In Okana, a small rural village in Kenya, a community centre has been partly realised. This community centre will facilitate a library, ICT facilities, Internet Café and a sewing workshop. The project is initiated by the Kenyan NGO ‘Sustainable Rural Initiatives' and two architecture students from the TU Delft, who formerly participated in the minor. The NGO wants to improve the living conditions of the 5000 villagers of Okana by offering education, employment and community support. The focus is on providing young people the opportunity for development and education and to be a catalyst for further steps in their career.
The assignment focuses on checking the activities as proposed in the original project plan for the community centre and to see how they can lead to income generating activities. The goal is to work out how to make the community center financially self-sustainable. Part of this task involves monitoring and supporting the sewing workshop, the raising of chicken, the bamboo workshop and the agricultural entrepreneurship initiatives. These activities should according to planning be initiated when we arrive but depending on circumstances there is also room for initiating other activities, if that turns out to be desirable.
From left to right:
Julius van Bebber, Luka Peters, Charlie Roelse, Josefien Rots
The Bamboo construction