Paul Kinoti serves as a lecturer in the Department of Horticulture and Food Security at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
He heads a team that specializes in alternative farming techniques, with a particular emphasis on snail farming and its associated advantages.
Kinoti utilizes snail slime to produce skincare products.
He cultivates giant African land snails, which are recognized as wild species and have received approval from the Kenya Wildlife Service.
These snails are known to yield the highest quality slime for various products.
“Basically we are researching on how to generate products that are beneficial to our people and to the society at large. And our focus is on how we can make use of snails which traditionally are abhorred by Kenyans.
“We do cosmetics and body skin care products, such as soaps, creams and shower gels. We are also researching pharmaceuticals where we are developing a product with our partners on a cough syrup,” he said.
Research conducted by Kinoti indicates that snail slime has beneficial effects on human skin.
“It has collagen, and collagen is known to make the skin supple, it also moisturises and it has an anti-aging effect. It’s able to remove dead cells, and therefore it can rejuvenate the skin and make it more effective. It’s also antibacterial, so it has been associated with healing of wounds and burns. It is organic and people are running away from use of chemicals,” he added.
JKUAT conducted tests on the products in accordance with market demands, and Dr. Kinoti reported a favorable response.
Kinoti emphasized that the objective is to alter the perception of snail slime products among their intended audience and to motivate a greater number of individuals to engage in snail farming.
“One are people with albinism because of the effect of the UV, and the response was very positive. The other group is the students… We tried to distribute some of the products with the students and the response was fantastic. The product seems to work very well and it has no side effects,” he remarked.
