The King picked produce at an urban farm and presented it to a hospital’s chef as he learned about a Kenyan project that has given new life to waste ground.
Charles pulled spinach, kale and curly kale leaves from the ground after he was given a guided tour of City Shamba, a city farm initiative, on the first full day of his state visit to Kenya.
A large patch of land behind Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital in the capital, Nairobi, has been transformed in just 12 months into a thriving organic holding, producing a wide range of vegetables and herbs along with chickens, two ponds to raise fish, and snails.
Hospital chef Nelly Njagi, who was handed a basket of vegetable leaves with the final few picked by the King, said afterwards: “He asked if this was for the patients and I told him it was. Having this organic food available is very good for their recovery.”
The King was also shown a selection of large African land snails bred by staff at the farm and laughed when told by Gregory Kimani, City Shamba’s founder and chief executive, that the slime is used by the beauty industry for women’s facial products.
Charles marvelled at the larvae of black soldier flies used to turn vegetable waste into fertiliser, and seemed impressed by the farm’s use of natural pesticides, including rabbit urine, and vertical planting.
He also briefly popped into a polytunnel where roasting temperatures are helping to ripen tomatoes.
Mr Kimani said after the royal visit: “Taking the King around the farm means that our idea is something that can go out there and it can be accepted anywhere by anyone, so we are very much glad for the validation of the idea.
“Growing our crops organically was a huge thing for him. He really liked the idea of how we are growing things and really taking back control of our own food system.”
Earlier, a Kenyan teenager made Charles laugh when she told him a computer game for would-be entrepreneurs had given them the ultimate networking opportunity – by allowing them to meet the King.
She was among a group of children from deprived rural areas who have been helped by a project co-run by Charles’s charity Prince’s Trust International (PTI).
The King met the group when he visited Eastlands Library with Camilla, who carried out a separate programme meeting founders of a literary project and schoolchildren, while her husband chatted to youngsters who were taking part in a business simulation game aimed at encouraging their entrepreneurial skills.
After being shown the game by one group of children, the King said: “So you’re learning very fast – faster than me!”
Before he could walk away, one girl, Ivy, thanked him, saying the programme has helped them network by “meeting many guys” – including the King.
PTI chief executive Will Straw said their Enterprise Challenge programme is aimed at encouraging young people to think about entrepreneurship as a route to meaningful work.
He added: “The demographic pressures in Kenya and many other parts of Africa mean that there aren’t going to be enough formal jobs in the economy for young people as they reach the labour market.”
