There are two alternative paths for humanity and the environment and our actions over the next several years determines which path is taken. In one feature, agricultural landscapes become depleted by over-populations of desperate peasant farmers, many of whom are forced to migrate to cities only to discover garbage, crowded slums and squatters. But in the other, more optimistic scenario, smallholders practice environmentally-sound, market-oriented agriculture resulting in rural prosperity and a flow of goods to clean, vibrant urban areas. The Forum for Organic Resource Management and Agricultural Technologies (FORMAT) is assisting Kenyans to pursue the second path, one where organic resources in the countryside and cities alike are being creatively recycled and profitably processed. 

Many innovative organizations including farmer associations, agricultural extension, developmental NGOs and research scientists are examining organic resource management technologies in diverse locations but too often in isolation from one another. Individuals and organizations working in isolation are less able to benefit from the experiences and accomplishments of others. Nonetheless, considerable progress is being made in numerous areas and tested management practices, information packages and new products are now available to farmers, developmental groups and private sector interests. Kenya's research and development community has recently  benefited from a national Forum on Organic Resource Management and Agricultural Technologies as an opportunity to express resource management philosophies, compare promising technologies and obtain or exchange recently developed products.  This web site serves to popularize organic resource management in its diverse forms, to disseminate information presented at he first FORMAT meeting held in September 2000 and to provide updates on important events and useful technologies related to organic resource management in East Africa.

Format Committee: Dr Paul Woomer (Convenor), Ms Catherine Gachengo; Dr Stephen Nandwa, Dr Eusebius Mukhwana, Mr. Patrick Nekesa, Mr. Musa Omare (Coordinator)