Timber Industry in Elburgon
Elburgon is a small town in Nakuru District, Rift Valley Province, Kenya. It is located 30 kilometres west of the capital city of Nakuru, the provincial capital. Nearest towns include Molo, Njoro and Rongai.
Elburgon is an electoral ward of the Molo Constituency and Nakuru County Council.. Elburgon is also a name of an administrative division in Nakuru District. Elburgon division is divided into three locations: Elburgon, Mariashoni and Turi
Elburgon used to be a thriving timber town on the fringes of the Mau Forest in Western Kenya. Large scale deforestation and a government ban on logging has resulted in very high unemployment in Elburgon and the surrounding area. An estimated 100,000 people who were directly or indirectly employed in the timber industry countrywide are reported to have lost their jobs following the logging ban, a third of them from Elburgon town.
The removal of the trees has also resulted in a dramatic fall in the water table, and with ground cover removed dust pollution has become a common feature, compounded by the large hills of smouldering sawdust that still remain. What was a flourishing town is now in the grip of an economic and environmental disaster.
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