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Circular economy

Black Soldier Fly Farm

A live demonstration site, training hub and community resource centre in Diani that turns organic waste from a health risk into compost and protein-rich animal feed.

Visitors inspect trays of Black Soldier Fly larvae and compost at the HERI BSF Farm
  • Treats waste at source

    Sorted organic waste from homes, hotels and markets is fed to larvae instead of going to dumpsites.

  • Useful products in days

    Larvae become protein-rich feed for poultry and fish; their frass becomes organic fertiliser.

  • Built to be copied

    Designed for Diani, but replicable in hospitality towns, cities and institutions anywhere.

The problem

In fast-growing towns and tourism hubs, organic waste is the largest share of all solid waste. Left unmanaged it drives pollution, disease vectors, greenhouse gas emissions and pressure on landfills.

Waste regulations and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) rules increasingly require responsible handling — but practical, affordable ways to treat organic waste remain scarce for businesses, institutions and communities.

The Black Soldier Fly solution

Black Soldier Fly larvae safely and rapidly eat organic waste. At the farm, sorted waste is fed to the larvae, which shrink its volume while producing:

  • Protein-rich larvae for animal and aquaculture feed
  • Organic compost (frass) that improves soil health

It is a scalable, low-emission alternative to dumping — and it creates value within days.

Waste → Treatment → Products → Skills → Healthier people and environment

A community resource centre

The farm lets communities and partners move from theory to practice with real systems. It hosts:

  • Community and institutional trainings
  • Youth and women capacity-building programmes
  • Practitioner demonstrations and pilots
  • Applied research and field studies
  • Sustainability learning visits and eco-tours

Research and evidence

The farm is also a living laboratory for research on organic waste, circular economy models, environmental health and community adoption — collecting real-time data on waste conversion, testing models before they scale, and generating evidence for policy and practice.

Live data

Black Soldier Fly Life Cycle Analysis

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) measures the environmental impact of a process across its whole life, from raw materials and production to use and disposal. Explore the live results for the HERI BSF Farm below.

The dashboard can take a few seconds to load. Open it full screen ↗

Virtual tour

Can’t visit Diani? Walk through the farm online.

Follow organic waste from the hotel kitchen to protein feed and compost, stop by stop.

Start the virtual tour

Help us scale what works

Your support funds waste solutions, community training and research that improve health and the environment on Kenya’s coast.

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