Collection

Part of

IED Projects – 2015

Myrthe Crombaghs, Pasfoto SImon Simon van Heck, Otte van der Pluijm

Zambia: the Eco Wash and the Multipurpose Centre in Lusaka

In Zambia there is a lot of poverty. Almost 64% of the population lives below the poverty line determined by the United Nations Development Programme. Another pressing problem in Zambia is housing. Due to a quickly growing population and a stagnation in the construction industry. If there is no major investment done there will be a deficit of over 3 million housing units by 2030. Nowadays most households in Zambia are even unable to serve as a decent shelter and have goog sanitation (Lusakatimes, 2015). A decent shelter includes proper water facilities within reach and protection against extreme weather conditions.

The focus of our project is on the housing and sanitation problem in Zambia, mainly in Chazanga a suburb of the capital Lusaka. In cooperation with People’s Process on Housing and Poverty (PPHPZ) in Zambia we will try to contribute to sustainable development and a reduction of the housing problem. With these aspects taken into account we formulated our mission as; Addressing the housing deficit and sanitation problem through knowledge diffusion and improving the living standard. To establish this mission in our practical work we divided our internship in two parts.

In the first part we will design a multipurpose centre that will meet the needs of the populations of Chazanga. This Multipurpose Centre contains several basic needs like a waterkiosk for clean drinking water and electricity. The building technology and design of the Multipurpose Centre can be used as a model for other houses.

In the second part we designed the Eco Wash. This is a small building. which harvests rainwater for washing and bathing. Next to the bashing room are two toilets, which don't need water. For the Eco Wash, we will use and test the building material, which we will also use for the Multipurpose Centre. We will use the Hydraform building blocks, an innovative technique.

See the topic "Updates" to stay up to date about our project!