After many ups and downs to secure land and find funds to finance the project, the first phase of construction has started!
The Humane School is a community based organization located in the countryside near Kitale-Sirende in Western Kenya, that provides cheap and relevant education to over 100 children despite precarious conditions. Since 2018, ASF Sweden has contributed to the project of designing, planning and building better adapted school buildings with regards to social, ecological and economic sustainability, in collaboration with International anthroposophical organizations and local actors.
The design and masterplan of the new school buildings was originally drawn by Sabine (Architects Without Borders- Sweden) with the help of other Swedish volunteers and in concertation with the local users, but it has been revisited by local architects to better comply to the donor´s requirements and adapt to the local know-hows.
The first phase of construction is the main one and includes six classrooms and two kindergarten rooms, an administration building and a sanitary block. A second phase will include a library and music room, a new kitchen and dining space as well as more refined landscaping and playgrounds.
A big part of the property is kept unbuilt to make space for permaculture organic farming feeding the school kitchen and educational purposes, while existing old coffee trees are being harvested and sold for teacher´s revenues. A borehole has been bored at the start of the construction, but rainwater will also be collected in big tanks for watering the crops. A bio-digester tank is being installed to take care of the biological waste and provide biogas.
Local materials and labor are favored. Where constructively possible, eucalyptus timber from the site is being used and the cut trees will be replaced by an orchard. The walls were initially planned to be in earth-compressed bricks using clay from the site but after soil tests and deliberations with the different actors, carry stones were considered more durable and faster to procure as they come from a carry 12 km from the site. The sand for the concrete mortar comes from riverbeds about 40 km from the school. Other materials are sourced from local hardware stores. Most of the workers come from the local community, including parents, neighbors and relatives to the pupils, which is a way to create long-term engagement and promote the local economy.
Meanwhile, classes are being held in the old existing mud house which will soon be reconverted in a temporary kitchen, as well as in the "temporary kindergarten", a sheet metal building built in 2020 which will later be reused as storage for the permaculture organic garden or cattle shed.
The planning of the project is all about temporary uses and gradual upgrades.
The inauguration is planned for the start of the next academic year, in January 2025. A representative of Föreningen Sofia, our partner in Sweden will be present. We will keep you posted!
There are many ways to support this project !
-To participate to the construction costs:
-To support the school's activities (teacher´s salaries, material, children's fees etc):
Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments!
Thank you for reading :)
/Sabine.
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