Supplementary memorandum submitted by
James Cogan OBE and Dr M K Musaazi on behalf of the Good Earth
Trust
The Role of Interlocking Stabilised Soil Block
Technology in Addressing Slum Upgrading: Mathare 4A Project, Nairobi
1. This document is further to a submission
made in October to the International Development Committee regarding
their inquiry into Water and Sanitation. The submission related
to the role of Appropriate Technologies in development and specifically
to the potential of Interlocking Stabilised Soil Block Technology
(ISSBs) to help address the Water and Sanitation needs of the
poorest people.
2. Since October, we have regularly attended
related Evidence Sessions of the Committee. One particular meeting,
which has prompted this submission, was the Oral Evidence Session
on the World Urban Forum III held on Tuesday 21 November.[167]166
Amongst others giving evidence was Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, the Executive
Director of UN-Habitat. A principal theme of the session was the
need for effective solutions to the increasing problems caused
by rapid urbanisation in the developing world. Despite this worsening
crisis, evidence offered at the session appeared singularly lacking
in specific approaches or practical solutions. For this reason,
we would like to draw the Committee's attention to a successful,
large-scale slum up-grading project in Mathare in Nairobi, using
Stabilised Soil Block (SSB) technology. The project highlights
one specific, practical approach which has great potential.
3. Mathare is one of the largest and poorest
slums in Africa. Located just a few kilometres North of the city
centre, and no more than a few hundred metres downstream from
Muthaiga, the city's richest residential area, it is home to half
a million people. The particular project to which this paper refers
was developed in an area of the slum called Mathare 4A. The area
covers around 17 hectares and has a population of approximately
30,000-32,000 people (population density therefore is in the region
of 2,000 people/hectare). The inhabitants generally belonged to
the lowest urban income bracket with an average family income
of 1980 Ks per month (c £15). The entire area had only two
public toilets and due to poor maintenance only one of these was
functional. Many households had no other option other than to
use open drainage channels or any other available open areas.
The main water supply in the area was kiosks where the cost of
water was four times higher than the price charged by the Nairobi
City Council.
4. A programme to rehabilitate Mathare 4A
was initiated in 1992, following an agreement reached between
the Government of Kenya, the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi and
the Government of Germany (through its donor agency KFW). The
Archdiocese was entrusted to act as the Project Implementing Agency
and they set up the Amani Housing Trust to implement and administer
the project. The main aims were to improve housing conditions
as well as water and sanitation facilities and to further to develop
accessibility to the area. For the construction of all housing
to the Amani Housing Trust chose to use Stabilised Soil Block
Technology. It is cost-effective, simple to use and complies with
all stipulations of the Kenya Bureau of Standards.
5. A pilot project covering approximately
three hectares was initiated in 1992 and upon its successful completion
a funding agreement for the main project (to cover the remaining
14 hectares) was signed on 21 January 1997. Since that time, using
SSB technology, accommodation for 3,000 families has been built,
700 as a result of rent income. All tenants have Secure Tenure.
A Community Centre has also been constructed with a clinic attached.
Water and Sanitation facilities have been improved, 183 wetcores
(communal washing/toilet areas) have been constructed and 30%
of new housing units have latrines. As a result health conditions
in the area have improved greatly particularly with relation to
water-borne diseases including malaria and cholera. 43% of residents
reported lower incidence of all diseases. The upgrading of roads,
footpaths and street lighting and the introduction of solid waste
collection points has also improved living conditions and security.
The project was developed and implemented in consultation with
members of the community and many employment opportunities were
also created. During this time turn-over rates within the area
have dropped from 40% per annum to 5%. An independent report on
the project, funded by DFID, reached the following conclusions:
"The programme has demonstrated
the importance of participatory approaches in slum-upgrading projects
and direct benefits to the target population... The key improvements
and achievements of the programme are:
— Improved sanitation, security
and environmental quality.
— Better standards of living.
— Better housing using appropriate
technology.
— Improved infrastructure.
— Capacity building among residents
in maintenance of programme facilities, education and discussions
on social matters, conflict resolution and others."[168]
6. As referred to above, one outstanding
success of the project has been its level of community participation.
From the outset, the programme ensured that the needs and aspirations
of the community were identified and prioritised even if complete
accord was sometimes difficult to achieve. The community were
also closely involved in the implementation of the project as
well as its development. An important part of this was the training
of community members, both men and women, in the use and application
of SSB technology enabling them to contribute actively to the
improvement of existing structures and the construction of new
houses and infrastructure. It is the simplicity and utility of
SSB technology that made this possible.
7. The programme in Mathare 4A has been
generally deemed a successful prototype and is included in the
Kenya Dossier of Good Practices, 2000 funded by UNCHS.
Invariably however, the focus of the reviews has been on the sociological
and political implications of the project. Little attention has
been paid to practical aspects and to the technology used. Recent
site visits and discussions with the Amani Housing Trust indicate
overall satisfaction with the project outcomes. Grace Kambo, the
General Manager of the Amani Housing Trust, with long experience
in this field, has stated her belief that the technology was "a
crucial part of the project's success" and is "ideal"
for slum-upgrading projects. That said, quality of construction
over the whole site is uneven. All constructions built during
the initial stage of the project are of a high standard and are
still in excellent condition. Sections of lesser quality have
been attributed to inadequate training and supervision during
certain phases of the project. Future projects should contain
procedures to ensure comprehensive training and supervision throughout
the programme to maintain quality-control. Provided that this
is taken into account, the technology has great potential for
further projects.
8. It is also very important to note that
this project was carried out, before the modifications to the
technology (described in detail in the previous submission) were
effected. The improvements that have since been made can only
make the technology more relevant. Increased compaction has made
the blocks stronger and the introduction of the interlocking design
reduces the costs of construction further because much less mortar
is required. It also makes the actual process of construction
faster and more straightforward. Speed of construction is extremely
important in slum scenarios because in such densely populated
areas it is necessary to demolish existing dwellings simply to
create space for new constructions. This means the inevitable
displacement of people and for obvious reasons it is desirable
to be able to construct the new housing as quickly as is possible.
The size and transportability of the machines makes them accessible
to all areas. Simplified construction techniques mean that training
is more straightforward and community participation further facilitated.
The success of the technology in providing affordable constructions
that can be built by local people could now be repeated with greater
ease and reliability.
9. Perhaps the most important development
of all however, is the introduction of a mould which produces
a curved block. This offers a genuine breakthrough in water storage
and sanitation technology. Using curved blocks, a self-standing
water tank with a 10,000 litre capacity can be constructed by
a small team in just two days at a dramatically reduced cost compared
to alternatives. Tanks such as these, can be used to collect and
store water "harvested" from roof tops (the great concentration
of which in a densely populated area such as a slum makes it ideally
suited) A 10,000 litre tank attached to one or several housing
structures could easily serve four families (taking into account
the WHO recommendations of 25 litres per person per day and an
average family size in Mathare of 3.2 persons per household).
The potential of the technology to construct community water assets
has been widely tested and documented across Eastern Uganda. The
technology is obviously equally suited to the construction of
pit latrines and septic tanks. The curved blocks are ideal for
lining the walls of pit latrines from a radius of one metre up
to much larger containers. The technology can transform the potential
of the even the poorest people to address the problems of water
and sanitation and its relevance to slum scenarios is clear. The
Amani Housing Trust has since been introduced to the changes to
the technology and is very keen to test its potential with further
practical projects.
10. However, it is important to note that
the original project was not without other problems, many of which
are relevant to all slum-upgrading scenarios. Many of these have
been caused by disaffected former landlords who felt that the
land should have been allocated to them rather than to the Amani
Trust Fund. They have also complained that compensation payments
have been insufficient. If the project was to ensure Secure Tenure
for all residents of Mathare 4A, it was necessary that the land
was re-allocated to the Amani Trust Fund to ensure that rents
were stable and to avoid enforced evictions. Nevertheless, the
discontent of the former "owners", many of whom had
risen to positions of considerable influence, was inevitable.
Further to this, there were complaints made by some of the residents
of Mathare 4A, the intended beneficiaries of the project. There
was some lobbying for lower rents and higher levels of service.
At certain points the problems became so serious that the project
had to be halted. Much of this can be attributed to the high expectations
of the tenants, many of whom felt that the land should have been
transferred directly to their ownership and that rent payments
of any kind, should not have been required. However, the allocation
of the land to an institution in trust for residents had clear
advantages over immediate redistribution which effectively would
have recreated the previous, problematic ownership structure.
There was also a need for the project to be able to generate funds
to ensure its long-term sustainability. It seems, at the outset
at least, that for a number of reasons many of the residents were
unwilling or unable to take these issues into consideration. Indeed,
many of their grievances are entirely understandable and present
challenges which future slum-upgrading projects must address.
Despite these difficulties however, the project now has been able
to complete the improvement of housing and infrastructure across
90% of the planned coverage area.
11. Issues relating to the crises of Water
and Sanitation, particularly in the context of rapid urbanisation,
emerged consistently throughout the World Urban Forum III session.
As populations in slums continue to increase in terms of both
numbers and density, the problems and challenges of providing
all people with adequate water and sanitation facilities intensify,
particularly as water resources in many developing countries continue
to dwindle. (Indeed, this is often a prime motivation behind mass
migrations to urban centres). Issues of Rapid Urbanisation and
Water and Sanitation are at the top of the development agenda
and are clearly inter-related in many ways. The subject was revisited
once again at the Third Evidence Session on 12 December, particularly
relating to Sanitation. Dr Darren Saywell of the International
Water Association stated his own belief that Water and Sanitation
solutions have even greater urgency in urban contexts and that
appropriate responses must be found. Upon further questioning
he suggested that the most effective responses would be found
through the "refined concept of a whole range of technical
options" and "combinations of different technologies".
In the scenarios to which Dr Saywell was referring, alternative,
low-level solutions such as ISSB technology do indeed have a disproportionately
low profile.
12. There are many other reasons why ISSBs
and other similar "low-level" technologies are more
appropriate then ever before to slum-upgrading and other development
projects across sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. Perhaps the most
important of these, particularly in the context of rapid urbanisation,
is that they are environmentally-sustainable. Unlike many other
building materials used including fired bricks and hollow concrete
blocks (which were used in the Mathare 4A project to construct
the wetcores), ISSBs do not require kiln-firing and as blocks
are made on-site, the further environmental pollution of transportation
is eliminated.
13. Climate change is already affecting
Africa. Extreme weather events, drought and desertification are
increasing and have forced many to flee their homes. Between 1975
and 1995, Africa experienced a 2.8 times decrease in water availability
and resources are expected to become even more scarce. Africa
is particularly susceptible to these changes because so many people
rely on subsistence farming for both their livelihood and survival.
Large-scale population movements already occur, and this is of
course, a major cause of the rapid urbanisation that we are now
witnessing. It is urgently important that solutions to this crisis
do not cause further environmental degradation or contribute to
climate change and thus effectively worsen the problems that they
are being used to address in the long-term, rather than helping
to solve them. If ISSB technology was adopted on a large scale,
there would be a dramatic decrease in deforestation and subsequent
carbon emissions. Indeed, a project is currently underway in Northern
Uganda, funded by Climate Care, to investigate the potential of
the technology for large-scale carbon off-setting programmes.
14. Given the relevance of the Technology
to many of the issues which have been under scrutiny, we would
urge the Committee once again to review our previous submission
and to consider the merits of ISSBs and indeed other Appropriate
Technologies when addressing issues such as Urbanisation and Water
and Sanitation. ISSBs themselves do not provide a complete solution.
But it is our contention that they are—like other Appropriate
Technologies—currently neglected and have a low profile
among development agencies which are too attached to sophisticated
and often inappropriate Western solutions. What is indeed required
is a "refined concept of a whole range of technical options".
Appropriate Technologies such as ISSBs have great potential and
are relevant to many of today's most urgent poverty scenarios.
They should be considered as an integral part of the debate on
the best way forward.
December 2006
167 166 Joint evidence session with Communities and
Local Government Committee, Tuesday 21 November 2006, HC 48. Back
168
Assessment of Mathare 4A Development Programme Against the Sustainable
Livelihoods Approach: Working Paper 4-Hannah Waruguru Kamau &
Jobson Ngari, November 2002. Back
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