BUILD IT!
promoting local assets in Kenya
REALITY STUDIO 2010
BUILD IT!
promoting local assets in Kenya
A DOCUMENTATION BASED ON A SEVEN WEEKS FIELD TRIP IN KENYA, WRITTEN BY MASTER STUDENTS OF THE ARCHITECTURE FACULTY IN CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, GOTHENBURG, 2010. A DOCUMENTATION BASED ON A SEVEN WEEKS FIELD TRIP IN KENYA, WRITTEN BY MASTER STUDENTS OF THE ARCHITECTURE FACULTY IN CHALMERS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, GOTHENBURG, 2010.
WRITTEN BY: ISA PETTERSSON, AZARAKHSH SADEGHZADE, SILVIO SOLDI, CHRISTINE TAM AND WEN TZU-CHING PHOTOS BY: STUDENTS OF REALITY STUDIO 2010 - DANIEL AMOSY, ISA PETTERSSON, MAGNUS RENSTRÖM, TOMAS JONNERGÅRD, ISA PETTERSSON, SILVIO SOLDI, CHRISTINE TAM & CHRISTINE WEN TZU-CHING WRITTEN BY: ISA PETTERSSON, AZARAKHSH SADEGHZADE, SILVIO SOLDI, TAM AND WEN TZU-CHING ILLUSTRATIONS BY: CHRISTINE TAM & WEN TZU-CHING PHOTOS BY: STUDENTS OF REALITY STUDIO 2010 - DANIEL AMOSY, MIA BÖRJESSON, ISA PETTERSSON, MAGNUS RENSTRÖM, TOMAS JONNERGÅRD, ISA PETTERSSON, SILVIO SOLDI, CHRISTINE TAM & WEN TZU-CHING
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to dedicate the first page of this report to thank all of those who have supported us througout the process and in many ways contributed to the content of this project. These special people include: FRANKLIN MWANGO FROM MASENO UNIVERSITY FOR BEING OUR TEACHER, OUR GUIDE, OUR LIVING NATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA IN KENYA THAT ALWAYS STOOD UP FOR US THROUGH THICK AND THIN. GEORGE G WAGAH FROM MASENO UNIVERSITY FOR HELPING US TO ARRANGE A BUILDING SITE AT THE CAMPUS. THE NEPALI ARCHITECTS; NRIPAL ADHIKARY AND SULAVA PIYA FOR THEIR MENTAL AND PRACTICAL SUPPORT, AND ALL INSPIRING ADVICES ABOUT BAMBOO. JAN KRISTENSEN & ANNE OKECH KRISTENSEN FROM INTERFELK FOR GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY FOR COOPERATION AND DESIGNING THE SLUM SCHOOL. KISUMU WATER AND SEWERAGE CO.LTD (KIWASCO) FOR PROVIDING US WITH INFORMATION ABOUT WATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS. U-LANDS FÖRENINGEN IN GOTHENBURG FOR THEIR FINANCIAL SUPPORT. INGER-LISE SYVERSEN FOR HER GREAT SUPPORT AND FOR NEVER STOP BELIEVING IN OUR PROJECT. CATARINA ÖSTLUND, HELENA IVEROTH, PÅL CASTELL & MARIA NYSTRÖM FOR THEIR ENGAGEMENT AND EFFORTS IN THE STUDIO. LENA FALKHEDEN, LAURENT DEMARTA AND ULF HENNINGSSON FOR BEING OUR EXTRA TUTORS WITH BRIGHT IDEAS AND EXCELLENT GUIDANCE. HELENA NORLÉN FOR HER SUPERP ORGANISATION AND PROGRAMME AT THE UN-HABITAT. OSCAR PERRUSQUÍA AND THE ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS FOR THE INTERESTING WORKSHOP, LECTURE, INPUTS AND DISCUSSIONS. JENS DYMLING, HAUWA MAHDI AS WELL AS LECTURERS, PROFESSORS AND EXPERTS FROM THE UN-HABITAT AND VARIOUS UNIVERSITIES THAT HAVE INSPIRED US BY SHARING THEIR REAL LIFE EXPERIENCES IN AFRICA. NEL JANSSENS, CHOTIMA AG-UKRIKUL, ULRIKE RAHE, OTTO VON BUSCH, JAN-HENRIK KAAN AND OTHER INVITED CRITICS FOR THEIR REWARDING FEEDBACK ON THE FINAL PRESENTATIONS. THE FANTASTIC ORGANIZERS AND ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS OF THE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY IN TURIN FOR GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN ‘BAMBOO FOR EMERGENCY’. ALL FELLOW STUDENTS FROM MASENO UNIVERSITY FOR THEIR HOSPITALITY AND KINDNESS! ERIC, COLLIN, EDWIN FROM ABC AND ALL WORKERS THAT BUILT WITH US IN MASENO. EXTRA THANKS TO OUR COURSEMATES OF REALITY STUDIO 2010 FOR ORDERING AND KEEPING FOOD FOR US EACH TIME WE WERE LATE HOME FROM MASENO AND OF COURSE FOR MAKING OUR STAY IN KISUMU SO UNFORGETTABLY BEAUTIFUL AND JOYFUL.
BACKGROUND Each year, a group of students from Chalmers University in Sweden who are enrolled in the Reality Studio have the opportunity to go abroad on a field study for seven weeks. This studio is a part of the master program of Design for Sustainable Development and leaps through a period of 15 weeks in the spring semester. The goal of the studio is to provide students with opportunities to find new design and planning strategies for urban areas, villages, neighbourhoods, built environment and architectural conservation and transformation. Over the past recent years, special focus has been put on the current situation and the developing grounds of Kenya. Through collaboration with the Water, Sanitation and Infrastructure Branch (WSIB) of UN-HABITAT, University of Nairobi, and Maseno University, studio work has been carried out in Kisumu and around the Lake Victoria area. NAME: Isa Pettersson AGE: 25 COUNTRY: Sweden MAJOR: Architecture
NAME: Azarakhsh Sadeghzade AGE: 26 COUNTRY: Iran MAJOR: Architecture
NAME: Silvio Soldi AGE: 22 COUNTRY: Italy MAJOR: Architecture
NAME: Christine Tam AGE: 24 COUNTRY: Sweden MAJOR: Architecture
NAME: Wen Tzu-Ching AGE: 23 COUNTRY: Taiwan MAJOR: Civil Engineering
BUILD IT! is an initiative born in 2010 through one common interest in dealing with practical work and hands-on issues while being on site. This specific interest has united five students of different backgrounds, disciplines and ambitions to cooperate as a project group, aiming to define a problem area and a common goal to target towards sustainable development.
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26 MARCH 2010 EXHIBITION IN KISUMU
17-26 MARCH 2010 BUILD IT! 31 MARCH 2010 EXHIBITION IN NAIROBI 24 FEBRUARY 2010 INTRODUCTION OF PAD
05 MARCH 2010 MID-TERM CRITIC (PRESENTATION OF PAD)
20 MAY 2010 EXHIBITION IN TURIN
19 FEBRUARY 2010 ARRIVAL TO KISUMU
FEBRUARY
MARCH
21 JANUARY 2010 REALITY STUDIO STARTS
APRIL
03 APRIL 2010 ARRIVAL TO GOTHENBURG
MAY
JUNE
25-26 MAY 2010 PRESENTATION OF PROJECT
02 JUNE 2010 FINAL HAND IN OF REPORT AND CRITICAL REFLECTIONS
1-26 APRIL2010 USE IT!
TIMELINE OVERVIEW
CONTENT I. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS II. BACKGROUND III. TIMELINE OVERVIEW IV. CONTENT V. LIST OF DEFINITIONS CHAPTER 1. PROJECT DESCRIPTION 1.1. INTRODUCTION 1.2. KENYA 1.3. INVENTORY OF KISUMU 1.4. PROJECT AREA DEFINITION (PAD) 1.4.1. Problem area 1.4.2. Aim 1.4.3. Methods 1.4.4. Target group CHAPTER 2. BUILD IT! INVESTIGATING LOCAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES 2.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 2.2. AREAS OF INVESTIGATION 2.2.1. Material 2.2.2. Water Treatment 2.2.3. Waste Management 2.3. CREATING THE PLATFORM 2.3.1. The process: Day 1-9 CHAPTER 3: USE IT! UNDERSTANDING THE FUNCTIONALITIES 3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.2.1. Understanding the materials 3.2.1.1. Bamboo 3.2.1.2. Earth & Cow Dung 3.2.1.3. Water Hyacinth 3.2.2. Understanding Water Treatment 3.2.2.1. Solar Method 3.2.2.2. Herbal Method 3.1.2. Understanding Sanitation & Waste Management 3.1.2.1. Compost Toilets 3.1.2.2. Biogas plantation 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL 3.4.1. Site analysis 3.4.2. Household Studies 3.4.3. Prerequisites 3.4.4. Design Criteria 3.4.5. Site plan 3.4.6. Floor plans 3.4.7. Sketches 3.4.8. Implementation
CHAPTER 4: SHOW IT! SHARING THE KNOWLEDGE 4.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 4.2. EXHIBITIONS 4.2.1. Jomo Kenyatta Sportsground, Kisumu 4.2.2. UN-HABITAT HQ, Nairobi 4.2.3. Bamboo for Emergency, Turin 4.2.4. Final Presentation, Gothenburg 4.3. PHYSICAL STRUCTURE 4.4. WEB LOG CHAPTER 5: EVALUATION 5.1. SUMMARY: This is what we did 5.1.1. The challenges we faced 5.1.2. The advantages we had 5.2. CONCLUSION 5.3. CRITICAL REFLECTIONS 5.3.1. “The perception of time between cultures’ by Christine Tam 5.3.2. “Coming full circle?” by Isa Pettersson 5.3.3. “A brown solution” by Azarakhsh Sadeghzade BIBLIOGRAPHY
LIST OF DEFINITIONS ABC - African Bamboo Centre Absolute poverty - the absence of enough resources to secure basic life necessities Adequate - as much, or as good as necessary for some requirement or purpose; fully sufficient Affordable - what is reasonable for the target group to pay considering their income Biodegradable - capable of being decomposed by natural process Boda boda - bicycle taxi CBD - Central Business District CEO - Chief Executive Officer Cohesion - the capacity of earth grains to remain together Food poverty line - the amount of money needed for food to sustain normal physical activity and good health Informal settlement - often illegal or unauthorized settlement of people who live in improvised dwellings
Pisé - rammed earth Post-election riots - after Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of Kenya’s presidential election in the end of 2007, mass riots erupted throughout the country to protest his suspected election fraud Schistosomiasis - also known as bilharzia or snail fever, is a parasitic disease caused by several species of flatworms of the genus Schistosoma Slum - as defined by the United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security Slum upgrading - improving the living conditions of people living in slums on their own terms and without destroying the values that are there Street children - usually boys who for different reasons has no place to stay, you can find them roaming the streets, often sniffing glue Sustainable (development) - meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs UN-HABITAT - the United Nations agency for human settlements
Intangible - incapable of being perceived by the senses Local resources - resources produced, grown or found on the African continent Low-income - a level of income that does not exceed 80% of the area median income Luo - the third largest tribe in Kenya and the most common in the area of Kisumu Maasai - cattle herding, Nilotic tribe residing in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania, known for their distinctive customs and dress Matatu - a minivan with 14 seats, publi transport. Mzungu - “white person” in Kiswahili, very commonly used by locals Natural resources - renewable material or other resources that can be harvested and used directly or with minimal preparation, that is less harmful to the environment than the non-natural alternative Nepotism - favoritism shown on the basis of family relationship, as in business and politics NGO - Non Government Organisation
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INTRODUCTION Sustainable development has inevitably become one of the most common terms used in the modern dictionary in every field of industry around the world. As architect students, we often hear about the importance to incorporate this thinking in our work. Yet, common building materials taught at school mostly include glass, steel and concrete. Common built examples that are displayed on the studio monitors are museums, libraries or other kinds of city-branding landmarks, complex skyscrapers. On the master plan level, we discuss roads and infrastructure, compact building theories, the qualities of open spaces and adding trees . With this acquired knowledge, we are then encouraged to build sustainably. How? The content of this report stems from our reaction towards the lack of guidance in “how�. It is a documentation of our process through phases of questions, observations and investigations in Kenya, further to researches, design and attempts to find solutions back in Sweden. We wish to understand different methods in achieving sustainable results not only under familiar circumstances, but in the actual reality, across the boundaries of our western high-tech world. Instead of always climbing the ladder to complexity, why not take a glimpse over our shoulders, take a few steps back to square one and learn from the fundamentals in contexts where resources are scarce? You probably know the techniques to construct the tallest high-rise in the world by now, but would you know what to do in order to create a roof overhead when you no longer have access to glass, steel or concrete? This is our story...
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1.1. INTRODUCTION 1.2. KENYA 1.3. INVENTORY OF KISUMU 1.4. PAD
Nairobi is the capital city and the largest city in Kenya, with about 3 million inhabitants. At first it was just a pit stop for the railway from Mombasa to Uganda, but became the capital in 1907 during the British rule, and was preserved as the capital after the independence. Nairobi’s largest slum, Kibera, is also the second largest slum in Africa, with approximately 1,5 million inhabitants.
SUDAN
ETHOPIA
KENYA Kenya is situated on the coast of eastern Africa, bordering Sudan and Ethiopia in the north, Uganda and lake Victoria in the west, Somalia and the Indian ocean in the east and Tanzania in the south.
SOMALIA NILE
UGANDA CONGO TANZANIA
Named after Mount Kenya, the former British colony became independent in 1963. The capital city is Nairobi. Kiswahili and English are the official languages, but most inhabitants also (and some only) speak their native tribal language. The population of about 38 million are mostly Christians, but also Hindus, Muslims and of various indigenous beliefs. There are around 40 tribes in Kenya and the tribal culture is still strong. Only about 42% of the population live in urban areas. (In Sweden the number is 83%) Kenya is presently faced with many challenges; over 6% of the population are HIV positive. Moreover, many endure sub-standard living conditions due to poverty and rapid urbanisation, and illness caused by lack of clean water for drinking and hygiene. Nepotism within tribes and corruption had led to great inequalities and failing infrastructure. The crime rate is high due to poverty, and corruption within the police.1 At the same time, illiteracy has dropped from 43% to 14% since 1980. Extra effort has been made to educate girls, to prevent teenage pregnancies and make women a bigger part of the society. There are also a lot of grass root movements and private initiatives that work towards a brighter future for Kenya.
NAIROBI
MOMBASA
Maseno is a small town of about 2000 inhabitants, 25 kilometers northwest of Kisumu. Maseno University was founded in 1991 and has 8 faculties, schools and institutions, one campus in Maseno and one in Kisumu.
MASENO
LAKE VICTORIA
24.7 公里 – 大約 21 分鐘
KISUMU
Kisumu is the third largest city of Kenya after Nairobi and Mombasa, situated on the shore of lake Victoria. As the capital city of the Nyanza province, there is an official record of a population rate at 300 000 inhabitants, but this number is over ten years old. It was founded in 1901 as the port connecting the railway to Uganda and other countries around lake Victoria.
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EMPLOYMENT > 30% of the population are unemployed > 52% of the working population engaged in the informal activities have their monthly wage in the range of 3,000-4,000Ksh > 48% of the urban population live within the absolute poverty bracket. The national average is 29%. Main sources of income for the urban poor include; > Wage employment in manufacturing and processing plants > Petty/informal trades > Urban livestock and agriculture (mainly subsistence level) > Public transportation (non-motorized such as Boda boda)
HOUSING > Approximately 60% of the urban population resident in the peri-urban and informal settlements lack basic services. > High congestion with 150 rooming/ housing units per hectare in informal settlements > Approximately 75% of peri-urban inhabitants live in temporary and semipermanent structures.
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HEALTH > Key health challenges facing Kisumu include high HIV/Aids infection, malaria and water borne diseases contributing to high child mortility rate. 2 According to the 2001 results of sentinel surveillance by the Ministry of Health, the percentage of pregnant women testing HIV-positive was 35% for Kisumu. > The health conditions are exacerbated by the limited access to health facilities and relatively high cost of treatment, with majority of the poor resulting into unconventional ‘home treatment’ modes. Even where the health facilities exist, they often lack the drugs for treatment. 3
FOOD AND WATER > 53.4% of the city’s population are below the food poverty line, in comparison to 8.4% in Nairobi, 38.6% in Mombasa and 30% in Nakuru. > The city suffers from shortage of clean water though the town lies next to the second largest fresh water lake in the world. 1
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Month
EDUCATION > Kisumu records an adult literacy rate of 48 %, with 24.6% of urban poor having attained secondary school education. > Low enrolment rate and high gender parity between the boys and girls.4
Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
Average Sunlight (hours) 9 9 8 8 8 8 7 7 8 8 7 8
CLIMATE
Average Relative Average Wet days temperature (째C) humidity precipitation (+0.25 Month Average Average Relative mm) Average Min Max Sunlight AM temperature PM (mm) (째C) humidity precipitation (hours) Min Max AM PM (mm) 18 29 60 41 48 6 19 Jan 29 19 Feb 28 18 March 28 18 April 27 17 May 27 17 June 27 17 July 27 17 Aug 28 18 Sept 29 18 Oct 29 18 Nov 29 Dec
9 62 9 68 8 74 8 77 8 76 8 76 7 73 7 66 8 61 8 62 7 61
41 18 46 19 52 19 57 18 53 18 52 17 50 17 47 17 41 17 43 18 41 18
29 81 29140 28191 28155 27 84 27 58 27 76 27 64 28 56 29 86 29102
8
18
29
60 62 68 74 77 76 76 73 66 61 62 61
8 41 12 41 14 46 14 52 9 57 8 53 10 52 8 50 7 47 9 41 8 43 41
RAINFALL RAINFALL 200
48 81 140 191 155 84 58 76 64 56 86 102
Wet days (+0.25 mm) 6 8 12 14 14 9 8 10 8 7 9 8
RAINFALL
200 150 150 100 100 50 50 0 Jan Feb March April0 May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov
Average precipitation (mm) Average precipitation (mm)
1. http://www.kisumumunicipalcouncil.org/economic_profile.htm 2010-05-29 2. http://www.kisumumunicipalcouncil.org/HIVAids_other_diseases.htm 2010-05-29 3. http://www.kisumumunicipalcouncil.org/health.htm 2010-05-29 4. www.kisumumunicipalcouncil.org/education.htm 2010-05-29
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT000280 2010-05-29
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CHARACTERISTICS
1.1. INTRODUCTION 1.2. INVENTORY OF KISUMU 1.3. KENYA 1.4. PAD
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MATERIAL
1.1. INTRODUCTION 1.2. INVENTORY OF KISUMU 1.3. KENYA 1.4. PAD
Most of the buildings in downtown Kisumu is from around 1960, when Kisumu had it’s economical peak, and only a few commercial buildings have been added since. Most construction work in the downtown area today is to add extra stories to existing buildings, not always a good idea since there seldom is sufficient knowledge about the durability of the existing buildings. The slum areas are primarily located as a ring around the city center. The character of the areas is quite diverse, from very dense urban structures with many small businesses, to a more rural ones in the outskirts. These areas used to all be rural in character, but after Kenya gained independence in 1963, there has been a steady ow of people coming to the city in search of work. Since Kisumu was not prepared for such a rapid urbanisation, the housing situation soon became a huge problem.
1 km
*Jens Dymling
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CBD and industry concrete and metal sheet
Residential area bricks, concrete and roofing tiles
Informal settlements clay and metal sheet
Mixed area, industry and residental, formal and informal
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PROBLEM AREA The issue of slum upgrading has awakened our attention ever since day one. Having visited the second largest slum area of Africa in Nairobi, we were faced with the reality for the first time beyond the pictures given on the television. We witnessed how the filthy water was running arbitrarily between houses and common areas where the children played. We sensed the substantial smell of a mix between human waste and garbage. We sat inside of a six square meters living space with only one small entrance and no windows, making ventilation and natural daylight impossible. On the exterior, some buildings were constructed by earth in a way that appeared to be sloppy and nondurable, while others were stacked up by rusty metal sheets just like living in a giant tin can. On a visit to the informal settlements of Nyalenda in Kisumu, we encountered a whole new level of intangible difficulties that were not as easily detectable. Through conversations with teachers of a pre-school in the area, we found out that despite the fact that primary education of eight years is technically free by law, in reality, not everyone has the privilege to attend school due to cost of administration fees, books and materials. Many children have lost either one or both parents and have to live with their relatives. Those who don’t have anybody to rely on usually end up loitering around the streets and sniffing glue. There are some children that still have parents, but are forced to take care of them at an early age because of HIV or other diseases. Poverty, poor health conditions and high criminality rate along with the described scenarios earlier are only a few examples in the myriad of social, cultural, ecological and economical conflicts that are facing today’s urban areas and human settlements in Africa.
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AIM
Distressed by the impressions of our field visits, we were determined to work for an improved environment in the slum and low-income areas. There has been a large pool of challenges seen on site, but what we eventually identified as our priority is the base of the hierarchy of needs. We aim to investigate on possible solutions to raise the standard of living without raising the cost. Hence, what we firstly want to achieve with this project is to present successful, affordable and modern examples of systems to tackle basic human needs by creatively utilizing local and natural resources. By basic human needs aside from food, we include clean water, security and hygiene as essential issues in order for man to obtain adequate living conditions. We have specified our studies and researches on rainwater harvesting and purification, waste management and sanitation as well as how to create a well-functioning structure to enable a comfortable and healthy indoor climate. With these examples, we hope to share the experience that we have gained during the process and contribute with inspirations to improve the basic daily life. What we consider the main philosophy of this project is basically: 1. To promote the potentials of local assets by... 2. Exchanging ideas and knowledge through co-learning and... 3. Catalysing for an on-going process, firstly in Kenya.
MARSLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
Self-actualization needs are to ‘become what we are capable of becoming’, which would be our greatest achievement.
Esteem needs are for a higher position within a group. If people respect us, we have greater power.
Belonging needs introduce our tribal nature. If we are helpful and kind to others they will want us as friends. Safety needs are about putting a roof over our heads and keeping us from harm. If we are rich, strong and powerful, or have good friends, we can make ourselves safe. Physiological needs are to do with the maintenance of the human body. If we are unwell, then little else matters until we recover.
SELFACTUALISATION: achieving individual potential
ESTEEM: self-esteem and esteem from others
BELONGING: love, affection and being a part of groups
SAFETY: shelter, removal from danger
PHYSIOLOGICAL: Health, food, sleep
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METHODS
TARGET GROUP
In order to reach our goal we ourselves have to be the first ones to gain the knowledge and understanding. Our learning process can be illustrated both as three stages we have gone through and three tools we have used to get there.
This report is firstly written for anyone who is interested to build their own house in Kenya. Ultimately, we aim to reach out to as many as possible in the general public by sharing experiences and exchanging knowledge, just like the effect of ‘generating rings in the water with a droplet’. In order to get there, we believe students and children are those that are important to target, because the younger generations are the future as well as our hope to a long-term sustainable development.
1. BUILD IT! Is the first phase of our project that took place in Kenya, where we mostly concentrated on gathering impressions and learning from the local context. Aside from the study visits at National Museums and various university campuses, we have also been greatly inspired by looking into examples and ongoing projects in other parts of the world. Above all, we treasured the possibility being able to communicate with local inhabitants. Through discussions and anecdotes, we were provided with inside and up-to-date information, which otherwise would be hidden from the eyes of an outsider. To help us understanding the building traditions, potentials of materials, water and hygiene systems, we devoted the last week of our stay to build a physical structure on the campus site of Maseno University. To us, this structure is a platform for our ideas to merge and be displayed, but also a practical tool to start off our co-learning with the workers. 2. USE IT! Is the latter phase of our project, which began when we came back to Sweden. We started the continuation by summarizing the experiences and feedbacks from Kenya to further develop our understanding in analysis, literature studies and workshops. Reports from previous years’ students have for instance been an efficient catalyst and a useful library to collect data. Moreover, we have actively gotten in contact with experts from different fields, not only professors at the university, but also guest architects from abroad and specialists of various NGO’s. To implement our researches on something more than just a written text, we have been working on a design proposal for an extension to a nursery school in Nyalenda. This school is an initiative by the Christian NGO; Interfelk that we got in contact with during our stay in Kenya and that specifies on education for orphans and street children. In our belief, proposing for a sustainable school in the slums is the second tool for us to reach out to the public; low-income people and children.
BUILD IT! THOSE WHO WANT TO BUILD A HOUSE
CHILDREN & STUDENTS
3. SHOW IT! Is the third mean of our toolbox and a phase of the project that does not fall within any defined time period. It represents all occasions we have had to present our work to the public, from exhibitions in Kenya, Italy and Sweden to the virtual space of our internet blog that is accessible from all around the world. It is an ongoing process that will continue as far as we want to take it, and for as long as there is knowledge to absorb and share.
THE GENERAL PUBLIC
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OVERVIEW
Upon the early stages of our process in finding information to the project, we came in contact with two architects from Nepal that worked with building a bamboo pavilion in Maseno. Being in contact with them has definitely influenced our work, especially regarding the aspect of obtaining materials and contact with the local labour force. Some of us attended a small working session in Maseno to gain a better understanding in the building process, which along with our field visits to a craft workshop of water hyacinth, soon had us decided on where to put our emphasis. A practical approach is what we all agreed to base our project on while we were in Kenya. We realised that the best way to do so was to build a platform, explore with the potentials of local material and natural resources, and at last combine our ideas to a unity as a showcase. One of the associations we got in with contact prior the building phase was the ABC. African Bamboo Center is a workshop in the biggest market in Kisumu; Kibuye, where some artisans work on using bamboo as a construction material for furniture and decoration. Eric and Collin, the two workers we hired were experienced in handicraft but with almost no background in housing. As this is our first real experience to build something practical, we felt that we needed another specialist worker available for supervision. Meanwhile, contacts with the municipality, the national museum and other people, however, soon had us realize that our time limit exceeds the possibility for building the actual structure in the slum context. This was the moment when our collaboration with Maseno started. The chapter of BUILD IT! is mainly a review of our building process in Maseno and the various subjects that sparked off our interest in further investigation. It tells a story about everything from long working hours, to extreme weather changes, consequences of different time perceptions, the unexpected challenges we faced along the way and how we had to make compromises as well as to accept less ideal outcomes.
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OUTLINE WHAT: A physical structure to show-case modern examples of systems and material for self-sufficiency. It is neither a house nor a building, but more like a source of inspiration and a provocative artifact that coherently deals with water, waste, sanitation and local building materials. WHY: To learn from, investigate on and experiment with the chosen topics together with the local expertise. By combining water, hygiene and shelter in a platform together, the unity will stand stronger thanks to the synergy effect. HOW: Getting hold of experts and local workers to create contact networks. WHO: Firstly, we are the ones that benefit from it. Cooperating with the workers enable us to learn from each other, and by building it on a university campus attracts attention from the students. WHERE: Maseno University, Maseno CRITERIA: Self-sufficiency, based on local and natural resources, small-scale and easy to construct that does not exceed our time limit and budget. It should be possible to repeat and an example to learn from, both positively and negatively. CHALLENGES: Money, time, language barriers, cultural clash, OUTCOME: A pavillion with floor and roof to provide shade. No walls, no systems, no toilet built due to lack of time, money and the weather.
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2.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 2.2. AREAS OF INVESTIGATION 2.3. BUILDING THE PLATFORM
AREAS OF INVESTIGATION
BAMBOO
EARTH
COW DUNG
WATER HYACINTH
WATER TREATMENT
WASTE MANAGEMENT
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2.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 2.2. AREAS OF INVESTIGATION 2.3. BUILDING THE PLATFORM
Just the day after our arrival in Kisumu, the studio was invited to visit the university campus of Maseno. During the short guided tour, we were introduced to an ongoing bamboo project that was in construction. Fascinated by such a full scale skeleton of 8 meter, some of us were instantly inspired to attend a small working session on site, in order to gain a better understanding of the building process and bamboo’s potential as a structural component. Following this working session, we managed to invite the Nepali architects to hold a lecture for our studio in Kisumu so that we could get to know more about the technical features of bamboo. During the lecture, we learnt that bamboo is the fastest-growing plant of all, reaching about 1-3 feet (30-90 cm) in a day in comparison to timber that requires one year to grow one foot. It also surpasses timber in terms of strength. Bamboo is not only suitable for construction after 3-6 years, but also for cooking, and is already edible after 30 days of growth. Between 6 to 9 months, it is perfect to be used for weaving baskets and after 2 to 3 years, it can be used for making bamboo boards and laminations. To our astonishment, however, bamboo is not traditionally used as a building material in Kenya although it is commonly grown in the southern hemisphere, around Africa, Asia and South America. Later we found out that there is currently a ban against harvesting bamboo in Kenya and a long bureaucratic process to obtain bamboo for non-domestic purposes. Having said that, there are as well many workshops in Kisumu that use the material for making furniture, and a proposition to change some of the nation’s tobacco plantation into bamboo forests, which would ensure sufficient resources for a healthy trade market. If we can investigate on good ideas to use bamboo instead of using wood, there will be an opportunity to slow down the loss rate of forest resources in Kenya.
BAMBOO
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Before leaving for Kenya, we were assigned to study reports of previous years’ students in 2009, which has gotten some of us curious to learn more about earth buildings.1 After arriving in Kisumu, we observed that many people indeed made their shelters and houses by using earth, except for the formal areas where concrete and brick buildings dominated. Many of the houses made of earth seen in the rural areas were however in a remarkably bad condition, poorly maintained with a lot of cracks on the surface. We also heard local people mentioning how earth buildings were made for the poor and were considered to have low statuses in the society. Once they had money, they would rather choose to use metal sheets, cement or burned bricks. Earth as a natural resource that is accessible anywhere and by anyone has therefore no particular value, although earth houses are extremely comfortable, both in warm and cool weather, due to its thermal characteristics. Earth is also a very good regulator of moisture compared to many other materials. The walls are relatively porous and can quickly absorb or release moisture into the room, allowing the building to breathe. Apart from its property of moisture control, it has as well an ability to absorb gas and odors and some excellent acoustic properties of reducing noise levels. On a visit to the National Museum of Kenya, we were introduced to the culture and traditions of the Luo tribe, which is the most common tribe found in Kisumu. We walked around a traditional homestead built as an exhibition, where round earth huts of different sizes were standing in a particular order and with some big sloping thatch roofs hanging over. It was also there, where we had our first opportunity to be inside an earth building to experience the comfortable indoor climate. The coolness that was provided inside of the 500 mm compact walls despite having a hot burning mid-day sun on the outside amazed us. While we learnt that earth is a traditional building material used by the Luo for centuries, we were not surprised to find out about the same traditions with cow dung for the Maasai tribe. Hearing that these building traditions are about to die out as the Kenyan society is getting modernised incited us to investigate further on the topic.
1. Forsberg M, Gyllenhak M, Ssekitoleko L (2009)
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Kisumu is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Victoria and one of the problems in the lake is the amount of water hyacinth pollution. The water hyacinth moves by the wind and stocks along the shore, seriously affecting navigation, fish harvesting activity and the underwater ecosystem. While in Kisumu, we observed that the area of the lake covered by the water hyacinth was more than two soccer fields. During a visit to a handicraft workshop in Kisumu where people used recycle materials, such as metal and plastic bags to make souvenirs, water hyacinth was firstly introduced to us with practical uses. Apart from creating furniture by drying the stems and rolling them to ropes, water hyacinth can also be used for producing paper by mixing it with waste paper and white glue. This visit was a trigger that made us think about the water hyacinth pollution in Lake Victoria, and started our interest to explore its possibilites as a building material. If there are more ways to make use of water hyacinth and turn the “garbage“ into “gold“, people can profit from using this local material which is basically free.
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Seeing the world’s second largest freshwater lake of Victoria right next to Kisumu, one can hardly imagine that 60% of the city population actually lacks access to safe water.1 Due to the fact that the formal system has been built according to the old colonial city plan, the informal settlement that is expanding on the outskirts naturally falls beyond the system borders. Having said that, the pipe system that does work in town is gradually getting old with many broken lines, which in turn lead to occasional polluted water delivery. As a matter of fact, the amount of people receiving water in their taps in general is relatively small, and almost to the extent of none in the unplanned suburbs. People in these areas have to either walk long distances to collect water from shallow wells or they will have to buy it from vendors or kiosks. One of the things that made a strong impact on us while doing our household studies in the informal settlements was the ignorance towards rainwater. March is the start of a longer rainy season in Kenya, which has given us at least one rainfall everyday for a month’s time during our stay. Sometimes it was drizzling in shorter periods, other times it poured heavier and could last for hours. As far as we have observed though, there was almost no developed system for collecting rainwater for use in an efficient way. Small plastic buckets have been seen occasionally outside of houses with a yard, but still in a fairly rare quantity. Combined with inadequate sewage systems and poor infrastructure, the water can rise up to knee levels, making it difficult to walk on the muddy roads of the suburbs, and in worst cases, even leading to flooding problems. Lack of access to safe water and sanitation facilities, coupled with poor hygiene practices, kills and sickens thousands of children every day.2 When mentioning this problem to our tutor from Maseno University, we were informed about KWAHO (Kenya Water for Health Organization) that had worked with rainwater harvesting and ways of purification through ultraviolet light. This conversation generated our interest to study further on possible methods to make use of the rain and the sun as natural resources available on site.
WATER TREATMENT
1. Norlén, H & Sahleström, K (2009) 2. http://www.unicef.org/wash/ (2010-04-30)
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WASTE MANAGEMENT Another issue observed during our household studies was the way waste was handled in the area. Plastic everywhere, bags, empty bottles mixed with paper packages and orts. Looking at the current situation in Kisumu, there are almost no public plans going on to help households deal with their waste. To us, it is a matter of course that any single building project should be as self-sufficient and independent as possible, in terms of waste management. This question motivated us to look at different existing methods which are used in the world and will try find those that would fit better in our study context and could be reduced into small scale such as a household. Dealing with waste has been a serious concern in human societies from ancient times. As population has grown, this problem has become more important and it has become more essential to find a good solution for managing the waste produced by human beings, including both organic and inorganic waste. The organic waste, especially human manure has great potential in spreading diseases which becomes more dangerous in crowded areas. In developed countries there have been plans to improve the methods of waste management based on the ongoing researches. In many developing countries, however, the situation is different. According to the family in our household system study, apart from the manure which is directly released in nature, all other types of organic and inorganic waste including plastics and pollutant chemicals were burned in the courtyard. This was a common trend for most families living in our study area, so the amount of pollutants released in nature seemed extremely high and threatening inhabitants’ health. When it comes to inorganic waste and synthetic materials, the only way we can recommend is to avoid using objects produced from this type of materials and trying to replace them with environmentally friendly products. With natural and organic substances however, it becomes much more possible to find practical and convenient methods of waste management. Having identified the different areas of interest, we immediately started our investigations to eventually build our platform in Maseno.
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2.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 2.2. AREAS OF INVESTIGATION 2.3. BUILDING THE PLATFORM
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- half a meter off the ground!?
While a group of workers started digging and preparing the foundation, the two others were cutting bamboo and preparing the main pieces for the construction. Some of us discussed if we needed to lift the floor half a meter up from the ground elevation. Finally, after hours of sketches and evaluation, we decided for lifting it, in order to prevent it from connecting to the ground because that can keep the material of bamboo floor dried.
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Day 2
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- i canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even hang myself with this?
moral was still good!
During the afternoon it was impossible to operate on the foundation that were still drying but the time went to building the frame for the rammed earth wall. Also several tests were in progress to identify the correct mixture of clay and straw, cement and other addictive elements. The tests with the hyacinth rope turned out really badly and we realised that it was not strong enough to withstand our weight. But instead of using the water hyacinth in this way, we investigated to use the dried water hyacinth stems as an insulation layer under the roof. So we plan to harvest enough waterhyacinth from Lake Victoria on this weekend.
In the afternoon we faced the first of a long series of problems concerning the material. Two of us wenr to Luanda, the closest village to purchase material and hired some transporters who were supposed to bring the material to the site. After 4 hours the material had finally cover the distance of 5 km and reached the site but the sunset had already passed and we will have to start with the floor frame tomorrow.
35
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)RU WKH VWUXFWXUH today the foundation for the bamboo structure is dried DQG UHDG\ 6R ZH PDNH DQRWKHU Ă&#x20AC;YH FROXPQV IRU WKH OLIWLQJ Ă RRU DQG DOVR prepare theelectricity scaffold for building the structure. In the end of the day, we The struggle for the has now reached the end. Ă&#x20AC;QLVKHG WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW SDUW RI WKH VWUXFWXUH DQG DOVR SUHSDULQJ WKH VFDIIROGV 7RGD\ Ă&#x20AC;QDOO\ DIWHU WZR GD\V D PLOOLRQ RI SKRQH FDOOV VRPH FXUVHV DQG a couple of voodoo dolls we got 50m of extension cord that allows )RU WKH UDPPHG HDUWK ZDOO we have prepared the frame. We use the XV WR Ă&#x20AC;QDOO\ KDYH SRZHU DQG XVH WKH GULOO IXQGDPHQWDO IRU SUHSDULQJ EHVW UHFLSH IURP RXU WHVW WR EXLOG WKH UDPPHG HDUWK :H Ă&#x20AC;QLVKHG WKH the bamboo pieces infor order to place the column tomorrow the The struggle the electricity had now when reached earth wall in theFor end ofbamboo the day. structure, But we forgot to cover the rammed foundation will be dry. the we are now preparing the earth end.with Today finally after two days, a million of waterproof covering. the frame of the structure.
phone calls, some curses and a couple of voodoo dolls we got 50m of we extension that allowed us )RU WKH ZDWHU K\DFLQWK WHVW ZH FKHFN WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW K\DFLQWK SDQHO ZH PDGH )RU WKH ZDWHU FROOHFWLQJ V\VWHP have visitedcord the water treatment to finally have power and use the drill, fundamental \HVWHUGD\ 7KH UHVXOW LV QRW JRRG ,W FUDFNV HYHU\ZKHUH EHFDXVH WKH plant in Kisumu, in order to collect more information on the water we usethe is not enough for binding in all the materials In SXULĂ&#x20AC;FDWLRQ V\VWHP for cement preparing bamboo pieces order to together. place the addition, we test to weave the dried water hyacinth stems together. column tomorrow when the foundation will be dry. We continue towe try test the different second version thedifferent hyacinthrecipes panel. of We use )RU WKH UDPPHG HDUWK modelsofwith PXFK PRUH FHPHQW WKDQ WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW WLPH DQG XVH WKH K\DFLQWK ZHDYH IRU rammed earth by using compression to see which one is strong enough. For covering the bamboo structure, we are now preparing the the panel. 7RGD\ ZH DOVR H[FKDQJH RXU LGHDV ZLWK )UDQNOLQ DQG ,QJHU /LVH DERXW frame of the structure. the earth wall. Finally, the model with cement, clay and straw is the best one that can bear much more loads.
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- you... drank our water sample?
)RU WKH VWUXFWXUH today the foundation for the bamboo structure is dried DQG UHDG\ 6R ZH PDNH DQRWKHU Ă&#x20AC;YH FROXPQV IRU WKH OLIWLQJ Ă RRU DQG DOVR prepare the scaffold for building the structure. In the end of the day, we Today, the foundation for the bamboo structure is Ă&#x20AC;QLVKHG WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW SDUW RI WKH VWUXFWXUH DQG DOVR SUHSDULQJ WKH VFDIIROGV
dried and ready. So we made another five columns
)RU WKH UDPPHG HDUWK ZDOO welifting have prepared frame. We use the for the floortheand also prepared the scaffold EHVW UHFLSH IURP RXU WHVW WR EXLOG WKH UDPPHG HDUWK :H Ă&#x20AC;QLVKHG WKH for building our structure. earth wall in the end of the day. But we forgot to cover the rammed earth with waterproof covering.
For the rammed earth wall, well..it did not survive last nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heavy rain so we had to rebuild it again. )RU WKH ZDWHU K\DFLQWK WHVW ZH FKHFN WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW K\DFLQWK SDQHO ZH PDGH \HVWHUGD\ 7KH UHVXOW LV QRW JRRG ,W FUDFNV HYHU\ZKHUH EHFDXVH WKH cement we use is not enough binding all the materials In For the for water hyacinth test, together. we checked the first addition, we test to hyacinth weave the dried water hyacinth stems together. panel we made yesterday. The result was We continue to try the second version of the hyacinth panel. We use not good with many cracks everywhere because the PXFK PRUH FHPHQW WKDQ WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW WLPH DQG XVH WKH K\DFLQWK ZHDYH IRU covering the panel.cement we used was not enough for binding all the
materials together. In addition, we tested to weave the dried water hyacinth stems together. We made another attempt, adding more cement this time and used the hyacinth weave for covering the panel.
For the water collecting system, we have visited the )RU WKH ZDWHU K\DFLQWK ZH DUH WHVWLQJ WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW YHUVLRQ RI ´ZDWHU K\DFLQWK water treatment plant in Kisumu, in order to collect SDQHOÂľ PL[LQJ ZLWK WKH FHPHQW ZDWHU K\DFLQWK URRWV ZDWHU K\DFLQWK more information on the water purification system. leaves and clay.
For the water purification, we discvored that one of the workers accidentally drank one of our water samples. The consequence is just that we have to collect another bottle of rain water and repeat the process of exposing it to sun light for at least 6 hours before we can bring it to the lab.
For the rammed earth, we tested different models )RU WKH Ă RRU LW LV DOUHDG\ WDNLQJ ORWV RI WLPH DQG HQHUJ\ :H DOVR GLVFXVV with different recipes by using compression to LI ZH QHHG WR OLIW WKH Ă RRU KDOI D PHWHU XS IURP WKH JURXQG HOHYDWLRQ RU see which one is strong enough. Today, we also QRW )LQDOO\ ZH FKRRVH WR OLIW LW XS KDOI PHWHU LQVWHDG RI OHWWLQJ WKH Ă RRU FRQQHFW WR WKH JURXQG EHFDXVH WKDW FDQ NHHS WKH PDWHULDO RI EDPERR exchanged our ideas withour teachers about the earth Ă RRU GULHG wall. Finally, the model with cement, clay and straw is the best one that can bear much more loads!
:H DUH VWLOO ODFNLQJ LQ RUJDQL]DWLRQ DQG HIĂ&#x20AC;FLHQWO\ XVLQJ WLPH LV QRW UHDOO\ our strength at this moment. It seems that no matter how much effort we For the water hyacinth, we are testing the first SXW LQ WKH RUJDQL]DWLRQ WKH ´KDNXQD PDWDWDÂľ HIIHFWV LV VXUURXQGLQJ XV version â&#x20AC;&#x153;water hyacinth panelâ&#x20AC;? of mixing with the and we have of to deal with the African perception time.
cement, water hyacinth roots, water hyacinth leaves and clay. For the floor, though taking lots of time and energy, it is getting nowhere.
We are still lacking in organization and efficiently using time is not really our strength at this moment. It seems that no matter how much effort we put in the organisation the â&#x20AC;&#x153;hakuna matataâ&#x20AC;? effects is surrounding us and we have to deal with the African perception of time. WATER HYACINTH PANEL WALL
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FWXUH IUDPH DQG NLQJ WZR EDPERR bamboo panel
ZHHNHQG DQG DOVR ering, the earth try another recipe
l for building a
- do not cut the bamboo!
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)RU WKH VWUXFWXUH ZH Ă&#x20AC;QDOO\ Ă&#x20AC;QLVK WKH Ă RRU :H DOVR GHFLGHG WR XVH WKH )RU WKH VWUXFWXUH ZH PDNH WKH VHFRQG SDUW RI WKH VWUXFWXUH IUDPH DQG PHWDO VKHHW DV WKH URRI HYHQ WKRXJK WKDW ZH NQRZ XVLQJ WKH PHWDO WRPRUURZ ZH ZLOO SXW XS WKH URRI %HVLGHV ZH VWDUW PDNLQJ WZR EDPERR sheet is One expensive and itbamboo is noisy when it rain but one it is good for harvesting walls. is a sliding door the other is a bamboo panel the rainwater. For solving the noise problem, we decided that we could wall. use the hyacinth stem panels (tying the hyacinth stems together) as insulation in the roof. Unfortunately we couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dry the hyacinth and )RU WKH UDPPHG HDUWK ZDOO %HFDXVH LW UDLQHG D ORW WKLV ZHHNHQG DQG DOVR PDNH WKH K\DFLQWK SDQHO OD\HUV LQ WLPH (YHQWXDOO\ ZH GHFLGHG WR XVH we forgot to cover the earth wall with waterproof covering, the earth papyrus as insulation layer. water and collapsed. We will try another recipe wall absorbed too much of earth wall next time. )RU WKH ZDVWH PDQDJHPHQW ZH DUH VWLOO PDNLQJ WKH PRGHO RI D FRPSRVW toilet. )RU WKH ZDVWH PDQDJHPHQW we go to buy the material for building a model of a compost toilet. )RU WKH ZDWHU FROOHFWLQJ V\VWHP some of us went to the water treatment We have nowtorealized howabout seriously difficult was plant in Kisumu, exchange ideas how to purify the rain it water.
to find the right sizes, lenghts and width of bamboo to fit the pattern for the floor without leaving huge gaps. Cutting the bamboo pieces and nail them, one by one, before finding all pieces to fit the whole floor was probably not the most efficient way, risking to undo it all over again later. As unexperienced female students, trying to convince the workers to use another method was definitely not an easy task.
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)RU WKH VWUXFWXUH ZH Ă&#x20AC;QDOO\ Ă&#x20AC;QLVK WKH Ă RRU :H DOVR GHFLGHG WR XVH WKH PHWDO VKHHW DV WKH URRI HYHQ WKRXJK WKDW ZH NQRZ XVLQJ WKH PHWDO sheet is expensive and it is noisy when it rain but it is good for harvesting the rainwater. For solving the noise problem, we decided that we could use the hyacinth stem panels (tying the hyacinth stems together) as insulation in the roof. Unfortunately we couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dry the hyacinth and PDNH WKH K\DFLQWK SDQHO OD\HUV LQ WLPH (YHQWXDOO\ ZH GHFLGHG WR XVH Our tests with earth-building papyrus as insulation layer.
- adobe with cow dung? techniques continue however
)RU WKH ZDVWH PDQDJHPHQW ZH DUH VWLOO PDNLQJ WKH PRGHO RI D FRPSRVW the next day. toilet.
We decided to make adobe
)RU WKH ZDWHU FROOHFWLQJ V\VWHP some of us went to the water treatment (=clay+cow dung) blocks plant in Kisumu, to exchange ideas about how to purify the rain water.
with water hyacinth as reinforcement. This process was really similiar to the one with water hyacinth panel, only that the hyacinth this time was tested both as dry and flattened, non-flattened and as fresh. Cow dung is much more sustainable and less expensive than cement but will give away a bad smell before drying.
The rammed earth wall has collapsed a second time due to the weekendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pouring of rain. We will try another recipe of earth wall this time.
For the structure, with some determination, we finally managed to finish the floor! We also decided to THE MAKING OF ADOBE use metal sheet as roofing material, even though we know that metal sheet is expensive and not very good for insulating the sound from the rains. but because of its corrugated shape, it makes rainwater harvesting easier.
For the waste management, we went to buy the material for building a model of a compost toilet. We have also managed to get hold of the seeds of morenga oleifera, which contains natural antibacterial proteins to purify water! A heated discussion in the evening eventually turned out to an argument in the group because of disagreement in priorities. Although it was a nasty experience and we literally were bloody angry with each other in the heat of the moment, it was the first time ever we took the opportunity to vent our frustrations.
For the waste management, we are still making the model of a compost toilet to show on the exhibition. For the water collecting system, some of us went to the water treatment plant in Kisumu to hand in the test samples.
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)RU WKH VWUXFWXUH ZH VWDUWHG WR SXW XS WKH SDS\UXV DV WKH Ă&#x20AC;UVW OD\HU RI WKH )RU WKH VWUXFWXUH ZH Ă&#x20AC;QLVKHG WKH Ă&#x20AC;QDO ZRUN RI WKH URRI DQG WKHQ HYHQ roof though and the then bamboo we put the has metal been treated sheet aswith the chemicals second layer. before - we put YDUQLVK IRU H[WUD SURWHFWLRQ :H ZHUH VXSSRVHG WR EH WRWDOO\ Ă&#x20AC;QLVKHG ZLWK )RU WKH ZDWHU K\DFLQWK WKH EXLOGLQJ WRGD\ EXW ZH ZLOO KDYH WR FRPH EDFN WRPRUURZ WR WDNH Because version two of the water hyacinth panel DOVR FUDFNHG ZH GHFLGHG WR WU\ FRZ GXQJ ZKLFK WKH ORFDO SHRSOH XVH GRZQ WKH VFDIIROGV DQG SXW WKH Ă RRU LQ SODFH as building material. It is sustainable, cheap and easy to get hold of. So )RU WKH UDPPHG HDUWK ZDOO ZH WRRN LW GRZQ RXUVHOYHV EHFDXVH LW ZDV D then we tried using cow dung as instead of cement, mixing it with clay total and mess, water andrunning hyacinth. we decided Weout tested that of either different we have types four of hyacinth walls or no stem walls in at We are now money, time and energy PDNLQJ WKH SDQHOV DQG WKH UHVXOW LV HYHQ EHWWHU WKDQ ZH WKRXJKW all. and today the biggest rainstorm that Kenya has
- not again!
witnessed since the independence surprised us while )RU WKH ZDVWH PDQDJHPHQW ZH Ă&#x20AC;QLVKHG WKH FRPSRVW WRLOHW )RU WKH ZDWHU K\DFLQWK SDQHO After we made the hyacinth panel placing the After hours decided yesterday, we rafters. let them dry under two the shade, but delay since thewe weather is tohumid, go on inspite of the bad weather and guess what!? the hyacinth panel canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dry totally. The earth wall collapsed again, for the third time!
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'$< )RU WKH VWUXFWXUH ZH Ă&#x20AC;QLVKHG WKH Ă&#x20AC;QDO ZRUN RI WKH URRI DQG WKHQ HYHQ though the bamboo has been treated with chemicals before - we put YDUQLVK IRU H[WUD SURWHFWLRQ :H ZHUH VXSSRVHG WR EH WRWDOO\ Ă&#x20AC;QLVKHG ZLWK WKH EXLOGLQJ WRGD\ EXW ZH ZLOO KDYH WR FRPH EDFN WRPRUURZ WR WDNH GRZQ WKH VFDIIROGV DQG SXW WKH Ă RRU LQ SODFH
Day 8
)RU WKH UDPPHG HDUWK ZDOO ZH WRRN LW GRZQ RXUVHOYHV EHFDXVH LW ZDV D total mess, and we decided that either we have four walls or no walls at all.
-will you buy your hyacinth back?
)RU WKH ZDWHU K\DFLQWK SDQHO After we made the hyacinth panel yesterday, we let them dry under the shade, but since the weather is humid, the hyacinth panel canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t-dry totally. Roof checked!
Initially, we wanted to use hyacinth stem panels (tying the hyacinth stems together) as insulation in the roof to solve the noise problem. Unfortunately, the hyacinth never managed to dry in time due to the wet weather conditions. Instead, we decided to go for papyrus, which resulted in two extra bags of water hyacinth left unused. Desperate attempts to resell them back did not work out really well though.
After consulting each other and consideering the sensitivity of the bamboo structure we decided to go for plan D and build the structure without walls. Before putting the roof, we have first learnt different methods to connect the joints. In order to attach the bamboo culms to the foundation without letting them touch the ground, metal rods are added for stabilization, letting cement to fill the gaps in between up to 12 cm.
For the bamboo structure, which hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been treated with chemicals before, we put varnish for protection. We were supposed to be totally finished with the building today, but we will have to come back tomorrow to take down the scaffolds and put the floor in place.
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Fish mouthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is another technique for joining several bamboo culms on a meeting point, such as the solution for the roof construction.
For the rammed earth wall, we took it down ourselves because it was a total mess, and we decided that either we have four walls or no walls at all.
METAL RODS AND CEMENT CONNECTING BAMBOO TO THE FOUNDATION
FISH-MOUTH JOINT TO SUIT THE CONNECTION OF CIRCULAR BAMBOO CULMS
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RAINWATER HARVESTING AND PURIFICATION
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- yup, no walls guys. Some of us went to take down the scaffolds, placed the floor and put gravels under it. We did it partly because it looked good but also to prevent grass growing underneath the floor. The other part of the group was busy preparing the movie, models and samples for the great exhibition in Kisumu at Kenyatta Sportsgrund. Although we end up not having any walls and no systems built, we still managed to build a toilet model, the video clips of our building process and how the moringa seeds can purify water.
USING MORINGA OLEIFERA TO PURIFY WATER
THE EVERLASTING MAKING OF THE BAMBOO FLOOR
THE FINAL PRODUCT
SKETCH OF MODEL FOR THE DRY TOILET
EARTH COMPRESSION TEST
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2.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 2.2. AREAS OF INVESTIGATION 2.3. BUILDING THE PLATFORM
BUDGET
REFLECTION
Our first cost estimation for Build it! was about 140 000 KES (14 000 SEK), including systems. Since we did not have that much money we eventually landed on half the budget, for the structure without walls and systems. None of the budgets include bamboo since we got the remnants from the old project in Maseno.
During nine days of intense work, we experienced an enormous quantity of problem and challenges concerning all aspects; from the purchase and transport of construction materials to hiring and dealing with the workers, not to mention the hopeless Kenyan bureaucracy.
These are a few examples of the cost for labor and material in Kenya, keeping in mind that we, as mzungus, often pay overprice. > Unspecialised workers - 250 KES per day > Supervisor - 750 KES per day > Cement - 800 KES per bag > Nails - 85 KES per kilo > Twisted rod - 50 KES per meter > Timber - 60 KES per meter > Water hyacinth - 1000 KES per bag > Renting drill - 500 KES per day
We have had both highs and lows but the greatest value of this experience was all the people that have participated in the construction; Maseno students and workers giving us the opportunity to learn from each other. Although small, the construction site has presented all the difficulties of a â&#x20AC;&#x153;realâ&#x20AC;? project and managing it has for us been a new challenge and a great experience. Lack of money and time were making all the problems bigger but in more than one case the presence of experienced people (such as the workers from ABC) or even some of the Maseno students were helping the group to find a creative do-it-yourself solution. The other big help has been the cooperation with Maseno University, not as an institution but with the enthusiastic students that were always present on site asking to be involved and how they could help. Different people with different ideas and different backgrounds in a melting pot that was the construction site in Maseno has provided a co-learning process that have enriched and stimulated all of us.
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3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL
3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. DESIGN PROPOSAL
OVERVIEW During the process of Build it! we discussed the possibility to actually design something for someone - a real client - so that we could deepen our knowledge and understanding not only on a theoretic level, but produce something that others can actually use. We talked to our teacher and she got us in contact with International Fellowship Kenya (Interfelk), a Christian NGO based in Kisumu. Interfelk was established in 1991 by Mr. Okech. After his death in 1994 his wife took over as head of the organisation, or the CEO. Through a Norwegian missionary that now lives in Kisumu since 20 years, Interfelk is supported mainly by sponsors in Norway, but they also have some small profit-making businesses such as a carpentry workshop and a computer school. Their main work is to offer education to those who otherwise could not afford it, with focus on orphans and street children. At the moment Interfelk has two primary schools, a high school and a day care center for street boys in Kisumu. One our first meeting with the CEO, she told us that they were planning to build a new school in the informal settlements of Nyalenda, Kisumu. They already had the site and they had gotten a proposal from a local architect, but their Norwegian sponsors had said no. The old proposal was quite expensive (4 million shillings) and had no solutions for handling rainwater or waste; issues that are extra important to solve when building in a slum area. We suggested that we would try to make a proposal that would not only deal with these issues, but that would also be less expensive and more sustainable than the old one, and thereby more appealing to the sponsors. The following week after our meeting, we were shown to the site and explained more about the prerequisites. They had recently built a metal sheet structure on the site to house two classrooms for small children. This structure was supposed to be temporary but they now wanted to keep it as another day care center for street boys. There was also a ruin of an old building that was destroyed during the post-election riots in 2008, that could serve as a foundation for the new school. Unfortunately we never had time to go back to the site during our stay in Kisumu, but we did manage go to get the plans for the old proposal before we left. The content of this chapter of USE IT! also covers case studies of four households in Nyalenda and Manyatta in order to provide an insight into the everyday life of the informal settlements in Kisumu. Researches and findings of material and systems will be presented in analyses, allowing us to develop a deeper understanding of the positive and negative outcomes of our chosen topics. At last, we will finalize our findings and knowledge to incorporate them to our design proposal.
OUTLINE WHAT: A primary school for orhpans in one of the informal settlements in Kisumu. WHY: To provide the children not only with a good environment for their studies but also to raise their awareness about sustainability at an eraly age. Giving them a knowledge base to build on. To further deepen our knowledge and develop it by putting it into a real project and not only on paper. HOW: By using knowledge gained from our experinces in Kenya, studying literature and meeting local and foreign experts in Sweden. WHO: The children and the teachers of the school. Through them, the knowledge will further reach to their families and the people living in the area. Interfelk as an NGO. WHERE: Site owned by Interfelk in Nyalenda, Kisumu CHALLENGES: Money, time, distance fram the actual site, attitudes and perceptions about traditional and lowtech materials, taking existing structures on the site into consideration. OUTCOME: A conceptual idea, which can be developed further together with client and sponsors.
* Interview with Jan Kristensen & Anne Okech Kristensen
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3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL
BAMBOO
EARTH
Bamboo has many advantages as a construction material. Apart from being strong, it is also flexible and can be shaped according to needs while growing. Additionally, it is an environmentally sustainable material when it can be grown locally, since it is fast-growing and does not require much water or fertiliser.1 As mentioned in previous chapter, if bamboo can be used instead of timber in Kenya, the forest depletion can be impeded. Another positive aspect, especially in a Kenyan context ,is that building with bamboo does not require advanced tools or electricity, although an electrical drill is preferable.
Earth has been the most essential of building materials ever since mankind first assembled in villages almost 10 000 years ago. Examples of unbaked earth are found in every continent throughout the history, such as the Great Wall of China, built around 3rd century BC just to mention one example.1 Today, one third of the human population lives in earthen buildings, where the figure for tropical areas and developing countries shows more than one half.2 This makes the ground we walk on, also known as dirt, the oldest and most widely used building material on this planet; low cost but highly sustainable because of its easy availability in the nature.
As most organic materials, bamboo has to be treated to withstand weather and wood-eating insects when used outside. There are different methods of treating bamboo against rot and insects, and they are not necessarily environmentally friendly or safe. One is to dry the bamboo and then soak it in caustic soda; another is to force a solution of borax and boric acid through the bamboo using an air compressor.2 Organic materials are also flammable and bamboo should be plastered in order to reduce the risk. Also, since bamboo is vulnerable to water, it should not be in direct contact with the ground.
Earth by definition in this context should not be confused with other materials from the ground, such as stone, cement or metals. When talking about earth as a building material, there are a few elements of composition to be studied in order to understand its attributes and procedures.
During our building process we realised that bamboo is not as convenient as timber, which can be sawed and shaved into even sizes. The culms of bamboo are all a bit cone-shaped - wider at the base than at the top. They might also be more or less crooked and vary in diameter from one to another. However, with a wide selection of culms available, this should not be a big problem. Since the culms are hollow they have a tendency to crack, but that can be prevented by sawing close to the nodes when possible and drilling holes for nails and plugs.3 The joints we made for our bamboo structure is not optimal since the cement, which is needed to protect the metal rod , does not work well with natural material and makes the joints rigid while the bamboo is flexible. Due to its flexibility bamboo is a good material for areas that experience earthquakes, but the rigid joints become weak spots.4
The components is one aspect, which include silt, clay, gravel and sand, same way as the composition for a concrete, for instance, would require gravel, sand and cement as a binder.3 Depending on what the mixtures between these four fundamental components look like, various kinds of soil can be compiled according to the needs of the construction and climate on site. The diverse soil qualities may produce different shear strengths, which can be suitably modified through the addition of water and the stabilization process to produce building material of the requisite strength.4 > GRAVEL: are small pieces of stone, varying from a pee to an egg in size. Not very suitable for building. > SAND: smaller pieces of stone that are smaller than pee, but still visible to the eye by grain. > SILT: similar to sand with only difference in being fine enough to be observed as an individual grain. > CLAY: Soils that are sticky when wet, but very hard when dry.
In Kenya, the challenges for bamboo are at the moment the ban against harvesting bamboo for non-domestic use and the lack of knowledge about using bamboo to construct houses. If WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control can implement their idea of replacing tobacco with bamboo, there would be a strong incitement to lift the ban and start a trade market for bamboo. Since bamboo grows so much faster than timber (see chapter 2.2.1) it would be much less expensive. With initiatives to promote bamboo as a construction material, like our structure in Maseno and the one next to it built by the Nepali architects, knowledge can be spread among the local builders and give them more work opportunities in the future.
In order to improve and stabilize the original earth quality to suit the desire feature, adding materials like gravel or sand can do some easy improvement as well as mixing soils to get better specifications. Stabilization helps in cementing the particles of earth together, thereby increasing its strength. It also helps in decreasing its weakness to moisture and reduces the shrinking and swelling of earth.5
1. Lecture â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bamboo as a modern construction materialâ&#x20AC;? Nripal Adhikary & Sulava Piya (2010-03-05) 2. http://www.networkearth.org/naturalbuilding/bamboo.html (2010-04-28) 3. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/34/73/06.pdf (2010-04-28) 4. Tutoring with Laurent, (2010-05-14)
1 Deathier, J (1983) 2 Minke, G (2006) 3 http://www.earth-auroville.com/index.php?nav=menu&pg=rawmaterial&id1=3 (2010-04-20) 4 http://www.habitattechnologygroup.org/technologies/mud.php (2010-04-20) 5 http://www.habitattechnologygroup.org/technologies/mud.php (2010-04-20)
Types of binding materials apart from water, sand and clay themselves can also be cement and lime. Animal products like blood, urine and manure have been effective stabilizers throughout the centuries, as with the plants products of straw, fibres and coconut oil. After identifying the characteristics of the earth and the availability of supporting materials, there are different building techniques that can be implemented according to the prerequisites.
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There are approximately twenty techniques of earth building on planet estimated1, and below are a few of the most common ones. > RAMMED EARTH: Also known as pisĂŠ is compressing a damp mixture of earth into an externally formwork that molds the shape of a wall section creating a solid wall of earth. This technique works best with earth that has an appropriate ratio of gravel, sand and clay to give cohesion, stability and strength to the wall.2 Our experience with this technique started by doing a few tests to find the right balance between the earth type available in Maseno and cement as the binding material. After identifying the strongest recipe, we immediately started building the formwork with split bamboo, which we eventually realised was too weak for the wall to maintain a flat vertical surface. Due to heavy rainfall along with no proper shielding available on site, the earth wall was not able to dry quick enough and collapsed twice. > TRADITIONAL EARTH TECHNIQUE: Is direct forming with wet earth which we looked more into instead of trying to build the rammed earth wall all over again. Straws and grass replaced the amount of cement used in the previous recipe for reinforcement and water was added. We lacked however material for building a skeleton structure to stabilize the height. Repeated rainfall during several days in a row eventually resulted in another collapse of the wall. After failing thrice in attempting to build an earthen wall, we learnt the importance of having a protected area for the earth construction to dry properly. > WATTLE & DAUBE: Probably the oldest building technique of all, consisting of a woven structure of small plant element strips called wattle, daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet earth, clay, sand, silt, straw and animal dung.3 It is smeared on the wattle by hand until the entire surface is covered and can end up being rather thin, compared to other massive earth building systems. The woven structure can also be extremely flexible, and therefore also highly earthquake resistant. > ADOBE (SUN DRIED MUD BRICKS): Is the method used to build the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first skyscrapers!2 In contrast to the traditional recipe of only mixing clay, straw and water to shape them into bricks for sun-baking, we explored with other local materials. Water hyacinth replaced straw as reinforcement fiber and both cement and cow dung were tested as binding material for the earth. We believe that the earth type of Maseno contains more of dry gravel and sand, which are ideal for building rammed earth walls stabilized by cement, but least suitable for making adobe that requires high level of stickiness and cohesion. Our first experiment with cement as binding material placing directly in the sun resulted in huge cracks on the panel, followed by crumbliness. Second experiment, on the other hand, involved water hyacinth and cow dung instead of cement as stabilizer and was put under shaded places to allow wind breezes to dry. Despite taking longer time, the result maintained the original shape and strong. Having this experience from Maseno has taught us that there is not standard recipe for earth constructions in all contexts, although earth is regarded to be the same quality everywhere. 1 Minke, G (2006) 2 Rael, R (2009) 3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wattle_and_daub(2010-04-20)
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COW DUNG
3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL
Cow dung is basically the rejects of herbivorous matter which is acted upon by symbiotic bacteria residing within the animalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rumen.1 The main constituent of cow dung is debris from cells within the digestive tract and secretions from the body such as salts and mucus. Faeces also include undigested diet comprising cellulose and lignin, originating from the cell walls of the plants. In the analysis of dung, it should also be considered that cowpats and slurry often contain urine as well as faeces.2 Manure serves as a binding agent and gives plaster more body. Manure also contains small fibres that provide additional tensile strength as well as reduce cracking and water erosion. Different types of manure have different effects. Horse manure has high microfiber content, but cow manure has more hardening enzymes. Manure should be as fresh as possible when mixed with plaster, as composted manure loses its enzymes and adhesive qualities. Manure should be sifted before use.3 Cow dung is easily found in Kenya, and traditionally used by the Maasai as an important component in building their houses. Cow dung actually has insect repelling properties, although not against flies and dung beetles. The Maasai use dry cow dung to repel mosquitoes. Compared to cement, cow dung is both cheaper and more environmentally friendly, and since it is a natural material it goes well with other natural materials like earth and bamboo. It also dries slower than cement, which reduces the risk of cracking.4 In 2009 a group of students from Prasetiya Mulya Business School in Indonesia developed a brick made from cow dung that not only is 20% lighter than clay bricks, but also has a 20% higher compressive strength.5 As previously mentioned, we tried using cow dung mixed with clay and water hyacinth to make sun dried bricks for construction. Regrettably, we had no time to test the properties of our bricks in Kenya, and since they contain organic material it was impossible to bring them back to Sweden for tests.
1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_dung (2010-05-25) 2. http://www.tonygraham.co.uk/house_repair/wattle_daub/WD-4_2_1.html (2010-05-25) 3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthen_plaster (2010-05-25) 4 Interview with Ulf Henningsson of LerbyggefĂśreningen, 2010-04-30 5 http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/05/04/one-brick-two-bricks-lets-use-poo-bricks/ (2010-05-25)
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WATER HYACINTH Water hyacinth is an aquatic plant which can live and reproduce floating freely on the surface of fresh waters or can be anchored in mud. 1 The plant is native to South America, and has reached Lake Victoria due to human activity. It has spread prolifically, due to lack of natural enemies, an abundance of space, agreeable temperature conditions, and abundant nutrients.2 Its rapid mat-like proliferation can however cause a variety of problems, as mentioned in the previous chapter; hindrance to water transport, reduction of biodiversity and difficulty with fishing. Additionally, it also stands responsible for causing growth of micro-habitat and a variety of diseases, such as malaria.3 Mechanical removal of water hyacinth is seen as the best short-term solution to the proliferation of the plant. It is difficult, labor intensive work and in some areas there are serious health risks associated with the work.[3] By studying water hyacinth, we also found out some other potential characters beside making furniture, such as its fast-growing abilities and its richness of fibers in stems and leaves. A single plant can under ideal conditions produce 3000 new plants in 50 days, and cover an area of 600 square meters in a year. As a floating plant, most parts of the stem of water hyacinth are made up by air chambers. In addition, the fiber from the water hyacinth is a good water absorbent material. They can withstand extreme fluctuations in nutrient supply, pH level, temperature, and even grow in toxic water. It has the potential to purify water, feed animals and fish, and be used as fertilizer. There has also been an interesting project from the reality studio 2009 named “New sense in nuisance” to produce sanitary pads from water hyacinth.
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Our research show that a thicker panel produced from the same method can be a good choice for a non-load-bearing wall. Regarding the high water absorbing potential, it needs to be covered properly with a material such as clay or lime plaster to be protected from moisture. If not properly protected the hyacinth is prone to rot. There is also a technique for making load baring walls that is similar to rammed earth. By mixing a very small amount of mud with a dry natural material such as straw or hyacinth, the wall can be made the common way of load-bearing clay walls such as Luo huts, which is to build a wooden frame and fill it with the building material, and then compress it with a hand-made tool.* Apart from the building industry, we tried to make use of water hyacinth in different ways in our waste managing systems. The simplest use of water hyacinth in waste management system is to dry it in sun and use it as a dry organic material in compost toilets. The downside of using water hyacinth is the dangers connected to harvesting the plant in Lake Victoria. Aggressive hippos or venomous snakes can hide in the hyacint mat and attack if disturbed or frightened. In areas where the water stands still, there is a risk of getting schistosomiasis, snail fever. * Tutoring with Laurent 2010-05-14
Our investigations with water hyacinth in Kisumu were mostly regarding to its usage in building. We tried to use it in different ways mostly for creating walls. According to our simple tests, the quality of rope made from it was distinguished very low. So we tried to use it as an isolator and filling material and the result was promising. Apart from the insulation panels which can be made manually by compacting and drying in sun, it can also be used as an indoor covering to produce a higher quality of indoor climate.
1. http://practicalaction.org/practicalanswers/product_info.php?products_id=189 (2010-04-28) 2. Opande, G.O., Onyang, J.C. & Wagai. “Lake Victoria: The water hyacinth, its socio-economic effects, control measures and resurgence” (2010-04-27) 3. http://practicalaction.org/practicalanswers/product_info.php?products_id=189 (2010-04-28)
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3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL
WATER TREATMENT Fresh water is evidently an essential factor to all life on earth. Accessing safe water and being able to drink it instantly from the tap is a privilege we have in Sweden, which might not be a common case in other parts of the world. Every fifth person today lacks access to clean water with children being the worst affected group. The mortality rate among infants and children up to 5 years old is 1.5 million per year, which corresponds to having an airplane crashing every hour with 200 children onboard. 1 Studies point out that man needs at least two liters of water on a daily basis in average to cover urine and the evaporation from the skin. Ironic as it may sound however, water is indeed a limited resource despite covering 70% of our planet surface. Oceans hold 97% of this water that contains too much salt for human consumption and can only be accessible through evaporation and precipitation. The glaciers and polar ice cabs bind another 2% of the surface water, which leaves barely 1% left as fresh land surface water running in rivers, lakes and ponds.2 On top of that, the access to freshwater is not at all evenly distributed across the globe due to various kinds of climate and irregular rainfalls. Apart from having this problem of insufficient quantity of freshwater circulating unevenly, the matter of water quality is also regarded as a great challenge. Contaminated water and waterborne diseases stand for the most common causes of deaths, especially in the developing world such as Kenya, in a much larger extent than terrorism and wars.3 In order to understand the process of water treatment and ways of purification, we will have to look more into the parameters that evaluate the quality of potable water.
Sources of freshwater supply are replenished by rainfall and come both from the surface water in the lakes, as well as from the ground water. Ground water is basically the water that passes through different layers of gravel and sand under ground, having the advantage to undergo a natural purification. This is the water that is accessible from wells and springs, which often is rather clean despite containing small amount of dissolved minerals and gases. Surface water, on the other hand, always requires several stages of treatment before it reaches a level of quality that is suitable for human consumption without being harmful.1 Parameters that have to be taken into account are: > SMELL AND TASTE: Potable water should firstly be free from colour, turbidity, odour and taste. They are the first indications on whether the water is clean or not. > MICROBIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY: Microorganisms live in all parts of the biosphere and are vital for the nutrient recycling in ecosystems. They are also very diverse and can roughly be divided into bacteria, fungi, single-celled organisms and virus.4 High content of microorganism in potable water is however believed to cause waterborne diseases, such as diarrhoea and typhoid, which most likely will occur in tropical climates. Once the water is heated up to 25°C, the microorganisms tend to increase more rapidly.1 It is hardly possible to identify all microorganisms in the water substance. Analyses are thus often made on the amount of indicator-microorganisms that live in environments where there is a higher risk of diseases breaking out. > CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES: such as sulphur disturbs the PH balance and can lead to acidification. Calcium and magnesium that regulate the hardness of water may affect the heath negatively both in a overly large or small dose. Fluoride, nitrogen, copper, aluminium, radon and manganese along with other inorganic substances, metal and dissolved solids are among the many factors that affect the quality of our drinking water.1 It is hardly possible to clarify polluted water into 100 % pure water through any efficient, cost effective and available common technique. However, there are several methods for improving the quality of water up to an acceptable standard. The appropriate solution among the available alternatives can be selected regarding to the type and rate of pollution, type of usage and the availability of the resources required for every choice. Common water treatment techniques include: filtration, sedimentation(where clay, silt and other fine material settle because the water stands still), coagulation, flocculation and disinfection such as using chlorine.5 Following are a few other methods we have investigated on.
1. Berghult, B & Broo, A E (2004) 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water (2010-05-30) 3. NordstrĂśm, A (2005) 4. Linden, K G & Hazen R: through http://www.accessscience.com (2010-04-13)
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microorganism (2010-05-30) 5 Linden, K & Corbitt, Robert A (2010-04-13)
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SOLAR METHOD As mentioned earlier, KWAHO is an organization that works with water and sanitation disadvantaged communities in Kenya. One of their projects is providing clean water in the slum areas through solar disinfection. The method is called SODIS and was developed by the EAWAG Institute in Switzerland.1 Solar disinfection (SODIS) is a method by which microorganisms can be killed or inactivated by using a range of wavelengths of light found in direct sunlight, mainly UV-A radiation (400nm-315nm), combined with the thermal radiation from the sun.2 Aside from the UV and the heat, sunlight also produces highly reactive forms of oxygen in the water. Oxygen plays a crucial role in the destruction process of the microorganisms because of its ability to free radical and hydrogen peroxides in the water. Under normal conditions, such as water found in rivers, creeks, wells, ponds and tap often contain sufficient oxygen (more than 3 mg oxygen per litre) does not have to be aerated before the application of SODIS.3 But to be on the safe side, ensure that the water always contains as much oxygen as possible by shaking it well before filling it to a PET-bottle and putting it in the sun for at least six hours. The water should then be safe enough to drink. The bottles should be PET and not PVC because PVC releases unhealthy chemicals into the water when exposed to the sun. (The PVC plastic is usually thinner and bluer than the PET.) For the UV-light to be effective the bottle should be transparent and not have too many scratches on the surface, and the water should be quite clear. If the headline of a newspaper can be read through the filled bottle, it is clear enough.
3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL
Another method that also can be used by utilising sunlight is distillation. Solar distillers work by mimicking the natural water cycle: The sun provides energy to warm the water, the water evaporates (forms clouds) and condenses (makes rain) when it meets a cooler surface Instead of removing specific contaminants, as filtration systems are designed to do, solar distillation purifies water by removing only one thing: water.1 This process uses a heat source to vaporize water and separate it from contaminants and other undesirable elements. Distillation heats the untreated water until it reaches its boiling point and begins to vaporize. The heat is then kept at a constant temperature to maintain water vaporization while prohibiting other undesirable elements from vaporizing. Water has a lower boiling point than salt and other mineral sediments. This process also separates the water molecules from microscopic, disease-causing organisms. Once all of the water has vaporized, the vapour is led into a condenser, where, upon cooling, the water reverts to the liquid form and runs into a receiving container. The remaining elements stays in the original container.2 A solar still is a low-tech way of distilling water, powered by the heat of the sun. Impure water is contained outside the collector, where it is evaporated by sunlight shining through clear plastic. The pure water vapor condenses on the cool inside plastic surface and drips down off of the weighted low point, where it is collected and removed.3 Solar stills are only suitable for a small amount of water. The initial capital cost of stills is roughly proportional to capacity, whereas other methods demand a bigger initial investment. For the individual household, therefore, the solar still is the most economic.4
The technique will however only get rid of microorganisms, not chemicals, particles, bad taste or smell. It is only useful for small quantities of water; the bottles should not be bigger than 3 liters when it is wholly filled. Plastic bags and glass bottles will also do, but they are not as easy to handle as plastic bottles. The treatment can be even more effective if the plastic bottles are placed on a reflecting surface such as corrugated metal sheets.4
1 http://www.kwaho.org/t-sodis.html (2010-04-20) 2 http://www.appropedia.org/UV_Water_Purification (2010-04-30) 3 http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3959 (2010-03-21) 4 http://www.sodis.ch/methode/anwendung/ausbildungsmaterial/dokumente_material/manual_e.pdf (2010-04-20)
1 http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2002-08-01/Passive-Solar-Distillation.aspx (2010-03-22) 2 Distillatiom, (HistoryofWaterFilters.com) 3 Wikipedia, free online encyclopaedia, Solar still (2010-03-22) 4 http://www.itdg.org.pe/fichastecnicas (2010-03-22)
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3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL
HERBAL METHOD
Among all the plant materials that have been tested over the years, the seeds from Moringa oleifeira have been shown to be one of the most effective as a primary coagulant for water treatment.1 The current literature demonstrates that Moringa seeds contain active coagulant and antimicrobial agents, and thus could be utilised for water purification as a viable replacement of proprietary chemicals such as alum sulphate (conventional chemical coagulant)2 The tree is often referred to as â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Miracle Treeâ&#x20AC;?, which is understandable when you learn that Moringa contains a unique combination of vitamins, minerals and amino acids that make it one of the most nutritious plants ever discovered.When fresh, they are rich in vitamin C. When carefully dried, Moringa leaves contain 24 times the iron of spinach, 16 times the calcium of milk, 9 times the vitamin A of carrots, many times the potassium of bananas, and every essential amino acid your body needs. 3 The seeds also have antimicrobial activity and are utilized for waste water treatment. In some developing countries, the powdered seeds of Moringa are traditionally utilized as a natural coagulant for water purification because of their strong coagulating properties for sedimentation of suspended undesired particles. Generally, coagulants are used for (physical and chemical) purification of turbid raw waters.4 The seed kernels contain significant quantities of a series of low molecular weight, water-soluble proteins which, in solution, carry an overall positive charge. The proteins are considered to act similarly to synthetic, positively charged polymer coagulants. When added to raw water the proteins act like magnets and bind to the predominantly negatively charged particulates that make raw waters turbid, such as silt, clay and microorganism. These flocs are easily to remove by settling or filtration. At very high turbidity the water can no longer be adequately treated by using filters. Coagulants have to be applied to transform water constituents into forms that can be separated out physically. The material can clarify not only highly turbid muddy water but also water of medium and low turbidity. The level of turbidity influences the required time for the flocculation. As we were researching about this miracle tree, which is also known as the horseraddish tree or drumstick tree, we found out that it is grown mainly in semi-arid and tropical areas; in dry sandy soil as best but also tolerates poor soil. Today, it is widely cultivated in Africa, Central and South America but also in many parts of the Asian continent. 5
1http://www.deutsch-aethiopischer-verein.de/Gate_Moringa.pdf (2010-03-24) 2 Anwar, F & Rashid, U (2007) 3 http://morhealth.co.uk/moringa_tree.shtml (2010-05-12) 4 http://www.lboro.ac.uk/well/resources/technical-briefs/60-water-clarification-using-moringaoleifera-seeds.pdf (2010-03-21) 5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moringa_oleifera (2010-03-20)
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3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL
We decided to take this opportunity while being in Kenya to try our luck out and asked about possible ways to access the seeds in Kisumu. In spite of scarce knowing by the local people that we have asked around, we eventually managed to get hold of the seeds through a vendor on the street selling plantation trees. She referred us to one of the main roads in Nyalenda, which we first believed was her house. While on place thanks to a motorbike driver, we were confronted by the actual drumstick tree in full scale, in the middle of the slums! For 10 pods, about 10-12 seed kernels in each depending on the pod sizes, the tree owner agreed at last to sell them at a total price of 150 KES. Although being rather disappointed for not being able to test this method in Kenya, we kept our hope up all the way back to Sweden, where we tried to get in contact with Chalmers Chemical Institute for a test laboratory. To our greater disappointment, different factors have shown impossibility. For one, there are no facilities available in the campus as such for water treatment tests. For two, as architect students, this area totally falls outside of our major. Finding assistance and specialists to proceed the tests on behalf of us in the lab would be a challenge. For three, if the above two difficulties can be overcome, it would have taken weeks to prepare a lab before the tests could take place, and another few weeks for the results to be ready. Even if we never had a chance to carry out the actual tests ourselves, the directions on how to purify water using the seeds are easily to follow by anyone. It starts by allowing the seeds to mature and dry naturally to a brown colour on the tree. They should then be removed from the harvested pods and sheed. The seed kernels should then be crushed and sieved to about 0.8 mm mesh, similiar to the traditional techniques used to produce maize flour have been found to be satisfactory. Mix the finely crushed seed powder with clean water to form a paste, and is then diluted to the required strength. Dosing solutions can be prepared from 0.5 to 5 per cent concentration. Insoluble material is then filtered out using either a fine mesh screen or muslin cloth. The solution is ready for use.6 Advantages with this technique include: > Cheap and easy method for developing countries, especially at household level. > The efficiency is independent of raw water pH, but does not modify it. > It does not alter the water taste unless a high dosage is added. > The low volume of sludge precipitates is biodegradable and hence an environmentally sound technology. The disadvantages however... > The treatment makes the water clear and drinkable but the purified water might still carry some (very few) pathogenic germs or micro-organisms. > A secondary increase of the bacterial after the water coagulation could be possible. > Coagulant is not available in pure form and there it should be prepared fresh.
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6 http://www.lboro.ac.uk/well/resources/technical-briefs/60-water-clarification-using-moringaoleifera-seeds.pdf) (2010-03-21)
WASTE MANAGEMENT Many households in slum areas of Kisumu, cannot afford building a toilet so the only way for them is to release the manure in nature. For women, this becomes even more troublesome since due to the social considerations they have to avoid being observed while going to toilet which puts them in such a difficult situation that they canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go to toilet during the daytime. Since there is no special place or walls to protect them from being seen, they wait till the evening so that they can hide in the dark. Many of them are attacked or raped while walking away alone in the dark. Moreover, those who can afford building a toilet are not completely comfortable. A usual toilet tank in Kisumu is an unsealed hole in the ground which is unusable during the rainy season as a result of flooding and high level of underground water. In dry seasons, it is hardly possible to find water for drinking and daily use so it is very difficult to keep the toilets clean which are supposed to be flushed by water. The waste buried in the ground can easily mix with the earth and pollute underground water. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The unhygienic living conditions cause serious health problems. In addition, diseases like malaria, typhoid and diarrhea specifically cause children to die.* In such context, it seems quite necessary to find a convenient solution for providing people with cheap hygienic toilets.
* Woman from the household Study
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COMPOST TOILET
BIOGAS SYSTEM
There have been many efforts for replacing the water-flush system with something more efficient or environmental friendly. Oil-flushing systems, vacuum systems and pressure systems are some of the alternatives. However, since all of those systems need energy or special kinds of material to work, we prefer the dry composting toilets because of their simplicity, cheapness and practicality.
While the compost system changes human waste into harmless nutritious fertilizer, a biogas system can produce both energy and fertilizer from any kind of organic waste mixed with water. However, They are more complicated and costly to build and maintain.
Composting toilets provide an alternative to flushing away wastes. The “flush” for a composting toilet is the “dry stuff” made up of sawdust, dry chopped leaves or any other dry organic matter.1 In case of Kisumu, huge amount of water hyacinth spread over lake Victoria can be collected easily and dried in sun to be used as this dry stuff or flush. The dry stuff helps keep insects and odor at a minimum. Finished compost has no smell, it does not resemble faeces in any way and it is a great fertiliser for gardens and trees. Dry toilets produce about 500 liters of dry fertiliser and 5000 liters of liquid fertilizer as they transform the excrement and urine of a family in one year.2 Composting toilets use the natural processes of decomposition and evaporation to recycle human waste. Waste entering the toilets is over 90% water, which is evaporated and carried back to the atmosphere through the vent system. The small amount of remaining solid material is converted to useful fertilizing soil by natural decomposition. The primary objective of the composting toilet system is to contain, immobilize or destroy organisms that cause human disease.3 There is a wide range of commercially manufactured units for installing inside boats or houses where there is no access to sewage system. Although the commercial models are built properly by professionals and are therefore the most reliable choice, all of them are extremely expensive for any household living in Kisumu slums so we would prefer to recommend a homemade one. Nevertheless, looking at the design of these models can be very helpful in understanding the function and inspiring for designing a simple home-made version. There are many different home-made versions of compost toilets. The most elementary one is consisted of a 5 gallon bucket under a seat (can be a box) with a normal toilet seat above. The bucket and the toilet seat and lead should be connected properly and sealed carefully with rubber and glue so that the container would remain completely closed while not being used. The bucket should be replaced with an empty one when filled and kept in a separate storage for six months to one year. Regarding the difficulties of emptying or replacing the container of compost before the waste is mature; we recommend a version which doesn’t require emptying before six months. This model is consisted of two holes each of which is big enough to support the user group for at least six months.
1 http://www.theblacksheepinn.com (2010-04-15) 2 http://www.teniquatreetops.co.za/EcoFriendly2.html (2010-04-15) 3 http://oikos.com/library/compostingtoilet (2010-04-15)
3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL
The chemical process which leads to production of biogas is in some way opposite of what happens in a compost toilet. While the activation of aerobic bacteria in presence of oxygen in a compost system turns the manure to harmless fertilizer, biogas is produced from biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. A biogas plant is the name often given to an anaerobic digester that treats farm wastes or energy crops. These plants can be fed with energy crops such as maize silage or biodegradable wastes including sewage sludge and food waste.4 Biogas plants are sealed containers built specifically to create the anaerobic conditions necessary for digestion and controlled production of gas. In Kenya, biogas is mainly used for cooking and lighting. It is also used, to a limited extent, to run refrigerators, and diesel and petrol engines.5 Kenya relies on imported petroleum to meet 75% of her commercial energy needs. This is a significantly high level of dependence on an energy source the country has no control over. Most of the rural households depend on woodfuel to meet their energy needs, yet the commodity is increasingly becoming scarce. About 70% of the total energy consumed in Kenya is derived from wood.[5] Collecting fuel wood requires difficult timeconsuming work primarily one by children and women. Smoke from burning fuel wood also leads to respiratory and eye diseases.6 Advantages of Biogas system > Provides a low cost energy source for cooking and lighting, because it’s produced by readily-available animal dung and human waste. > Improves sanitation in the home, farmyard and surrounding environment. > Eliminates respiratory and eye diseases caused by indoor air pollution resulting from traditional cooking with wood, because it eliminates the need for an indoor wood fire. > Saves time for women and children, because they don’t need to collect wood. > Creates rural employment, particularly for biogas masons and entrepreneurs. > Produces an effluent called bio-slurry which is an excellent organic fertilizer.[6] Experiments conducted locally and elsewhere have proved that sludge is a better fertilizer than commercial, inorganic fertilizer.5 > Reduces greenhouse gas emissions on a global level. > Reduces deforestation and forest encroachment by providing a realistic substitution for fuel wood.6
4 http://www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us/re_biomass-manure.htm (2010-04-16) 5 Gitonga, S (1997) 6 http://www.snvworld.org/en/Documents/ (2010-04-15)
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BUILDING COSTS
3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL
Housing in a slum context is not a simple process in Kenya. The slum that at first appear to us as a confused mess follows in reality a series of processes, rules and unwritten codes that shape it constantly. We will not go into details of this process but for what concerns us and the aim of our project we need to know a bit more about how much a house costs in kenya. To know how the process works is a good help to our project. First of all we have to mention that the biggest part of the population in Kenya does not own the plot of land that they live on. What usually happens is that the owner of the land builds a shelter, that will be rented out to anyone who can afford it. The houses in the slums are divided in two main categories: permanent and temporary. The bigger part of the temporary houses are made with a mixture of clay or general earth digged from the ground or with metal sheets. The small remaining part is the one considered permanent, with concrete houses. Prices and bureaucracy for building a house in Kenya are varies a lot. From the information that we have got we know that building a shelter of up to 20-30 square meters in the slums can cost between 300.000 and 600.000 KES. As we analyze more deeply in the budget dedicated to our structure the two main expenses for us has been material and labour. Depending on what type of building technique used and how much hired labor is needed this cost could be heavily reduced.
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BUILT EXAMPLES
3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL
Traditional bamboo house under construction in Sumba, Indonesia
School built with cob and bamboo in Rudrapur, Dinajpur district, Bangladesh by Anna Heringer & Eike Roswag, 2007 Windows in earth houses in the United States
City of earth houses in Marocco
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3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL
SITE ANALYSIS
Nyalenda is one of the largest informal urban settlements in Kisumu. The area stretches parallel to the Nyalenda Ring road, right next to the high income area of Milimani, southeast of the CBD. The Nairobi road borders Nyalenda to the north and a marshland forms the border to the southeast. Nyalenda covers 4 square kilometer (about three times the size of Slottsskogen) with approximately 2500 inhabitants, which makes the area ten times as dense as the average in high-income areas. Nearly all the buildings are one story high. In large parts of the area you can find a great variety of small-scale businesses. Only a few houses in Nyalenda are permanent, most are of semi-permanent structure, built of mud with roofs of corrugated iron.
The site for the school is about 1350 square meters and features the ruin of a building of about 150 square meters in the southeast end, and a metal sheet structure containing two classrooms of about 80 square meters along the northeast boundary. There is a small metal sheet structure containing three toilets in the small area jutting out in the southwest. The boundaries are defined by a wire netting fence. Visitors enter the site from the northwest, where one of the main “roads” passes. Students come here on foot. Teachers also come on foot or with public transport – cars are scarce in the slum.
http://portal.worldwaterforum5.org/wwf5/en-us/Lists/Kyoto%20Prize%20Application%20Form/ DispForm.aspx?ID=26 (2010-04-28)
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HOUSEHOLD STUDIES IN NYALENDA CASE 1 The family consists of a couple of about 35-40 years of age and 7 children, from toddlers to teenagers. Due to several deaths within the family, the couple care not just for their own children, but also for nephews, nieces and younger siblings. Premature death is staggeringly common; for example, the husband has lost a brother and two previous wives, and the wife has lost three of her sisters and both her parents. The husband works as a taxi driver 7 days a week. Although the wife has an education in economy and computer training, she has difficulties in getting proper employment. The family struggles to put the children through school. The primary school is supposed to be free. But since several fees (like books, clothes, pens etcetera) have to be paid, that is not the case. High school and university are even more expensive and few can afford it. If the family has some money to spare they save it for unexpected expenses, such as medical care. The family lives mainly in one room, approximately 10 square meters, with no electricity. The room is used as living room, kitchen and bedroom. In the same house, which is made of clay with a metal sheet roof, there are 9 more rooms, each one of similar size. The family also has a smaller room for the children to sleep in. Like most people in this area, they rent their home. Renting does however not give them any benefits as tenants; they have to make, and pay for, any reparations needed on the house. The rent is 1000 shillings per month, which is very expensive for them. Since the family does not own the plot where they live, they are forbidden to cultivate the soil. For that reason, all groceries have to be bought. To get water, the wife walks to the borehole - about 300 meters away every second day. It costs 1 shilling per 10 liter and the water is used for laundry, cleaning the house and for showering. There is a tap less than 100 meters from the house. The price is 2 shilling per 10 liter and the water is mainly used for drinking, cooking and doing the dishes. Since the latrines in the area are mainly unsealed holes in the ground, the water from the borehole easily gets contaminated, but the family cannot afford to use only tap water for all their needs. Collecting rain water is rarely done. The family cannot afford a big water tank, but they do not even put their small containers out to collect some water for washing. The family shares the pit latrine toilet with the nine other families living on the plot. All the non-human waste is dumped a short distance from the house and burned.
3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL
CASE 2 The family has 8 members. Besides the wife and husband, there are also two teenage daughters and three sons along with a cat. Similar to case 1, there have been deaths and tragedies among many close family members in the history. Furthermore, due to a recent car accident, the wife now suffers from long term physical injuries which hinder her from going to work the way she used to. The wife used to do fabric trading, travelling to Uganda a few times a week. Nowadays, she enjoys staying at home to watch DVD and taking care of the house. The husband works in the public sector, driving a garbage truck to collect waste in Kisumu town. All children go to school. The oldest daughter at 16 has just entered a boarding school and does not come often too often. When asking the other children what they do in their spare time apart from school work, the 14 year old daughter answered cooking and washing dishes. The oldest son of 13 year enjoyed swiping the house and watching TV in the living room. Aside from spending time in the living room of 16 square meters, the family also has a kitchen with modern facilities for cooking, such as a sink and access to tap water. There is one toilet and one shower room indoors, one larger bedroom of 12 square meters where the parents share with their two younger sons, and a 5 square meters bedroom with bunk bed for the older teenagers. In comparison to the rest of the area, their house is fairly large, built by their own efforts with brick, concrete and metal sheet as roofing material. When entering from the main road, there is a large front yard before reaching the porch. On the front yard, there are some smaller storage rooms and a latrine that the family uses, but no signs of plantation nor smaller farms. Food is bought in small kiosks along the main road, which initially comes from the local markets in town. During the rainy seasons, the family does not use tap water that cost around 400 KES a month. Instead, they collect the rainwater as often possible and storage it in plastic buckets with a lid in the kitchen for washing, bathing and drinking. Laundry takes place twice a week. Their main expense is however not on the water, but on the electricity. Organic and inorganic waste except human waste is burned in the yard. Human waste goes into a hole in the ground and floating on the ground during heavy rainfall.
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HOUSEHOLD STUDIES IN NYALENDA
3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL
CASE 3
CASE 4
The family is a small nucleous considering the Kenyan standard, a couple around 35-40 years old with only one child, a grandmother living with the family because of her old age, and also another far relative of the wife. During our stay, the wife explained us about their life but we never saw the husband who is usually out for all the day.
This is a family of two parents with two sons and two daughters. They are surprisingly well off; they own their own house and they can afford to have a housekeeper. They have electricity and expensive devices such as TV, DVDplayer and a stereo.
Our relationship with the wife started in really cold way, she hardly spoke English and seemed almost bothered by our presence. Nevertheless working with her during the day brought us a little closer and we are able to understand how her day works. She starts early in the morning, when her child goes to school, to clean and take care of the house. Quite big considering the rest of the houses, the family’s home has four rooms. The small kitchen is used basically just as storage since all the activity takes place in the living room, where the door puts the house in communication with the street and the rest of the slum. The other two rooms are small bedrooms, one for the parents and one for the child; the two old ladies are apparently sleeping somewhere else. Included in the wife’s duties are providing food and cook for the family. The market is located at 3 km from home and she walks there almost every day. She also takes care of the butcher’s shop, which provides only income that the family has, and assist her mother who needs treatment during the day.
The husband works at the Kenya power & lightning company and the wife works in the clothing industry. The two sons are in boarding school. The housekeeper buys all the groceries, prepares all the food and washes all dishes and clothes. The family owns a plot with four structures; one main building with kitchen, living room and bedrooms for the parents and the girls, one other large building which is mainly used as storage and where the housekeeper and the boys sleep, one hen house and a small structure with toilet and shower. There is a well and a rain water tank in the yard, where the family gets their water. The well is however a bit too close to the pit latrine. All the houses, the yard and the surrounding walls are made from concrete, which gives the impression of being inside a grey box.
Providing water, she explained to us, is not a problem anymore since the community dug a well that is just 30 meters from home and made water free and easy to reach. They used to have electricity but now it has become too expensive and they can not afford it anymore. For the family the loss of electricity is a big problem because, they are dependent on electricity to conserve the meat in the buther’s shop. Not being able to preserve the meat causes a big fall of their income and sometimes a waste of resources for not finding enough customers. Just in the evening we got in contact with the husband and we found out that he is one of the community leaders. During the day he visits his area in the slum to see which problems people have, and together with the other members they try to solve the problems and improve the life in the neighborhood.
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PREREQUISITES
DESIGN CRITERIA
> Two existing metal structure, about 3 meter high. > There’s an old foundation on site > It is a primary and nursery school for children; 3-9 years old can be found in the same class.The huge age gap is explained to be that not every child can afford to receive education at a young age. > Currently, the school provides lunch for the children, mostly light cooking, such as porridge. > Fulfill the programme of six additional classrooms > The weather conditions in Kenya should also be taken into considertion, such as the hot climate, risk for reccuring floods, fire and altough rare, earthquakes.
Cost effective : Fulfill the necessary basic human needs in a shelter, spending the lowest possible budget.
3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL
Local materials and building techniques : Building materials should be available or possible to get from the site or the closest nearby area, as easy and as cheap as possible. It should also be possible to use locally accessible construction techniques which can be performed or learned by local people. Good indoor climate : The indoor space should provide the best possible comfort and hygene for the users, such as a fair and normal temprature, humidity and ventilation, possibly with no needs to spend extra energy or money. Safety considerations : In addition to stability the building should be able to survive and resist in possible or probable accidents or desasters, including flooding and fire. The indoor in general should be a safe and convenient place for users including young children considering the number of users and emergency accesses and facilities. Long lasting : The materials and techniques used for the building should be practically permanent and last long with the least and easiest and cheapest possible maintainance and repair. Self-sufficient : The building should be independent from public services and able to produce or harvest the requirements of users as much as possible. This includes the natural energy producing system, rain water harvesting equipments, mainaining requirements, waste management and food production possibility. Spread Knowledge : Any building which meets the mentioned requirements to some extends can have a good influence on people who observe it or use it. It can raise people’s awareness about environmental and sustainability considerations. Considering the fact that the proposed building is supposed to be a school, the educational effect of it could be more important. Apart from the daily life childern experience in this place, being involved in some school programs such as waste management, water harvesting and maintaining their school can cause a highly potential improvment on students behaviour, also their families’ and the entire neighborhood. Accessible for everyone : The whole building and all facilities in it should be reachable and usable by all potential users as equaly as possible, including children with disabilities and special health problems. Inspiring playground : Joyful and educative place for children to grow up.
THE OLD PROPOSAL
Fullfill the actual programme of this specific school : 6 classrooms, good environment for work and play, circular systems, exceed the previous proposal in both sustainability and affordability, promote local and natural resources
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3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL
OUR PROPOSAL MORINGA OLEIFERA TREES with seeds that can purify water and nutritious leaves that are eatable.
COURTYARD with shading for group activities and canteen area
BAMBOO is easy to grow and can be used both as food and for building and repairing things. GROUND FLOOR bamboo skeleton with earth filling KITCHEN AND TOILETS closely placed to each other to enable common sharing of water and biogas systems
EXISTING BUILDINGS
10 meter
MINIATURE OF LUO HOMESTEAD preserving the cultural traditions
PLANTATIONS for children to learn to grow their own food
VIEW FROM THE COURTYARD
PLAYGROUND with equipment made by local materials such as bamboo and water hyacinth.
SITE PLAN
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3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL
TEACHERS’ ROOM
ACCESS CORRIDOR designed to support PET-bottles and water purification through UV
10 meter 10 meter
FIRST FLOOR
ROOF PLAN
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SKETCHES
IMPLEMENTATION
THE BIOGAS SYSTEM provides energy for the kitchen and fertiliser for the plantations
3.1. CHAPTER OVERVIEW 3.2. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 3.3. BUILT EXAMPLES 3.4. DESIGN PROPOSAL
Because of the limited amount of time we have had for developing the school we have chosen to treat our proposal as a competition contribution, which means that we would come up with a concept and possible solutions for all systems, but not go into details until the client says “yes”.
THE SUN HAT ROOF from a previous Reality Studio project,1 gives natural ventilation, and the gutters collect the rain water
If our client likes the idea we firstly have to get the sponsors onboard. For this to happen we might need to develop the design a bit further, to show that it is feasible. If they agree, we will go further into the functionality of all the systems to get deeper knowledge of the problem, then we will return to Kisumu with the modified proposal and we discuss if some changes are necessary. The program has to be set and confirmed, and the client will also have to decide to commit or not to commit to the biogas toilets for example. We will then need additional consulting from various experts to make sure the building will live up to standards for safety, indoor climate etcetera, while we finalise all the details. The next step will be to find local workers and specialists to do the actual construction. We will have to find experts in bamboo, clay, biogas etcetera to train our local workforce, who will be able to use that knowledge also for other projects in the future. Besides that we will need to make an accurate budget and plan the work, make a schedule.
WATTLE & DAUB WALL on the ground floor, (south-east) with bamboo as skeleton, packed with clay and cob on the outside and lime as a finish for protection. Bamboo floor on the second storey as ceiling, lifted from the earthwalls, leaving a gap to allow cross-ventilation, inspired by the trational building technique in the Luo huts.
During the construction we would like to involve people living in the area, and also children of Interfelk’s other schools, that are interested in learning building techniques. This could create a good community spirit and spread the knowledge in the local area. Hopefully we will have the opportunity to be on site and help with the construction, to see the process and learn more for ourselves.
UV-PURIFICATION by placing PET-bottles in the sun for 6 hours
PLANTATIONS of moringa, bamboo and other useful and/or edible plants 1. Lönn, 2007
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OUTLINE WHAT: A tool for exchanging knowledge and conveying ideas, an outcome of all our prevoius work in this studio. WHY: To share our experiences and findings with others and give them the opportunity to give us their insights and comments. HOW: Exhibitions, presentations and a weblog. WHO: Anybody who is interested, not to mention future students of Reality Studio. WHERE: Kenya, Italy, Sweden, the Internet CHALLENGES: Sceptisism, the image of western “superiors” teaching deveopling countries, language barriers. OUTCOME: We hope catalyse an ongoing and open interest for discussion, to reach out to a wider community, to inspire others and provide a foundation to build on.
OVERVIEW This chapter is the third mean of our toolbox and a phase of the project that does not fall within any defined time period. It represents all occasions we have had to present our work to the public, from exhibitions in Kenya, Italy and Sweden to the virtual space of our internet blog that is accessible from all around the world. It is a summary of every opportunity we have had to showcase our work, the differences of feedback we have received depending on context, and it is an ongoing process that will continue as far as we want to take it, and for as long as there is knowledge to absorb and share.
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JOMO KENYATTA SPORTSGROUND,KISUMU The exhibition in Kisumu took place in the end of our period in Kenya. It was a showcase for all the participants of Reality Studio and a unique occasion for us to present our work to the city, to get feedback from lots of people who came in contact with our projects for the first time. In a way, it was our request of critique from the population. The response went far beyond our expectations and was extremely stimulating. People were demanding and felt like active participants of the project. In many cases, they even appeared suspicious. Especially for the part of displaying material, they seemed at the beginning really far from believing that bamboo and clay could be used for building a proper house and not just a shelter. In the end, after having everlasting explanations, many of them actually seemed to change their mind. Our feeling when they started to ask how to find someone to build with this technique, and how they turned to our workers that also were present at the exhibition for details, well, it was something special that is indescribable in words. The participation is probably higher than in any other ordinary exhibition and the only regret that we have is that we could not bring the physical structure there to show the consctruction more in detail and answer to people’s curiosity.
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BAMBOO FOR EMERGENCY, TURIN “Bamboo for Emergency” is an initiative born from a bunch of passionated architect students at the Polytecnic of Turin. We were more than glad for the interest that they showed in our project and we brought a small part of Reality Studio to the Valentino’s castle in Italy for the exhibition that is open from may to june 2010. The opening conference was for us an additional window to show our ideas and get feedback from a wide public. All the projects and experiences displayed were run by students; workshops, laboratories and projects made to bring the participants in contact with the material and discovering the potentiality. Together with additional interesting lectures brought by international experts, we were given new perspectives of bamboo not only as a sustainable material, but also a great potential in cases of natural disaster and emergency.
UN-HABITAT HQ, NAIROBI The exhibition at UN-HABITAT HQ in Nairobi differed from the one we had in Kisumu in many aspects. People participating were not the general public but professionals in many various field. Showing our work there allowed us to reach many experts in different sectors and we received a lot of information concerning regulation and policy in Kenya regarding running programs for sustainable development through use of local material. Getting in contact with these people has allowed us to discover where big resources will be invested in Kenya in the future.
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FINAL PRESENTATION, GOTHENBURG The formal end of Reality Studio 2010. Finding ourselves all together for the last time is undeniably a big emotion. Going through this once in a lifetime experience with people that you barely know make you tight like a band of brothers. Entering the room the day of the presentation gave the feeling of arriving at home for thanksgiving. We got some rewarding feedback from invited critics that we have used to finalise this report. Among many things, we were adviced to highlight what we have learnt even more and emphasize the connection between the three tools of this project.
UNIVERSITY CAMPUS, MASENO Maseno has been part of SHOW IT! ever since we chose it as our construction site. The reason why we started there was partly to get in contact with students and partly due to the accessibility of materials and facilities. Also we wanted our structure to be used afterwards and the student council needed a small place to sit and discuss. Being present every day in the university campus has given us the opportunity to interact with other students and the participation has been astonishing. We were literally overcrowded by people asking questions, offering their help, criticizing the work or the material by people willing to get their hands dirty and to build with us.
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- http://realitystudio2010.wordpress.com We came up with this idea at the beginning, while we were in Kenya. To keep track of our process we felt the necessity to keep a diary, something for us for register all the parts of our work. Someone had the idea to do it online and give the possibility to everyone to easily reach the information and take part of the process. Since one of our goals has been to exchange knowledge and ideas, the weblog is an excellent way to reach out to anyone who is interested in taking part, across geographic borders.
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THIS IS WHAT WE DID... This report is written by a group of five students at Chalmers University who have been enrolled in the Reality Studio of 2010. Reality Studio is a part of the master program of Design for Sustainable Development and aims to provide the students with opportunities to find new design and planning strategies for urban areas, villages and the built environment. This year, the main focus of our researches has been taking place in the third biggest city of Kenya, in Kisumu at the Lake Victoria where we also stayed for a almost two months time. What made the biggest impact on us since day one has been the issue of slum upgrading. Having visited Kibera and other growing informal settlements in Kenya, we were confronted with extreme poorness and deep impressions beyond the pictures given on the television. We soon identified water, hygiene and shelter as one common starting point of challenge to tackle, because fulfilling basic human needs is the fundamental factor for man to obtain adequate living standards. The group has therefore chosen to focus on three different fields of interest, namely local and natural resources, waste management and water treatment. By working on a broad area like this has put us through various situations, both theoretical and practical, giving us the possibility to deal with different people, issues, problems and opportunities. Upon the early stages of our process in finding information to the project, we came in contact with two architects that were building with bamboo in Maseno. Being in contact with them definitely influenced our work, especially regarding the material part. Some of us attended a small working session in Maseno to gain a better understanding in the building process, which eventually inspired us to organize a small lecture for the studio to receive deeper knowledge and technical advices. Along with our field visits to a craft workshop about water hyacinth, we soon realized that a practical approach is what we all wanted while we were in Kenya. The best way to do so was to build a platform, explore with the potentials of local material and combine our ideas to a unity as a showcase to the public. Contacts with the municipality, the national museum and other people, however, soon had us realize that our time limit exceeds the possibility for building the actual structure in the slum context. This was the moment when our collaboration with Maseno started.
Due to practical reasons with the budget, lack of time and the end usage, we desisted from incorporating the built structure with the waste management and water purification systems, for which we built separate models and samples instead. Back in Sweden, we summarized the knowledge, experiences and feedback gained from our field trip in attempt to implement them on something more than just a written text. Fortunately, we managed to get in contact with Interfelk before leaving Kenya; a Christian non-governmental organization that specified on schools and education for orphans and street children. While visiting some of their institutions, we discovered that there was an ongoing project of extending a primary school in the informal settlements of Nyalenda in Kisumu, which was on hold due to funding problems. We found this project and context highly relevant to our work and suggested to design an alternative proposal, aiming for a lower budget self-sufficient school. A school for children that is built by local and affordable material with systems that can make use of waste and rainwater will allow students to learn about sustainability at an early age. Another important part of our work has been displaying what we have done and the results of our researches. From the very beginning, sharing experiences and exchanging knowledge through co-learning has been our main philosophy. Taking part in different exhibitions at Jomo Kenyatta Sportground in Kisumu, UN-Habitat in Nairobi, Bamboo for emergency in Turin with various groups of audience has given us a wide range of feedback. Moreover, the use of a Web-log has allowed us to document all phases of our process for anybody who is interested and is accessible from anywhere across the globe. Yet, our main concern remains reaching out to the lowest part of the society; the ones that neither have access to the university where we built the structure, to the exhibitions where we displayed our work nor the web log on the internet. Hence, our first vision of this project is to have our design proposal for a sustainable slum school realized. Because we believe that the knowledge and understanding will eventually reach the low-income people by having an example to look at and through children, who are the future generation.
With some help from the two previous architects we met, we managed to obtain the remaining materials of their project as well as their contacts to the local workers. During nine days of intense work, we experienced an enormous quantity of problem and challenges concerning all aspects; from the purchase and transport of construction materials to hiring and dealing with the workers along with the hopeless Kenyan bureaucracy. What turned out to be the outcome was different from the picture that we all had in mind.
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THE CHALLENGES...
THE ADVANTAGES...
One of the more developing aspects of this project for us personally was the multitude of challenges we faced. Being in a completely new environment itself put one in an unfamiliar, but also stimulating situation. In our case, the choice of going on with the actual construction of a small building has meant more than dealing with the usual challenges, above all, unexpected practical difficulties from the construction site.
Despite encountering obstacles of all sizes, we still had one of the biggest advantages by meeting the people we met. They have their own ideas about how things work and are hard to convince for different reasons. However, the hunger for knowledge and the will to change their lifestyle make them curious, extremely critical and exceptionally participatory. Based on the fact that someone from outside is interested to visit their country, studying it and encourage them to development is something they appreciate in a really special way. If this can be considered a general advantage when working in developing country, more specifically we have had great benefits from having:
PRACTICAL ISSUES > Lack of time, knowledge and money > Unexperienced > Language barrier and miscommunication > Unfamiliar context > Poor infrastructure, problem with transportation of materials on site. > Limited knowledge outside of our field > Conflicts within the group > Limited access to internet and in general to information (at least in our western acception) > Getting in touch with people after leaving the site > Lack of help from the authorities: getting permissions and accessibilty to tools > Security reasons: Taking consideration into a different kind of climate, extreme weather conditions that can result in flooding, fire, termite. THE CULTURAL ASPECTS > Time perception: Coming from a society were we are used to schedule everything or in many ways give a strong value to time, there was no doubt a culture clash with the “Hakuna Matata” mentality. The relaxed African culture can sometimes give you hard moments when trying to struggle for efficiency. > The status of the local material: Locality and traditions often tend to be associated with poverty, out-of-date and old-fashion. > Gender issue: Fighting for equal respect from the workers. > The ‘mzungu’ image: Being a white man makes you different. It is not about racism, yet, it is almost impossible to be treated in the same way as the locals. GENERAL CHALLENGES > Sanitation and poor health care: Difficulties for our bodies adapting to and resist from conditions in an unfamiliar environment. > Present economical situtation: Constantly struggling with the question of affordability between ourselves and under what circumstances. > Present political situation: Corruptions striking the society.
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> Cheap experienced labour > Accessibility to material and remnants of bamboo, papyrus > A site to experiment with our ideas > The opportunity to meeting experts > Public interest in our project > People’s friendliness and eagerness to help > Finicial support from the institution > The co-operation with a real organization, Interfelk > Having a big group of creativity that can motivate each other and learn from each other. > The ’mzungu’ image: Not being treated in the same way as the locals can sometimes give you the advantage to more easily access information. > Students and teachers from Maseno Univesity that we can turn to. > Last but not least, the chance to experience Kenya in real life.
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CONCLUSION One of our first questions in the initial phase was to investigate on possible solutions for raising the standard of living without raising the cost. To conclude our research and studies, we believe that there is such a potential by targeting local and natural resources. Throughout this course, we have obtained enough of theoretical knowledge to believe and base our claim on, but regrettably, insufficient practical experiences to actually prove our statement. For example, it is hard to do a proper cost estimation due to fluctuating prices depending on who is selling and who is buying â&#x20AC;&#x201C; if you are foreign or if you are a local. Despite having built the structure in Maseno, it is not the same as in building a house with all the systems incorporated in order for us to fully grasp the management details. Another challenge we have recognised along the way is that the value of natural and local resources are not totally appreciated because of their cultural label as temporary. There is a remarkable desire among people for moving towards modernity and leaving the traditions behind as a part of the past. Moreover, public attention on this topic is rather little as a result of lack of other priorities. Referring back to the hierarchy of needs, people who suffer from serious shortage of food and drinking water have little concern about what material their house is built so long as they can find a shelter to live in. Constant struggle for fulfilling the primary daily needs leaves no space for a long-term planning or investment. Why people underestimate the potentials of some natural resources for improving their living conditions is not always a result of scarcity or inefficiency of these resources, but more often a result of insufficient knowledge or trust in their capabilities. Sometimes, only observing a real successful example can influence the public opinion, which is one of our ambitions of this project. We wish to clarify that we are not in a position to teach local people how to use their natural resources for sustainable development, but to co-operate in investigation on alternatives, seeing the potentials of local assets and let them decide on what to do with them. One important thing to bear in mind however is that what is considered a sustainable resource in one context might not be the same in another. Timber for instance is rather a sustainable choice in Sweden, while it is the opposite in Kenya due to the forest depletion. Bamboo being sustainable in South America may become less sustainable in North America due to another type of climate. Using local assets that are available on site is therefore usually environmentally sustainable as well as cost effective because of less need for transportation.
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Looking back in our process, we have come to realise that in spite of our high level of ambition, we have missed out some important aspects during the initial process. The fact that we did not communicate enough to get information and share ideas affects the quality of the co-learning process and unbalances the active participation to a one way relation or a topdown approach. We could have gone out to the informal settlements with a questionnaire to find out what people really want, but instead we had to depend on our household case studies. We could also have investigated more on existing water collection and biogas plants on site, to see how they actually work in the Kenyan context. Nevertheless, we still appreciate the journey we have had more than reaching the destination. For continuation of this journey, we have summaized a few points of recommendations: > Contact Interfelk for more visits to the actual site in Nyalenda. > Go further into details about the design of the slum school, such as researching on the structures, studying movement patterns and wind directions on site. > Try to get hold of a laboratory for testing the systems of biogas and water purification. Chalmers is unfortunately not equipped with the facilities to carry out these kinds of test. Allow at least a monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time for preparation. > Contact ABC for more information about bamboo building. > Contact KWAHO and KIWASCO for further studies of water treatment systems in Kenya. > Keep maintaining the blog, share the knowledge and promote the potentials of local assets. > Last but not least, do not hesitate to contact us regarding questions and perspectives on the discussed topics. Silvio: s.soldi@hotmail.it Isa: isa.pettersson@gmail.com Christine: x.tinetam@yahoo.com Azarakhsh (Azi): <azasad@student.chalmers.se> Tsu-Ching (Whisky): whiskywen923@gmail.com
Thank you for reading!
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CRITICAL REFLECTIONS TIME PERCEPTION BETWEEN CULTURES BY: CHRISTINE TAM
COMING FULL CIRCLE? BY: ISA PETTERSSON
A BROWN SOLUTION BY: AZARAKHSH SADEGHZADE
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BY: CHRISTINE TAM Going Africa- that is certainly one of the most extraordinary things I have done in life, not to mention it on the list amongst my greatest adventures. I did not dare to imagine what it would be because I did not want to create false expectations. I tried hard to do all possibly imaginable preparations; both practical and mental, prior to my departure and I kept reminding myself about staying openly unbiased on unknown grounds. Yet, there was one thing in particular I noticed that never stopped coming back to strike me with amazement. “You see, Christine, people here, they don’t like to do things in a hurry. People like to take their own time and they don’t stress. It is simply not in the culture. With perhaps one exception and that’s in the universities.” a fellow student at Maseno University told me after hearing my frustrations about the sudden distorted reality. I mentioned that I once had to put up with more than two hours waiting at a restaurant for my dinner, which was literally just a portion of tuna salad. Lunch for an hour was rarely possible unless you went for ready-made samosas in the supermarkets or grilled cornstalks on the streets. Lecturers could be ridiculously late for class without any proper excuse. In worst cases, they didn’t turn up at all as the case with our tour guide that had us waiting for an hour outside of the law court before cancelling the field visit. The exception with universities that my friend referred to must have come from his point of view as a student and his attitude towards the timetables. Because according to my observations and experience, efficiency does not seem to exist in his country at all. Or is it purely because their sense of time differs from mine and goes beyond the concept of a ticking clock? Time perception is the way people feel, experience and evaluate time.1 In sociology and anthropology, time discipline is the general name given to social and economic rules, customs, conventions and expectations governing the measurement of time2; influencing everyday life, attitudes to history and plans for the future. The use and constraints of time are thus important issues in understanding human behavior and education, and may vary in definition from culture to culture. Many European countries around the Mediterranean for instance have siesta in the afternoon because of the heat, while other Asian countries like Japan hardly know how to distinguish between work and free time. The thought of time being perceived differently between individuals and across cultures has, however, not been an issue that I have pondered until recently. To me, time is visualized as a continuous line that starts from the past on the left and runs to the future on the right. This linear interpretation of time is believed to have appeared in pace with modernization and the birth of industrialization because of a struggle to control time and preventing chaos from happening in the society.3
1. Rosseau, GG and Venter, DJL: ”Measuring Time Perception in a Cross Cultural Environment” 2. http://www.andersoninstitute.com/perception-of-time.html (2010-04-20) 3. Marukhnyak, O : ”The perception of time” : http://www.scribd.com/doc/24699041/Perception-of-Time-in-Different-Culture
Before there was a need for establishing a collective way to relate to time in our parts of the world, everything from seasonal changes to sunsets and sunrises was based on the order of nature and its impulses. But along with technological innovations came also the term efficiency to our dictionary, where machinery was introduced in order to maximize the productivity and ‘saving’ time and manpower in the industrial economy. Looking at the agricultural based societies on the other hand, weather and seasonal cycles are still evidently more of a crucial factor for the production than having a mechanical clock. Time is related to the activities of the animals, such as when the cows go out or when the rooster crows. There is no such need to be dependent on time precision because everything is regulated and driven by the forces of nature. What is there at the moment will still be there before it gets dark. Time perception can also differ between cultures in the way they value the past, present and future. While some cultures work hard for maintaining and restoring traditions, having a great awareness of their history and highly respect the ancestors who created the prime in the past, other cultures are more future-oriented to emphasize on prospects and investments rather than current issues. There are even people from cultures that do not have a past tense in their language and live life for today’s day without having a tomorrow in mind.3 I myself can plan my schedule for days, weeks and even months ahead, at the same time as I can put very much emphasis on preserving my past. I write diary, I have collected every kind of greeting cards I have received since I was five, and I attend yearly ceremonies in memory of my ancestors although I am not at all religious. I am almost never present in the present, which is probably why I experienced such a cultural clash in the presentorientated Kenya. To many people there, especially seen in the rural areas, the picture of today does not differ much from yesterday or tomorrow. Everyday follows the same pattern of work for money, and for food. There are no weekends, no plans for holidays, no deadlines to catch up with, nothing to look forward to, so why stressing out the days? There is no ‘time’ to save and no ‘time’ to waste because what is considered time goes according to one’s biological clock. The Matatu leaves when all seats are occupied and not when the timetables tell them to. This occasionally lead to a waiting time of 45 minutes, with a journey from Kisumu to Maseno up to one and a half hour, instead of 20 minutes by vehicle. Having material delivered to site has taken up to five hours once between two destinations of not more than 5 kilometers. The workers did simply not know how to get there, left their carriage on the way to find the site before going back to where they left the carriage and walked the same way back to where they found the site. Having mentioned these scenarios though, I have also noticed how I myself relate to time by measuring it in minutes and hours. I wonder if there really is a way to synchronize time for everyone or is the invention of a mechanical clock just a naive concept?
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COMING FULL CIRCLE? BY: ISA PETTERSSON As I was having coffee with some of my friends in Kenya someone suggested that the preference for instant coffee in Kenya might be linked to a desire for modernity which is greater than the desire for good coffee. Why go through the hassle of brewing coffee when there is an easier, more modern alternative? Before going to Kenya I read a report from last year’s Reality Studio about building with earth.1It inspired me to want to know more about earth and building traditions in Kenya. What struck me the most was the attitude Kenyans seemed to have towards earth as a building material; that because it was cheap and accessible it was only for poor people. I could not understand how anyone could prefer a material, such as metal sheets, that give an uncomfortable indoor climate and is expensive, to a material that is both cheaper and more functional. This negative attitude derives not only from the fact that earth is cheap, but also that it is a traditional material in Kenya. The Kenyans seem to be running away from their old traditions and trying to replace them with more westernised – or what they believe to be western - ideas that might not always be suitable in that context. If for example wooden houses became high fashion in Kenya, their already scarce forest resources would be depleted in a heartbeat. This attitude, this strive towards modernity seems to be consistent through a major part of Kenyan culture, like the attitude towards traditional and low-tech building materials. I never actually heard this for myself, but I found a very suggestive quote where a Kenyan woman talks about metal sheet houses; “It is utterly true that the new houses are too hot, and additionally we have considerably difficulty conducting conversations when the rain comes, but this is the price of progress”.2 We can see this strive in Swedish history; some say that since modernity has been good for us, we embrace it. The industrial revolution took us from being poor farmers to the welfare society we have today. However, embracing progress for progress sake might be taking it too far. I sometimes feel that being “modern” in Kenya is a façade that hides a short-term planning that actually keeps the country from developing its full potential. In Sweden the trend has lately been towards old-school, probably as a reaction to the fast advance of technology and the threat of global warming; sustainable is the new black. We are re-discovering materials like earth and straw, which has been used in Sweden for hundreds or thousands of years, but has had to take a step back in favor of concrete and steel. I see this as a circle that is closing; we are in a way coming back to where we started, although we have made some progress on the way. Becoming reacquainted with low-tech material does not mean that we are abandoning modern technology such as cars, computers etcetera.
1 Forsberg, Gyllenhak, och Ssekitoleko. Understanding earth houses. Gothenburg: Chalmers architecture, 2009 2 Evans, Smith, Smiley, (2002).
The West has been allowed to make the mistakes that are now threatening us all. We just didn’t know better, right? From a moral aspect all nations and all people should be allowed to make their own mistakes, but from an environmental point of view the world cannot afford this. So the question is if the developing countries have to make the same loop through modernity as we have done, or if they can find a short-cut to where modern technology meets sustainability. I have seen something close to this among the Maasais. They are maintaining their old traditions but still embracing new technology in the shape of cell phones. It is a peculiar sight; the Maasai warrior in his traditional red dress and jewelry with a panga and a cell phone holster in his belt. However, I would not recommend the Maasai lifestyle as the one to strive for. Some traditions might not be valuable to keep; like cooking food in a small room with charcoal as fuel. That was something that both shocked me and made my eyes water while visiting a Maasai village in Maasai Mara. Why I wanted to work with local and natural assets was not to convince Kenyans that they should be more sustainable – they are already much more sustainable than me – but to shine a light on the opportunities of using what you have instead of striving towards something that might not be better. However it is hard to avoid falling into the top-down approach swamp. Maybe it was the way we were taught in school? All we really can do as foreigners is to share our experiences and findings and hope that they will be taken in consideration, but we can’t ask for more than that. I would personally love to live in an earth house, but I guess there is a difference between being able to live in an earth house and not having any other choice. But leading by example is always a good approach. Maybe we could spread some sustainable trends for a change. It would be easy to say that Kenya is a few decades behind Sweden and that’s it, but I can see a strong similarity between the two countries; the desire for what is exclusive. I believe that is prevailing all around the world. In Kenya it might be concrete and industrial eggs and in Sweden it might be 14th century farm houses and “real” coffee. If everything is hand-made you want industrial and if everything is industrial you want hand-made. The question is if we will ever settle for hand-made or industrial when we have it, or if we will continue the circle all the way around again.
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EVALUATION 5.1. SUMMARY 5.2. CONCLUSION 5.3. CRITICAL REFLECTIONS
A BROWN SOLUTION BY: AZARAKHSH SADEGHZADE Our study visit to “Ekocentrum”1 during the course “Sustainable development and design professions”, as an initial point of departure for getting involved in waste management and sanitation issues, was not a pleasant experience. For me as a student of architecture, it felt so irrelevant and unusual to discuss about how to use human waste. The idea of compost toilets20 which was introduced there sounded very unhygienic. It felt so disgusting to store human waste for a while and then spread it into the farms. According to the lecturer; there was nothing scientifically wrong with it. Finished compost was supposed to have no smell, not resemble feces in any way and be a great fertilizer for gardens and trees.18 No way I could believe that it could be practically done in a developed country like Sweden. My cultural and religious taboos strongly resisted against any touch or further use of human waste. The second poke was a lecture by “Lars Reutersward”17, describing sanitation problems in Kibera, the biggest slum area in Nirobi.22 Probably the most outstanding point I remember from that interesting lecture is the expression “fying toilets”: a facetious name for the use of plastic bags for defecation, which are then thrown into ditches, on the roadside, or simply as far away as possible.23 This was obviously much more disgusting than storing waste in a sealed storage for a long time. The course “Reality studio in southern context” began with some introductory lectures about Africa, Kenya, Nairobi and Kenya’s third largest town Kisumu , where over three hundred thousand people live closely packed together in miserable conditions of crowded slum, lacking the basic necessities of life14, an unknown far place which happened to become a temporary hometown for me a few weeks later. Our actual journey started from Nairobi. We attended a few lectures in UN-habitat, one of which was about sanitation issues around Lake Victoria by “Cecilia Kinuthia”19. It happened to be the third inspiring lecture to encourage me for working on sanitation issues. According to her, “In Kisumu, women do not go to toilet. They go early in the morning and late at night. If one can come up with some sort of design which can help improving this situation, it would be really helpful”. Later I got to know from a NGO director in Kisumu, that having no access to any private or public toilet, many women are attacked or raped while walking away during the night, to hide in the dark looking for a “bush toilet”. I got closer to these people after I spent a while in Kisumu. We had a visit to the informal settlements of Nyalanda, to get a more realistic image of their actual lifestyle. ” Kisimu’s slums contain thousands of shacks, constructed of wood, plastic and iron sheeting roofs, without piped water, sewage and electricity. Community toilets and showers are scarce and unhygienic. Household waste is hardly collected because of the lack of a proper disposal site.”5 Without public services, every single household is left alone with their own
waste. After spending a whole day with a rather higher income and well educated family in Nyalanda, we noticed that the best way they could find was burning their garbage in the courtyard (this included both organic and inorganic waste, even plastics and pollutant chemicals). Any improvement in existing situation seemed to require a brief research among different waste management techniques and find those which could be reduced in scale to be actually applied into a small household. As a result, a new design proposal in this area required a self-sufficient and independent system for waste management. The household study visit was an important part of this approach, where we got to know that not only most households in slums could not afford building a toilet, but also the existing toilets rarely worked. A typical toilet tank in this context, which is simply an unsealed hole in the ground, would be overflowed and unusable after a heavy seasonal rain. Moreover, the waste buried in the ground can easily infect the natural resources. “Soil and ground water are polluted .The unhygienic living conditions cause serious health problems. Diseases like malaria, typhoid and diarrhea specifically cause children to die.”5 On the other hand, during the dry seasons, it is hardly possible to find water for drinking and daily use while the toilets are supposed to be flushed with water. Flush toilets are common around the world, using a huge amount of water to remove a small amount of body waste.4 After visiting Nyalanda, I was feeling a bit strange while simply pushing the flush button in our ceramic hygienic toilets at the guest house. Knowing the fact that Kisumu suffers from a severe shortage of clean water, even though it adjoins Lake Victoria, the second largest fresh water lake in the world 5, why would one ever take a glass of clean water and poop in it?18 During this visit, we also got to know about how the daily food is a major concern for most households in slums. Half of the population of Kisumu lives in absolute poverty and doesn’t manage to get enough food. 14 Traditional methods of farming just aren’t producing enough food for families or their communities.15-qoute For instance; farmers in Kenya don’t buy Synthetic fertilizer because it costs three times as much as it does in Europe.13 Suddenly, I started to think that, not only is it a disgusting idea to poop in drinking water, but it is a waste of two resources: clean water and potential fertilizer.18 The idea of compost toilets didn’t seem as disgusting anymore. Joining a group of five people with a common interest on upgrading the standards of basic human needs in slum areas, I was motivated to start an investigation on the new techniques of waste management which would suit this context. As a result of my preliminary research, there have been many efforts for replacing the water-flush system with something more efficient or environmental friendly, among all of which the dry composting toilets were preferred because of their simplicity, cheapness
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EVALUATION 5.1. SUMMARY 5.2. CONCLUSION 5.3. CRITICAL REFLECTIONS
and practicality. The “FLUSH” for a composting toilet is the “dry stuff” made up of sawdust, dry chopped leaves or any other dry organic matter.18 In case of Kisumu, where the rapid spread of the water hyacinth has led to great concern, and mechanical removal is seen as the best short-term solution to the proliferation of the plant 21 it can be a good alternative as this dry flush, being collected easily and dried in sun. For the exhibition in Kisumu, we built a full-sized model of our recommended toilet system, using some elementary material we got from the local market. Our purpose was to present the idea to locals and get their reflection on how effective it could be. Our audiences, to my surprise, were much more open-minded than me towards this new idea, as a result of being drawn in the “reality” of a life on which I could only have a short-time overview during a few weeks of reality studio, and influenced my perspective about many things in actual life. However, being an Iranian, I was still sure that there is no way one could use the final product of a composting toilet as fertilizer in some cultures like mine or any Muslim context. No matter how disinfected, any kind of waste from human body is considered to be dirty in its nature and there is an strong oppose to get in touch with it or use it especially when it comes to food production, unless it is 100 percent proved that as a result of chemical process, every single fraction of it is completely decomposed to another substance with different chemical properties. Back in Sweden, we continued with investigating effective systems of waste management. We found out that biogas technology had been introduced in Kenya and Kisumu by European farmers, is mainly used for lighting and cooking, and despite the decrease in rate of dissemination since the beginning of this decade, several government agencies and a few private companies and individuals have continued to promote the technology. 7 Umande Trust, a Kenyan rights-based organization, has developed a biogas generating latrine block, managed by community groups, which can be located anywhere in a slum as it treats human waste without requiring sewerage infrastructure.16 It seemed an appropriate solution for waste management in a public building like a school, on which we later worked as our design proposal.
resources can return to their initial point? We have to go through the reverse process, in order to prevent the consequences of the pollutant material we have produced. Imagine turning ‘poop’ into sweet smelling roses!
References: 1. The Black Sheep Inn Andres Hammerman & Michelle Kirby 2. Teniqua Treetops Eco Treehouse (www.teniquatreetops.co.za/EcoFriendly2.html) 3. OIKOS , Green Building Library (http://oikos.com/library/compostingtoilet/) 4. Goodbye to the Flush Toilet by: Carol Hupping Stoner 5. Cordaid urban matters (http://www.cordaidurbanmatters.com/?page_id=88&lang=en) 6. Lets go green – Practical alternatives to sewer and septic systems (Lets go green.com) 7. BIOGAS PROMOTION IN KENYA, a review of experiences, Stephen Gitonga 8. National Non-Food Crops Centre. “Anaerobic digestion factsheet”, (http://www.nnfcc. co.uk/metadot/index.pl?id=7202;isa=DBRow;op=show;dbview_id=2457) 9. State Energy Conservation Office (Texas). “Biomass Energy: Manure for Fuel.”, (http://www. seco.cpa.state.tx.us/re_biomass-manure.htm) 10. Biogas train, environmentally friendly and cost effective, (http://www.svenskbiogas.se/sb/ docs/english/Biogastrain_produktblad_2005.pdf) 11. SNV Tanzania, Tanzania Domestic Biogas Program, (http://www.snvworld.org/en/ Documents/ ) 12. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org) 13. Africa’s Village of Dreams, The Wilson quarterly, (http://www.wilsonquarterly.com) 14. Kisumu, cordaid urban matters, (http://www.cordaidurbanmatters.com) 15. About – Kisumu, just Christmas, Morningside Baptist Church (http://www.pandgchurch.org. uk/) 16. Kenya – Communal biogas latrines in Nairobi, (http://sanitationupdates.wordpress.com) 17. (http://www.arkitekt.se/s10556) 18. (http://www.ekocentrum.se) 19. Lake Victoria City Development Strategies (CDS) for Improved Urban Environment and Poverty Reduction, Cecilia Kinuthia-Njenga, Human Settlements Officer
However, such infrastructures are more complicated and costly to build and maintain in compare with composting toilets. Instead, while the compost system changes human waste into harmless nutritious fertilizer, a biogas system can produce both energy and fertilizer from any kind of organic waste and also water hyacinth.23-24 The slurry of a biogas plant as an alternative for fertilizer seems less offensive towards the cultural values and would for example satisfy my personal expectations. In the other hand, production of energy can be extremely valuable for Kenya who suffers from high level of dependence on energy source by importing petroleum. Most of the rural households depend on wood fuel, which is becoming scarce and requires difficult time-consuming collecting work primarily done by children and women. Smoke from burning wood leads to respiratory and eye diseases.7,11 Going through all this experiences during this journey, particular attention to waste management system is a result I am going to carry on till the end of my professional life, working on every single project as an architect. Human kind swallows a huge amount of plants and animals’ bodies and turns it into disastrous organic waste. Who is responsible for completing this defective process and turning it to an ecological cycle where the material
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PEOPLE LAURENT DEMARTA LENA FALKHEDEN OSCAR PERRISQUIA JENS DYMLING NRIPAL ADHIKARY & SULAVA PIYA JAN KRISTENSEN & ANNE OKECH KRISTENSEN FRANKLIN MWANGO VARIOUS PEOPLE FROM THE HOUSEHOLD STUDIES
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