Kenyan children learn to play chess on sets made using plastic waste

In Nairobi’s Kibera informal settlement, community project Kijiji Solutions has recycled about 200 kilograms of plastic waste to produce nearly 2,000 tournament quality sets.

And in partnership with The Gift of Chess, they are giving children who otherwise couldn’t afford it access to the mind game that relies on strategy, logic, and calculation.

Kijiji Solutions collects plastic and other waste in Kibera before sorting it before sending selected materials elsewhere for processing.

"It comes back to us after washing, shredding, and other processes as pellets that we use in our process, which is an extruder with moulds that we had custom-made here in Nairobi that are in the shape of chess pieces.” says Richard Haukom, the founder of Kijiji Solutions.

Because individual chess pieces are small, the project uses only a limited amount of plastic, and he says production could rise substantially if the organisation were able to meet demand for the sets.

"The total amount of plastic removed, it’s more symbolic than it is impactful in terms of the plastic waste problem,” Haukom admits.

The finished sets are being used by children in Kibera, where access to chess equipment and organised training is limited.

Chess teacher Ian Ombati says the game gives children an escape from the difficulties of daily life and allows them to compete based on their ability rather than their background.

"Once they go to that board, it does not matter where you come from,” Ombati says. "It’s just your skills and your competence.”

At Centre of Hope School in Kibera, children regularly play and practice chess using the sets made by Kijiji Solutions.

Students and teachers say the game has helped improve concentration, problem-solving and classroom performance, although they don't have any evidence to support their claim.

Eleven-year-old Esther Mutua says regular training helped her improve at chess and in mathematics.

“When I started chess, I was not very good, so I always came for training every day. So after some months, I started improving in my academics,” she says.

Mutua has also competed in tournaments and won certificates and medals.

Nine-year-old Markham Odhiambo says chess helps him focus in class and answer mathematics questions.

Wilson Akhonya, the school’s head teacher, says students who play chess have shown improvements in critical thinking, problem-solving, leadership and academic performance.

The school considers chess an important part of its curriculum.

"It makes them to be attentive, to be active, to focus, to concentrate,” says Isabel Omondi, the school’s founder.

Studies on chess and academic performance has shown a modest positive correlation. Researchers, however, have long debated whether the game itself is the root cause.