which is a town or rather, a slum. It is over-populated, has poor sanitation and the people live in small shacks. Dominion Farms Unlimited came into Kibera with the idea of helping the people improve their living conditions. Their farms mainly produce rice and fish. One of the reasons Dominion felt like this was such a good idea was because there would be food security provided by the rice and fish. However, the people of Kibera did not want this, they were, for the most part, happy with the way they lived. They had housing and food and did not think of themselves as poor. The people of Kibera did not want to leave their homes and they believed this would not enhance their lives in fact they felt it would devastate their lives. Even though these people live in the slums they still have economic activity. They use the materials and opportunities they have to create a steady life. The United Nations and the Kenyan Government has started to work together in a massive “slum-upgrading” program. This program would demolish their housing and be replaces with modern housing. The residents have been promised that their eviction is only temporarily.  However, they do not trust the government and do not know if they will be able to return. Dominion plans to create a reservoir, which in turn would flood homes and farmland of people. I think the intensions of Dominion Farms Unlimited are good ones, except in this case they were affecting the people more negatively than positively.

I posted a video about Dominion farms; it is about irrigation in Yala. This video is a positive about Dominion farms. They made a massive sustainable farm that would impact thousands of people. This video is from Dominion’s point of view and not the residents so it is hard to tell if it is truly making a positive impact. Eight hundred workers are on the payroll and the area has had a large growth and ninety percent of the people are locals, which is a positive aspect.  After watching this video and the documentary it has made me want to some more research on this issue.