In 2002, when the free education program was started, priority for public schools shifted to building of extra classes to contain the sudden upsurge in enrollment, and during this shift of urgencies, funding for library maintenance was overlooked.

This, according to Book Bunk’s Director, Wanjiru Koinange, is the genesis of the misperception that Kenya is not a reading nation.
Book Bunk is a social impact firm founded in October 2017 and working to restore some of Nairobi’s iconic public libraries; The McMillan Memorial Library on Banda Street and two of its branches in Eastlands (Kaloleni Library and Eastlands Library in Makadara). With the dream that public libraries can be steered to become more than just repositories, acting as sites of knowledge production, shared experiences, cultural leadership and information exchange, they see them as sites of heritage, public art, memory and as critical spaces in Nairobi and Kenya’s creative economy ecology.
The social impact firm runs a program dubbed ‘green bunk’ which is a mitigation response to the effects of Climate Change. The program tackles food security and sustainable farming through the installation of community gardens at their libraries. Davis and Shirtliff has participated through the provision of renewable energy at their Makadara outlet. Through the #ImprovingLives initiative, Davis & Shirtliff partnered with Book Bunk to donate a 3.6kW solar lighting system for the Makadara and Kaloleni libraries. Through this installation and partnership, these libraries will now be more energy efficient and sustainable, ultimately meeting their carbon neutral goals.