286 METHODOLOGICAL APPENDIX
Organic waste recycling methodology
For organic waste recycling specifically, categories of actors identified were large
bulk generators of organic waste, collectors and those composting organic waste
(CBOs and NGOs, or private enterprises, farmers), and users of organic waste, in this
case, confined mainly to urban and semi-urban farmers
Although the framework used for the inorganic waste trade and recycling commodity
chain was the same for organic trade and recycling, specific aspects were covered that
pertain only to organic waste. These aspects concerned the way
- organic waste materials are used by farmers;
- the ways organic waste (from urban sources) fit into the pattern of organic waste
use; and - composting initiatives were undertaken by NGOs/CBOs.
The main limitations of the fieldwork on organic waste trade and recycling were that
only specific waste generators were included: households in general, whose sum is a
large waste generator, and bulk waste generators, such as hotels, educational institu-
tions, hospitals, and markets for produce. The main category of users in the
urban-rural context was assumed to be that of farmers; only categories of farmers
applying organic waste were compared to a control group of farmers with similar
crops and animal stocks who have never used organic waste. In-between categories
were avoided, as a stratified sample taking in-between categories into account would
have been too large to manage in the time and budget concerned. However, three small
studies were commissioned on organic waste use and recovery. The first was a paper
by M. Put, on the use of organic manures and inorganic fertilizers in four villages
south of Hyderabad (1999). The second was a field study among 195 urban and
peri-urban farmers in Nairobi by A. Karanja and E. Koster. The third study was done
in Hyderabad by Rakhee Kulkarni among different categories of users of organic
waste, with the help of the CESS researchers involved in the project (see chapter 11).
Sampling design for field study
The sampling design for the study on recycling of organic waste materials in
Hyderabad and Nairobi makes use of the field surveys carried out for the other themes
as far as waste generators is concerned, for composting different categories of users
were identified, the main ones being CBOs/NGOs and farmers, and specified buyers
of compost. For energy recovery, the companies involved in this method were inter-
viewed. The main methods used to conduct field surveys among farmers include:
- purposive sampling according to the area of the city: by income levels of resi-
dents, and economic activities carried out there, and - the snowballing method within one category of actors In Nairobi, this led to a sur-
vey among 195 farmers in/around Nairobi, selected using a grid pattern laid over
the city and its surrounding areas for 100 farmers (50-50 urban and peri-urban),