EWB-NY Usalama Project

Usalama Water Pipeline Update

2010-07-22T10:42:00.004-04:00

The Usalama Water Pipeline is a gravity flow water system that connects to the main Kibwezi line and is meant to provide potable water for the village of Usalama. Mwikali's Gift contracted AMREF to design and build the project in late 2006/early 2007. As of today the project is incomplete with some water kiosks operational and intermittent water reaching the main tank.

One of EWB-NY's secondary goals during the Classroom Construction project was to perform a third party ex-poste evaluation of the Pipeline system in order to provide recommendations for remediation if necessary. There were some obvious limitations to our ability to perform a thorough evaluation. First, the project is incomplete, which makes "ex-poste" a little unrealistic. Second, we could not dedicate more than one Engineer (Matt Sisul) to the task, though he was teamed with the pipeline supervisor, James. This limited the extent in which the various system components could be evaluated and tested.

A little about the system:
The pipeline is run by the Usalama Water Board (UWB), a committee set up with the help of Mwikali's Gift and AMREF. The UWB is in charge of operation and maintenance of the system from the intake at the Kibwezi Pipeline junction, the mainline to the tank, the tank, and return lines from the tank going in two directions, north to Kiosks 1 & 2, and south to Kiosks 3, 4, & 5. The board also employs attendants to sell the water at the kiosks for 2 ksh per 20L Jerry Can. (Pretty Standard). The UWB pays the government water agency a tax for the use of the water that costs somewhere around 15 ksh per cu. meter. So the UWB makes a profit of 100 - 15 ksh per cu. meter water sold that goes toward paying attendants, maintenance and loses, the remainder of the money goes into a bank account for future capital expenditures.

Source:
The source of the water is the Umani Springs. Umani (or sometimes Umanyi) supplies water to Kibwezi town and many points north and south of Kibwezi (Makindu, Mtito Andei). The water emerges from the spring in a very clean condition, but likely picks up some bacteria in the pools before entering the pipeline. In 2006 the water at the spring tested positive for fecal coliform presence/absence.

Present State of the System:
It was not easy getting a sense of the present state of the system. But after discussions with many individuals and a first hand inspection I was able to get an idea of how the system is currently functioning in its incomplete state. The final system is meant to have a mainline that connects to the tank with two return lines, one going north to kiosk 1/2 and another south to kiosks 3/4/5. However, kiosk 1 is attached to the mainline and the return line is about 20 feet short. Kiosk 2 is attached to both the mainline and the return line, with a bypass system in place so the kiosk operator can switch between the two lines. Kiosks 3/4/5 are all attached to their return line. The tank does not receive adequate flow to fill in the 24 hour cycle, in part because kiosks 1/2 reduce the flow while operational and in part due to an overly optimistic design by the engineers at AMREF. Kiosks 3 & 4 can get adequate water when the tank is full, but this is rarely available due to issues with the flow into the tank. Kiosk 5 may be in a position to receive little to no flow, as it is in line with kiosks 3 & 4, and at a higher elevation, so perhaps when the tank is full and kiosks 3 & 4 are closed there may be potential, but that has not been verified.

Next Steps:
Our next task is to take the data collected during the pipeline inspection: alignment, elevations, pipe diameters/types, locations of intake, airvalves, kiosks, tanks, etc and try to create an "As-Built" profile of the pipeline. The profile can be used to determine the dynamic head losses in the pipe as the water travels from the intake to the tank and from the tank into the kiosks in order to determine:
1) That the profile and components are consistent with allowing water to flow via gravity.
2) What steps or changes to the system can be made increase the flow of water into the tank, thus ensuring adequate flow of water from the tank into the kiosks.
3) Key data is lacking in order to accurately determine expected flow rates, and that is the flow and pressure at the intake. We will have to set up a measuring program to measure the pressure at the airvalves closest to the intake and tank, as well as the flow into the tank (where pressure=0) at various times of the day, days of the week and months of the year to determine variation in flow at the intake and reliability of the system.

Pictures from the inspection are available here. See this older post for detailed maps of the system.

EWB-NY visits the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KeFRI)

2010-07-21T12:27:00.003-04:00

On July 8th, 2010, Charles, Avi and I visited the KeFRI station in Kibwezi. We had met the supervisor, Edward, at a bar a few weeks earlier (our preferred method of meeting local high ranking government employees) and he had cordially invited us to visit his station and check out the work they do. Now, I had visited the site years before, during the initial water project assessment with Scott Snelling, because it is also the location of Kibwezi's water treatment system. I'd always wanted to get a tour of the facilities and see what sorts of forestry projects they were up to. It took a couple weeks, but we finally managed to find some time to visit.
We arrived in the morning and were welcomed by Edward. He took us over to the director's office (Mwendwa). There we discussed the many activities of KeFRI, their extension research in the area, focusing particularly on two plants, Jatropha and Mukua (Melia volkensii).
Jatropha is the wonder plant we've all heard of before. Its a bush that produces seeds that while inedible, contain high oil content, and are thus considered high potential for biodiesel. In fact, our friends over at EWB-Columbia have been working on a project utilizing Jatropha to fuel a multi-function engine in Uganda for some years now. But I digress. The advantages are obvious, and KeFRI has been trying to convince farmers to grow Jatropha in the area. One problem, there is no means of extracting the oil from the Jatropha and no where to process the oil into fuel, so no one is buying the Jatropha seeds. Maybe if someone knew of someone else who had experience developing multi-function engines that can process the jatropha seeds and convert the seeds into oil and the engine also runs on that oil, and maybe if they had experience working in East Africa...
Anyway, the second plant they were trying to introduce locally is the Mukau tree or Melia volkensii. It is a fast growing hardwood (10 yr to maturity) that is pretty drought and termite resistant. KeFRI staff train local farmers to grow it, as there is a pretty intensive process for cracking and preparing the seed to turn it into a seedling. The claim is that the Mukau will sell for a lot of money and is a good long term investment. Local reaction when we discussed Mukau later on was mixed, many complaining that you can't build with it (not a softwood) and others saying that it is great for furniture and very common.
In all it was a pretty interesting day. We learned a bit about a government extension program in the area and got some free seeds to take with us. We brought the seeds over to the primary school and Charles put a couple in a pot to see if he could get them to grow. Are Mukau or Jatropha right for the area, and could either be a future source of income generation? I think there are a lot of hurdles for either, the Jatropha needs the equipment and the Mukau is too long of an investment for most local farmers, but I'm glad to know that KeFRI is there doing research, as both offer potential, as long as the right capital investment is made...

You can find more pictures from the day here.

EWB-NY visits Kibera & the New Nairobi Dam Community Based Organization

2010-07-20T10:46:00.001-04:00

On Saturday, June 26, Charles and I visit Kibera, Nairobi, the largest urban slum in Nairobi and the second largest urban slum in Africa (after Soweto, South Africa).

We were there visiting a contact, Ibraham, through a friend of the Usalama Project, Joe Mulligan. Ibraham is the managing director of the New Nairobi Dam Community Based Organization, which seeks to unite community groups within Kibera and to create public space within the slum. Already they have been successful in building gabions and bridges, in order to clear land on the outskirts that was previously unused. They are looking to expand operations by opening up a latrine and kitchen center that could be the second phase of projects in the space, and focused on income generating activities.

The previous projects, a mixed use community space and training facility have been pretty successful. in the training facility there is a woman's group that does basket weaving, and there are some vegetable gardens. The community space is basically a stage, with protection from the sun and rainwater catchment.

It was pretty intense in Kibera, most of my experience is in rural areas, and it was pretty amazing to see how people can survive in very very close quarters. Ibraham was a very interesting guy with a good vision for the organization and seems to have what it takes to see it through.

If you are interested in the organization or want to learn more, let me know, or see this link and this one. There might be opportunity for anyone who is interested in urban development and slum issues. Of course, there is no set program in place, so its something that requires taking the initiative.

More pictures of our visit are available here. A report is available here, and email me at matt@ewbny.org if you'd like more info.

Usalama Classroom Project is underway!

2010-06-28T14:41:00.002-04:00

On the morning of June 7th, 2010, EWB-NY Usalama Project team members Charles Newman and Matt Sisul arrived at the Usalama Primary School to commence work on the implementation of four new classrooms. Though this post is coming three weeks after the fact, I thought it would be good to walk the reader through the project thus far. PS All photos are available HERE and HERE.

This post is a first look at the classroom construction from June 7th through June 28th, filling the reader in on the what's happened so far, sort of the greatest hits, and I'll be following this post with a second one, one that is a more detailed look at some of the intricacies and issues surrounding our role as resident architects/engineers, project managers and construction managers.

Classroom Construction: This section will cover the following construction activities: Site Selection, Excavations, Foundations, Floorslab prep work, Floor Slabs, and the start of the Masonry Walls.

Site Selection, June 7th, 2010

Charles and I arrive on the site to the warm welcome of Jackson, the school superintendent and village chairman, Mr. Katolo, the school principal, Charles Wambua, the deputy principal, Faustin, a teacher and the head librarian, and Priscilla a teacher.

Though we were itching to get started with excavation, we first had to present to the school our plans and get feedback before commencing. The main response to our plans, besides, “looks great,” and “yes! let’s get started,” was a request to reorient one of the classroom sets, from between the admin block and entrance south to between the 6 pack of classrooms and the library.

Excavation, June 8th and 9th, 2010

Day 1 of excavation consisted of clearing the sites and etching the edges of the floorslab into the soil. Day 2 involved excavation of 12 to 18 inches of organic and inorganic soil. Excavation was undertaken by parents of the students. The parents will again become a major contributor to the work of the project. The other main laborers are those skilled laborers, the “fundi” or masons and their assistants (mwanafunzi).

Foundations, June 10th through June 15th, 2010

Prior to pouring the foundations, we had to set the hardcore, essential large chunks of volcanic stone quarried in the region. It took a day to get the right levels, with masons hammering the stones into oblivion while Charles or I check the elevations with the construction level. We also spent time prepping the reinforcing steel (Y10 twisted), cut them to length and bent appropriately. A major change from the library project is the inclusion of vertical reinforcing in the buttresses. It requires reinforcing steel (chuma) to extend out of the foundation, and thus must be set in place with wood formwork in order to ensure the proper location once the concrete has set.

Friday, June 11th was the first day for setting of the concrete footing and we selected the western most classroom to be our first site. The process had some kinks, but all in all, it went rather smoothly, having the experience of a lot of the practices from the library construction the previous year. Saturday we poured the adjacent classroom, getting better at the process, so that on Monday we were able to pour both classrooms at once.

A note on naming conventions: we have named the site next to the library “Simba” and the site next to the admin “Tembo”. Simba is Kiswahili for Lion and tembo means elephant. It was a natural development, as we were referring to the classes as either the east or west set or north or south set. So E is for elephant, S is for Simba, Tembo is sorta right there in the middle of campus while Simba is sitting off on the side, waiting to pounce. I guess it’s one of those things that just makes more sense when you’re there!

Floor Slab prep work, June 15th through June 19th, 2010

We hit some of our first delays in the time between the foundation concrete and pouring the floorslabs. A lot of work had to go into setting up the floorslabs. First, one or two courses of stone masonry would have to be placed along the center of the foundation, as the stones end up being the forms for the slab. Some of the earthwork had to be cleared and hardcore placed and blinded (covered with a thin layer of cement/mortar/concrete to eliminate the gaps between the rocks). One problem included coming up with the right elevations for top of soil and top of hardcore while ensuring a 4” thick concrete slab, and a top of slab that lined up perfectly with the top of the stone. What made this process difficult was a delay in the delivery of the stones! We were trying to set the right heights of everything, but had no way of knowing just how high the top of slab would end up being. So after a couple days of clearing, setting the hardcore, resetting, smashing hardcore with sledgehammers, etc, we finally got the stone delivered, and the masons were able to lay the stone in 2 days.

However, this did provide an excellent opportunity to introduce the tube-level, a simple device for determining relative heights, that the masons could use themselves and thus eliminate for me the onerous task of using the construction level to determine elevation.

Floor Slabs, June 21st through June 23rd, 2010

Going into the floorslabs, we knew that this would likely be the most difficult part of construction. It requires the mixing of a considerable amount of concrete ( 30 to 35 bags per floorslab, in a 1:3:3 cement:sand:gravel unorthodox, but resulting from a supply deficiency in gravel) approx. 300 cu ft total, all mixed by shovel, and placed by the masons. We also used welded wire mesh in the middle of a slab to limit those pesky cracks that often result in concrete. We were only able to blind the first classroom, Simba low (Simba is on a slope, so there is Simba high and Simba low). We did our best to be as efficient as possible, but it still meant long days and a lot of stress. The parents, split into 4 groups and each assigned a classroom, were gracious enough to volunteer their time and energy collecting the water and mixing the concrete.

Masonry Walls, June 24th through time of writing (June 28th), 2010

Masonry walls started immediately following the floorslab. The only major surprise was some of the vertical reinforcing was of a smaller diameter than what was meant to be purchased! The masons continue, we now have Avi Guter joining Charles and I in the field, and we will keep you posted on future work!

2010-05-28T00:24:00.001-04:00

Our scheme of four new classrooms for the Usalama community involve two new structures on either side of the administration building. These sites impose minimal impact upon the existing site while defining a central courtyard for the school. In addition to providing classroom space, we have incoroporated small shaded areas between the pairs of classrooms that will create additional social gathering and learning spaces for the students.

2010-05-27T23:59:00.001-04:00

Our plans for the Usalama Kitchen are still in the planning phases and details will be determined by dimensions obtained while on the ground. Our strategy revolves around creating an efficient wood/coal burning "rocket" stove built out of local materials - while constructing a roof structure that uses the prevailing wind condition to ensure proper ventilation of the space. The materials used will be mostly mud brick, leftover roof panels from the old kitchen, and minimal amounts of concrete. Use of such materials will permit maximum opportunity for repetition throughout the community.

2010-04-15T16:36:00.000-04:00

On behalf of the Engineers Without Borders NYC Professional Chapter, we would like to thank Mwikali’s Gift for the opportunity to implement it's generous donation to the Usalama Primary School. We are anticipating a productive summer, and look forward to the next few months of design and construction work to come.
Below you will find the our proposed scope of work for our coming summer implementation trip. These rough sketches are intended to get the design process going for our team of designers and to establish an initial budget for the coming construction. We will be posting images of our progress as our work develops into the Design Development and Construction Document phases.

Back to work....

2010-03-25T10:23:00.000-04:00

The Engineers Without Borders team here in New York has returned to work preparing for the next round of construction this summer. Through a generous donation from Mwikali's Gift, our team is working to establish a scope of work that will include construction of new classrooms, a new administration building, and improvement to the school's kitchen. We look forward to posting our design progress over the next few weeks.

EWB Fundraiser, Jan 20th, 2010

2010-01-29T12:35:00.002-05:00

EWB NY Professional Chapter in collaboration with The Happold Trust and AIA have organized a Lecture and Fund Raiser event at The Center for Architecture to benefit EWB NY projects in Usalama, Kenya and Belen, Peru. Thom Mayne, F.A.I.A., a highly acclaimed architect with recent projects such as Cooper Union building and Federal Tower in San Francisco, CA, presented a lecture on performalism. Such an informative and relevant presentation provided a great platform for design discussions regarding our work on the Belen Health Clinic and the library in Usalama.

The event was a great success, drawing well over 150 architecture professionals. The funds raised from the guests and sponsors of the event will play important role in fulfilling our project goals for 2010.

2009-11-16T11:43:00.116-05:00

Please see below for a progressive narrative of construction of the Usalama School library. Funds for labor and construction were made possible by Global Power of Literacy.
Upon arrival in Kenya, Matt (left, engineer) and Charles (right, architect) spent two days with Fred Afwai of the Global Education Fund. After spending some time learning about Fred's CandleLight School and orphanage in Nairobi, Fred brought us down to Usalama to meet the community and help us with our first round of material purchases. At this time we met Jackson, the school Chairman and our primary contact with the community.
After exchanging formalities and submitting our order for materials, we drove the few miles down the road to the site where we quickly got to work. We laid out the plan 90deg. to our original design. While this was a little disheartening to the EWB team, as our ventilation strategy’s effectiveness was contingent on the building’s orientation to the prevailing wind, Jackson insisted that we place it where we did. He had other plans for future classrooms in the area. I was reluctant, but agreed – it was their library after all.

After making adjustments to the plan for new material costs and quantities, and a new understanding of square footage needed for the book storage, we redrew and laid out the plan. The layout itself was a good tool for discussion, as we walked through the projected space. After many nods of approval, we etched out the footprint for excavation of the footing.
The following day we arrived at 930am to see 30 or so parents beginning the dig. It was quite a large group to monitor, so Matt and Charles continued to measure throughout to ensure a level bottom surface. We also added a smaller channel down the middle of the site to support coming brick wall down the center of the structure.
The next day was the toughest day that we encountered. The main problem was that we didn’t start pouring the footing until 1pm. This prevented us from finishing until 730pm. This was a lot to ask of the parents - especially of the women ho are typically tasked with preparing dinner for their families. By the time we finished, everyone was exhausted. This was the first and only time we opted to pay the parents for their hard work. A total of 5000 shillings for approx. 30 volunteers.
The 3 reasons for our late start to the day was 1, we had to clear the site of the piles of dirt around the excavated channels (Matt and I later agreed that immediately after excavation, ALL dirt should be removed from the site). 2, The hardcore which arrived at the end of the day the day before, had not been broken down. (Hardcore is the volcanic glass/rock which is prevalent around the area and very strong). We started the day by placing the hardcore into the excavated channels, then proceeded to crush down the hardcore with sledge hammers. I had thought - and had been told - that the hardcore would be broken down at the end of the day the day before. However, it became clear that it is much better to break down the hardcore once it is in place. Our 3rd delay was that the gravel we received turned out to be a broken down product of the hardcore. It is a very porous stone that absorbs lots of water very quickly. Also, it is a very dusty stone. We opted to “wash” the stones to get rid of the absorptive dust. When transporting each wheelbarrow of gravel to the mixing stations, we doused the stones in water before dumping into the mixture. All of these factors delayed our begin to the pour. By 1pm we were pouring. We allowed the community to explain their process for mixing concrete. They typically mix the concrete on the ground. We tried using some plastic “tarp” (see photos) but it turned out to be ineffective.
Our original drawings called for a 2” layer of “blinding” (a course concrete mixture used to level the top surface of the hardcore) followed by 2 pours totaling a 6 - 8” footing. Once we started pouring however, we knew that not only would we have to finish that day, but we would have to limit ourselves to two pours. We opted to begin with a 2-3” initial layer, lay our rebar, and add a 4” pour on top. Matt designed, organized and bent the Y-10 rebar details during the first concrete pour; and by 4 pm we began our last pour. At the end of the day, 7pm or so, we paid the parents which left them very happy.
On Thursday July 16th and Friday the 17th, we laid the 9x9 stones for the foundation walls on the concrete footing. We opted to make only a single course width of 9x9 stones for the foundation walls as we decided that a double width would be overkill and too costly. These two days went fairly smoothly. During these two days we monitored the mason’s progress, an took careful note about how they worked. After laying the corners, they would lay a string between them to achieve a straight line.
On Saturday we filled in the cavities surrounding the foundation walls with soil and began leveling the terrain underneath the coming slab. This was immediately followed by the parents teaming up to distribute the hardcore around and within the foundation walls.
This was a sensitive moment within our design as we were monitoring the elevation of the hardcore to make sure it would work with the thickness of the coming slab. We needed to make sure that the final elevation of the slab would be a minimum of 2” above the highest point in the terrain. After distributing and hammering the hardcore into place, we decided we had reached an operable level to move forward with the concrete slab. Before the end of the day, we set up the formwork for the coming pour and got ready for the concrete.The following work day we poured the entire slab. We learned our lesson from the pouring of the footing and made sure to get started earlier in the day. We made sure to set up a series of teams and to delegate responsibilities. Most of the women were on water duty. We had a constant need for water. The women were set up with the gravel, using the civs to take out the absorbent dust. Most of the men volunteers were on concrete mixing duty - shoveling sand, bringing bags of cement from the storage. With varying concrete mixtures from 1-2-4 to 1-2-3, we delegated the responsibility of counting each concrete batch’s ingredients to the eldest male volunteer. After the first pour we laid the light gauge welded wire mesh.
We allowed the slab to cure for approximately 2 ½ days. During this time we covered the entire slab using the black plastic material and the left over cement bags. The slab was watered 4 times a day - not only because of the arid climate, but also out of our concern for the poor absorptive quality of gravel.As we laid out the location of the doors and windows, I indicated that I wanted small gaps in the first course to be positioned underneath the windows. Before departing for Kenya, I ordered a glass bottle cutting kit. This small device would score a small ring around the bottle. After applying a flame, then a bit of cold (room temp water) the bottle will split. I used the bottle tops and bottle middles (along with some mosquito mesh) to create fresh air openings into the space. As we prepared the bottle portions, we began to run low on bottles. At this point someone came by with a bag full of leftover pipe segments. We quickly cut them up and inserted them into place. Jackson and the masons weren’t quite sure what to make of these additions, but I assured them that they had a purpose. After explaining the natural ventilation strategy they were very excited and knew now that their library was going to be quite unique - and enthusiasm around the construction site began to grow.

The next 10 courses went up extremely quickly. Jackson insisted that the masons complete 3 courses per day in order to get paid. In order to stay on this schedule, we hired on a 3rd mason, Mr. Wambua. Matungi was head mason, and Peter rounded out the team. Each were paid 350 Shillings a day, and each mason’s assistant was paid 200 shillings a day. We tried to pay them at the end of each day - though having only large bills at times caused a few headaches. We kept close records of each payment - often within 100 or 200 of what was owed.

Constructing the ring beam around the top of the masonry wall was by far the most complex task undertaken. Matungi and the masons were knowledgeable of their local construction techniques and set to task making the form work for the concrete pour. We used pine (the cheapest) for the formwork. While I worked with the masons to select and cut the formwork, Matt was putting together the rebar cages.

We managed to pour half the ring beam by the end of the day - and allowed it to cure the following day before removing the formwork to place it on the other side.
The second day of pouring the ring beam turned into a bit of a fiasco. In order to stay on schedule, we had the masons working on the ring beam, and a large number of parent volunteers prepare the gravel and mix the concrete, help complete the rebar cages, and begin excavation for the exterior wall. There were too many people and too many tasks for Matt and I to oversee. The construction site became too hectic to be considered safe. After lunch, we slowed down the pace and asked Jackson to ask most of the parents to leave. We were still on schedule, but realized that getting ahead of ourselves would cause more problems that we could not foresee.
As we were finishing up the ring beam, I finalized the design for the trusses and had the first phase of cypress delivered to the site. Realizing that I could not simply present a drawing to the masons and expect each truss to be the same, I redrew the truss at 1 to 1 in the dirt. The masons then went to work building the trusses on top of the dirt drawing. At this point, Matt and I made a last minute change to the truss design. This not only improved the structural integrity of the trusses, but also minimized the amount of lateral bending that occurred when nailing the members together. We completed the first phase of trusses within two full days of work.
As we finalized the preparation of the trusses, the masons built up the gabled walls on the ends of the structure. Here we used the bottle bottoms from the fresh air intakes that we used on the bottom of the structure. I laid these out on top of the full scale drawing of the truss. While showing the dimensions of the courses, we came to a consensus of how to layout the “glass bottle bricks” and got to work. Over the next two days we finalized the majority of the masonry structure and located glass bricks.
After one more week of work, I was happy to see that not only were the trusses erected, but the interior walls had been finished. The ornamental bottles looked excellent, and the interior of the fresh air intakes had obviously been given much care. The precise work was very uplifting. Also, the windows and doors had been installed. (These were done prior to the interior finishing.) Approximately two weeks prior, Matt, Jackson and I went to Kalimani Enterprises in Kibwezi to order the windows and doors. I had taken the time to prepare a nice page of inked drawings for which Kennedy (the owner and operator) was pleased to see. He gave us a very good price (with help from Jackson’s bartering). I gave him the drawing to keep to ensure a exact product. Kennedy was one of the more charming subcontractors I encountered. He is very pleasant to talk to, was very happy to work with us to find a good price, and produced quality work. I recommend working with him as much as possible in the future. Not only was his work done well and on schedule, but his good nature makes working with him a pleasure. The only drawback is that he does not have a truck to transport his work. For this we coordinated with the hardware store down the street. We would place a small order with them and ask them to pick up Kennedy’s finished products on the way. They were happy to do so as long as our order was large enough to merit a delivery. (in the event that we needed a small delivery (i.e. 3 or 4 bags of cement), they charged a 300kes delivery charge.
Moving on to the exterior, we to work and began laying the foundation for the exterior seating. We dug a small, approx. 6” deep trench, 17” wide and placed both our remaining hardcore and remains from the dressing of the masonry. This was followed by a 2” concrete layer. We kept this to a minimum not only because of the small dead and live loads that would be exerted on the foundation, but also because we were running short on cement and money.
After allowing the foundation to cure for a day, we built up three courses of brick structure while being careful to accommodate the fresh air intakes (FAI’s) that were already in place. Before filling in the in the core of the seating, I cut strips of the left over plastic material that we had used to protect the slab during curing. The intention was to create a recycled waterproofing “flashing detail”. While the plastic material itself and become quite tattered with many openings, the gesture brought forth the opportunity to talk about water proofing strategies within the team. We then placed the “mud mortar” and stone core within void. Before placing the final course, I scrounged up some of the leftover rebar that we had laying around to create a basic rebar “bridge” detail over the FAI’s. After this last course and infill, we played a last layer of concrete about 1” thick. This would be followed in the final stages of completion with a finishing layer - a mixture of only water and cement.

While we were working the seating, we sent the third mason, Peter (A.K.A. “The Professor”) to begin work on the exterior finishes. Because Peter was by far the most precise of the masons, we made sure to put him on the tasks that required the most detail. He was a bit slower than the others, but diligent and consistent. He created 6” frames around the windows, ½” frames around the openings in the front feature wall and interior partition, and both the exterior “baseboard” and “frieze”.

Installation of the 2nd phase of the truss construction was a process that had to be precise and very methodic in order to achieve the consistent colonnade that our design called for. First of all, Jackson and others called out our wood columns as simply incorrect. Due to termite and ant colonies in the soil, we were informed that wood columns would not last. The only option would be to use black metal columns about 2” in diameter. These were not in our budget but very much required. After reviewing other options involving metal connections from footing to wood beam that proved too complex, we opted to take to financial hit and purchase the iron columns. The columns came in 20’ segments. We bought three and had them cut and welded appropriately for a small additional fee.
Preparation for the 2nd phase involved cutting the timber and digging the holes for the column footings. I insisted that all preparations were made before installation so that we could methodically move down the line. In order to precisely complete the colonnade, we attached the timber to phase 1 truss, poured the footing for the column, and attached to the column to the timber all at the same time. All the while I made sure to measure continuously. By delegating the tasks evenly, we were able to complete phase two of the roof structure within one full day. At one point, one of the columns was put in place incorrectly and off line with the previous three. Upon recognition, Jackson stepped in and insisted on removing the poured footing and essentially redoing the entire portion of the truss and column system. I was very happy to see his dedication to getting it right the first time. This reinforced my confidence in his strength as a leader, as I doubt that I would have had the weight to enforce additional hour of hard labor upon the crew. After completing the columns, we all began to see the structure coming together - and the final product was now within sight.
Installing the roof panels took 1.5 days. After having ordered the roof panels, roofing nails, and their arrival, we got to work. Day 1 of the roof was a very bright and sunny day. I would suggest that if it is possible on future projects, wait to install the roof panels on cloudy days. The reflection of the sun off the panels was clearly extremely unpleasant for the laborers. It was very hard on their eyes and I am sure that it was very hot. The following day was much cloudier and work went much faster. Installation and overlapping of the roof panels yielded two major lessons. First, we ordered a series of 2m, 2.5m, and 3m panels to span the dimensions of the roof. Our dimensions provided a close call between ordering 3m panels or increasing our order of 2.5m panels. It was recommended to overlap the panels (from end to end) anywhere from 6” to 18”. Because using 2.5m panels would have yielded a 4” overlap, we opted to go for ordering 3m panels. This created an overlap between 18” and 24”. I figured that this would not be a problem. With the thought of “better safe than sorry”, and a guarantee to stay on schedule, the small budget increase seemed to be worth the scheduling advantages. However, as we got roughly halfway through the roof installation, it became clear that a large overlap prevents the minute corrections needed to ensure parallel panels across the roof. These design constraints should be considered in the initial stages of schematic design - as the roofing material is among the most expensive. Second, during initial material quantity estimates, we estimated that each roof panel would overlap 2” with its adjacent panel. This was correct, but incorrect - as the panels in the middle overlap twice. This small detail caused us to be short 7 roof panels. This was a costly mistake - though we were able to add in our order of panels to an upcoming delivery, and they arrived shortly after the mistake was discovered. I would like to reiterate that the roof panel layout and the quantities should be a primary consideration in the first stages of design.
The final stage to the roof was to install the roof ridges over the top of the structure - binding the two faces of the roof. I opted to elevate the two center ridges with some leftover 2”x2” wood to create a roof vent. Coupled with the FAI’s along the first course of masonry, the roof vent completed the strategy to promote the stack effect. In the event that electricity in installed in the space, mosquito wire could easily be retrofitted over this opening.
Finishing the floor was a one day project during which Jackson took control and helped teach me the pouring process. After spraying gladiator (ant repellant) around the perimeter of the space, we got to work laying the first two layers. The first layer was a binding mixture by which we sprinkled pure cement over the rough concrete surface. This was followed by small amounts of water and a broom to spread the mixture evenly over the surface.
As this process moved across the floor, the following mason began distributing a 1-3 mortar mix across the floor. Using shovels, levels, and wood T-shaped tools for compacting, we spread an even 1” thick layer across the floor. By mid afternoon we had completed these two steps and moved on to the final stage - the floor finish. This was a pure mixture of water and cement. The masons took great care in distributing this final layer. After 2 or 3 hours we completed the final layer.
We then allowed it to cure for 15 to 20 minutes, then sent the masons in for a final smoothing of the floor surface. At the end of the day we poured a healthy amount of water over the floor and quarantined it off from everyone for the next day and a half.
By this time we had already begun excavation for the coming exterior wall. At this point we did not know how we were going to build the wall (or how we were going to pay for it). In our initial design we had a kind of wood screen wrapping around the exterior with the intention of talking to the community. Around this time the parents who had help excavate began asking questions. They did not understand why we were digging for more construction when we had already made so much progress on the main structure. I took this as an opportunity and asked Jackson to set up a meeting at which I could explain not only our vision for the final product and how the library would be used, but also start up a dialogue with the parents about how exactly to complete this mysterious exterior wall. After showing them the plans and renderings from our initial design process, I explained our dilemma for the exterior wall. I brought up examples of wood structures and fences made from leftover crops from around the area. The parents however indicated that such a construction would not last the rainy season - and the best option was to make it out of brick. I suddenly felt a bit cornered, knowing that such an undertaking would require not only large amounts of sand and cement ($$) but would take much more time. However, the community was right. The only way to build a wall that would last the life of the main structure would be to make it out of brick. I went home that night to design the wall structure with minimal materials and maximum strength.
Upon laying the foundation for the brick wall, we used a similar strategy as was used for the exterior seating along the main structure. Laying a hardcore base of only 8-10”, we then laid a 2” layer of concrete to serve as our base for brick work. I consistently measured and opted to step up the foundation twice at major elevation changes. The foundation steps matched the dimensions of a brick, so the brick work above would be able to transition smoothly over the foundation along the rising topographic changes. Again, using the same detail as the seating, we opted to use a mud mortar and leftover stone mixture to infill within the space between the two walls of brick.
Once we reached three full courses (counted from the highest portion of the existing topography) we began building up the wall and laid a 2” concrete layer for the seating. In order to ensure a strong construction, I located buttresses on both the exterior and interior of the wall. Further, I placed misomo (or hoop iron, reinforcing) at every other course. By doing this I felt comfortable that the wall, with evenly distributed 6” square openings, would be extremely strong. As the wall grew however, we began to run short on reinforcing and available funds. As a result, I began using any left over rebar that I could find to use in the upper most portions of the structure. This seemed to be an even stronger option and resulted in a more solid final structure.
The masons continued to move forward at this point and began to finish the interior surface of the wall with a mortar mixture. (Because of the irregularity of the bricks the masons can only justify one side of the brick surface, hence the plastering over of one of the sides.) Once this was completed, we placed a smoothing layer over the seating (a mixture of water and cement, similar to the finishing of the floor).
As the wall was being completed, I worked with Jackson to organize some volunteers to work on adjusting the topography around the site to control water precipitation control. We used much of the soil surrounding the site from the initial foundation dig to surround the exterior. Also, for the space defined within the brick wall, we adjusted the topography direct all water run off to center of the space to irrigate the coming tree.

With the interior walls and floors finished, we began to adjust our sites on the interior furnishings. Through Jackson’s recommendation, I was introduced to Mutuku, a local carpenter from the Usalama community, to construct the bookshelves. After exchanging formalities, I took Mutuku through the plan and through the space itself. A few days later, Mutuku came forward with a modest bid. After a bit of refining and agreements on cost and materials, we put in our order at the hardware store and he got to work. I instructed Mutuku to first complete the checkout counter so we would be able to construct the security wall on top as he moved on to the bookshelves. He did so within one day.
The wood needed for the framework however, was not within our budget. For this, Jackson suggested we use some of the wood from the existing bookshelves in the administration building. We relocated some of the items on the shelves and removed only the wood that we needed. We laid out the wood over the full scale dimensions of the check out counter and soon began installation.
Unfortunately we ran into a wood shortage at the hardware store and we were unable to finish the bookshelves before I left. After finishing roughly half of the bookshelves, I charged Mutuku with the task of continuously pestering the hardware store for the remaining wood (which we had already paid for). All of the cypress comes from Tanzania, and the venders there were quite unreliable in providing accurate delivery times. I debated the possibility of delaying my return the states, but opted to give Jackson the remaining funds for Mutuku’s labor. This turned out to be a good decision, as the wood arrived a full 4 weeks after my departure.

As the interior of the space came to completion, Jackson’s recommended subcontractor for the glass installation. After a couple hours of measuring each window, he came forward with a modest bid for glass, putty, and the handles. (Be sure to include these final costs when budgeting out the initial numbers for the cost of the windows. The window frames are made by a separate contractor.)

After installing the fascia boards around the perimeter of the roof, and painting the primer, we began the final stages of painting. This actually became one of the biggest headaches.
After spending SO much time on the finishes - making perfectly straight lines for the window frames and precise work around the bottles - the crew was doing such a terrible job painting. They were throwing paint all over the structure - and I quickly became extremely strict. Muolu, one of the assistants, was doing such a horrible job that I got on his case quite a bit. Eventually he ditched his brush and made one out of a stick to be more precise. After finishing up the exterior, we used the remaining paint on the interior security wall.
In addition to leaving Mutuku’s final costs with Jackson, I also left funds for about 3 days of work for one mason (Matungi) and one assistant. This, along with the remaining 2.5 bags cement, would be enough for the finishing touches of the brick wall. I made sure that when presenting this money to Jackson, to also have Matungi present. This ensure that he would be paid. I was not worried that Jackson would embezzle the remaining funds. He worked very hard and exhibited a strong dedication to finishing the project to the highest standard. Further, the parents and other members of the community were well aware of how the library should be finished. I felt comfortable leaving such a sum with him. For all of his hard work, and in agreement with Global Power of Literacy, I paid Jackson a total of 23,000kes. He was very happy with this sum - and left our (EWB and GPOL) relationship with him in very good standing. For any further work in the area it will be very important to include Jackson. He is a very hard worker, has indispensable contacts, and is a good friend.

Global Power of Literacy has hailed this project as a complete success. The project (and bookshelves) have been completed, and the books from Global Education Fund are set in early November. While we did end up going over budget by a few hundred dollars, GPOL are very happy to have worked with Engineers Without Borders. Mwikali’s gift, the donor that initiated the relationship between Usalama and EWB, will continue to send aid to the community. They are doing this in the form of uniforms for the students, education seminars for the community, and distributing mosquito nets. They are also working on completing the water pipeline though AMREF. This project is very slow moving, though they are hoping to fund further construction upon completion of the water project.

Latest Photos from Jackson

2009-11-15T22:01:00.006-05:00

Book storage & entryway to courtyard

Bonniface on NPR!

2009-10-13T19:12:00.005-04:00

On my way to a job Monday morning in the van, I'm listening to NPR. The next story is on biofuels in developing countries, in this case, Kenya. Turns out most of the reporting was done in Kibwezi, the town center two miles north of Usalama! AND, to make this even more wild, Bonniface, a Usalama villager who was first described to me as the local 'MacGyver,' was interviewed for the story.

You can listen to brief story here.

Bonniface & family (with drip irrigation piping)

2009-09-14T12:43:00.003-04:00

The Usalama team is happy to announce the safe and successful completion of our most recent implementation trip. With a generous donation from Global Power of Literacy, Matt Sisul and Charles Newman traveled to Usalama to construct the new library for the Usalama Primary School and surrounding community. Completed within Budget and on schedule, the new structure is ready for the delivery of books. More posts will following to exhibit our construction methods and decisions.

EWB-NY T-Shirts!

2009-07-05T16:23:00.006-04:00

100% organic cotton, EWB-NY t-shirts! Mens & womens cuts, all size available.

Water + Education + Health + Energy

Contact your project lead for purchasing instructions.

Trespa Fundraiser!

2009-06-16T19:34:00.007-04:00

Thanks to everyone who helped out and made this such a successful event! A special thank you goes to Gail Carrino and Zach Brewster of Trespa who were fantastic hosts! From this one night we raised over $2500, enough to send one of our engineers to the village to help fix the water system AND advise on the new library construction!

brief presentation on the organization & project

and the event begins...

photos by Annie Malii

the Usalama Project presentation boards

Usalama Fundraiser!!!

2009-05-27T14:24:00.003-04:00

Join our team on the 10th to celebrate the beginning of the 1st phase of our expansion and development project! Food and drink will be graciously provided by TRESPA and photos of the community will be for sale by the great Annie Malii. Support us in our efforts to provide true sustainable development for the people of Kenya.

Preliminary Library Designs 2!

2009-05-18T17:55:00.008-04:00

Above are the two building concepts Sophia & Charlie created. Focusing on their basic program diagram, three basic spaces were carved out of the local architecture vernacular. Using minimal materials, they have provided both fundamental spaces (book storage and reading area) and a peaceful outdoor reading/sitting area. Which ever design, the students will surely have a new reason to attend school!

Preliminary Library Designs 1!

2009-05-18T17:43:00.009-04:00

Because the final site will not be known until just prior to start of construction, architects Sophia Vincent & Charles Newman have created 4 different site plans that incorporate different library locations and orientations. Each site carries it's own pros and cons, and ultimately will be determined by the school & village leaders after careful consideration.

5/5/09 Meeting Minutes

2009-05-07T20:50:00.003-04:00

Kibwezi Kids - Preston Vineyard

This past Tuesday we held our latest team meeting at Buro Happold. Thanks Joe and Danielle for hosting again, lately you have become a second home for EWB-NY! The following is a list of topics we discussed:

- last week Charlie, Matt, & Dave held a conference call with a EWB-USA project manager to review our latest implementation submittal. we seemed to have a solid grasp on our project and were given high regards!
- today (5/7), two days after the team meeting, Dave presented our concepts for the library to the EWB-USA TAC committee and again was given high praise. next week an approval will be emailed to the team.
- on Thursday, May 14th, Mwikali's Gift will be holding a fundraiser to raise funds for the school and their mosquito bed net program. any Usalama team members interested in attending please email Dave, space is limited to three people.
- our library donors have an official name: Global Power of Literacy. they will also be holding a fundraiser on Thursday, May 28th. additional info at this time is unknown.
- the village had some big news last week: they have begun construction of a secondary school on the school property. apparently the students have performed quite well on their exams, and the district government took notice. it is fantastic news that the students are excelling, we are concerned that there is too much going on in the village, and it's capacity to handle such drastic changes has yet to be tested. for a community that lives their lives equivalent to rural farmers, these events may be beyond their abilities. the administrative infrastructure isn't in place to successfully handle more than one or two projects at once. we hope that while on site, we can better analyze the current conditions, and convincingly prioritize all.

- the remaining of the meeting was spent reviewing the library designs Sophia and Charlie have come up so far. (following posts will detail the different concepts) at this point in time, a site has not been confirmed for the library. during the GPL trip and the beginning days of the EWB-NY trip, siting and therefore the building design will be determined. Sophia and Charlie have done a great job adapting their designs to each site location. all design parameters are met while deftly meeting programmatic requirements while adding simple yet beautiful aesthetic qualities.

- lastly, our fundraiser with ASHRAE has been canceled due to some internal problems. in the future we hope to try and work with them again. Danielle will still be pushing for a project fundraiser, though not on our May 20th date.

Books in the Village!

2009-04-23T15:46:00.005-04:00

An early installment of books has been delivered to the school! The parents have constructed shelves for proper storage in the administrative building until the new library is constructed.

3/31/09 Meeting Minutes

2009-04-01T22:12:00.001-04:00

Tonight we held our first team meeting in over a month. There were many updates since then, including some fantastic news for the school. Two friends of Mwikali's Gift have generously offered to assist our project by providing funding for the construction of a library at the school, including 3000 books! Much of what was discussed at tonights meeting revolved around the library, so please follow the notes below:

- introduction of new volunteers. four new architects and one interior designer/pm. welcome to the team! each were "recruited" at the AIA Opportunities Fair or the idealist.org fair.
- the New York Chapter of ASHRAE has tentatively awarded our project a grant! thanks to Danielle's hard work in putting this together. an event, sponsored by ASHRAE with NYGBC will be held in early spring to promote and celebrate the project. discussions ensued about location, graphics, displays, and many other ways in which to engage those in attendance. interested parties should contact danielle for more information.
- the EWB-NY secretary and president positions are open for election this year. so far one person has volunteered for the secretary position, but is still open to contention.
- at this months EWB-NY board meeting, new training for newly adopted projects was discussed. President Matt Sisul & co. attended a participatory rural appraisal workshop at both Columbia University and Lehigh University over the past month. PRA is a method for approaching development in third-world countrys that has a holistic foundation. It requires understanding of the community social infrastructure before tackling any technical infrastructure. the board is working on preparing training sessions for upcoming travelers.
- recently both Matt and Dave have been in communication with Architecture for Humanity's New York Chapter. in the upcoming months EWB-NY members will see more information flowing between our two groups.

- this meeting we passed out three documents for review.
- 1) the cost estimate was updated to show an increased contingency of 18% to 9%. after discussions with colleagues, the uncertainty that is the construction of this project deserves a larger buffer.
- 2) site plan. this was distributed to demonstrate the revised location of the community center now near the lot's NE corner under the existing Baobab tree.
- 3) the final document was prepared to demonstrate all the contributions our team is making to the village and school. this will also be used as a guide to prepare graphics and illustrations for marketing purposes.

- lastly we discussed the siting of the library.
- the proposed school plan shows three distinct locations for the library. each site holds it's own set of advantages and disadvantages. the team spent time deliberating on each option. though no scheme was favored more by another, our library team will push hard to prepare three different building designs for the three different site options. the idea is to mail these plans to the village prior to our arrival in mid-July so they can digest the new information.
- meeting ended at 8:30 pm. thanks to Buro Happold for hosting!

Latrines! Latrines! Latrines!

2009-03-17T20:20:00.006-04:00

The construction drawings for the V.I.P. latrines and handwashing stations were completed today! Above are a few images from the drawings (minus dimensions and notes). The plan and elevation are for the male latrines. Notice the urinal on the left end of the stalls. Separation of urine from excreta is important to maintain proper decomposition of soils in the pit.

Kenyan Primary Education

2009-03-16T10:15:00.003-04:00

Usalama Primary School - Form 6

A recent article in the Nairobi based newspaper, Daily Nation, the primary newspaper in Kenya, discusses the governments plans to hire 28,000 new teachers by 2012 to reduce shortages in schools. The majority of the new teachers, some 21,000, will be posted to primary schools while the remainder will be positioned at secondary schools.

Currently Kenya is experiencing a 50,000 teacher shortage the article states, saying that 36,000 of the 50 are needed in primary schools. The national student-teacher ratio stands at 44, but is worse in urban slum and rural arid and semi-arid areas.

A 2005 UNESCO assessment on Kenya's Free Primary Education programme listed the following as problems within the country's education system:

- only 25% of students studying at the grade appropriate to their age. most students are older than what is recommended by international education standards.
- there is a systemic shortage of teachers. student-teacher ratios are approximately 50:1.
- classroom spaces are often inadequate for learning environments, with low levels of light and overall congested conditions.
- there is little to none infrastructure for special needs children.
- 7.5% of students are re-entry cases, while 7.7% are repeating a grade.

2/25/09 Meeting Minutes

2009-02-26T10:56:00.006-05:00

The Baobab Tree

Last night we held a team meeting at Grayson's office; in attendance was Dave, Grayson, Matt, and Simon. The focus of the meeting was the community center siting, programming, and design. We first presented updates to the project:

- regional and village water system plans plus the water system illustrations were mailed to the village along with two calenders. to better faciliate communication between the village, AMREF, and MG, each group now has a consistent record set of plans. the calender is to be used for record keeping and note taking. extra copies were made for distribution.
- MG is interested in organizing a meeting between EWB, the library group, and themselves next week. we spent time discussing different siting options, design options, and scheduling issues. we are particularly concerned about siting and design because a library was never discussed with the school. though it would be welcomed - and taken advantage of fully, and would not disrupt the proposed site plan, we never had discussion on how it would be operated, or how it would be utilized and incorporated into the school day. several options will be brought to the meeting to review. either way, we are thrilled that this group is willing to help reshape the school.
- grants and fundraising are a priority at this point in the project. with substantial completion of the school design and preliminary designs of the community center underway, our attention must now turn to funding. i encourage every member to take time to seek out or investigate sources of funds including foundations, corporate institutions, charities, friends, relatives, or any other means. once a money is secured for the first phase, we can begin construction and scheduling team member travel.

Community Center (CC)

The village has never had a CC. Currently, large gatherings or public meetings are held under the shade of a centrally located baobab tree in the village. This poses a challenge because it is difficult to predict how the space will eventually be utilized. We have a solid understanding of their needs - established committees, cooperatives, or working groups - yet up until this point, neither have worked out of a built structure. During the meeting we decided to move the CC site from adjacent the village water tank, north to the school lot NE corner. Conveniently located along the dirt road that leads to the highway, and off the narrow path along the village tank, the site is also graced with a beautiful baobab tree. The site will provide convenient access for all villagers, a main pedestrian & bicycle "thoroughfare " for advertising announcements, a symbolic outdoor space under the baobab tree, and all within the school/village property. Within the site, we hope to position the CC to open up into a space under the baobab while creating a courtyard like area for large gatherings and festivities.

The CC building design was discussed and will now contain three components: 1) a large group gathering space, 2) storage rooms or areas equipped with locks, 3) two - three "conference" style rooms for committee meetings, small group meetings, or formal private meetings. Our last design showed individual offices per committee, but this was scrapped instead for an increased number of medium capacity rooms. Our understanding is that at no point will more than two committees meet simultaneously, and in fact, have more than enough time to schedule around one another. Adding two or three leaves space available for last minute or spontaneous meetings. At this time, it is unclear if any space will be used as a modified health clinic. This was never discussed as there is an existing health clinic located on the villages northeastern border along the highway.

One of the more interesting features discussed is having a portion of the CC building open up into a large outdoor area. We want a place that can handle the 1900 person village population, but our budget does not allow for such an enclosed space. What we are proposing is to integrate an outdoor amphitheater-type space with the building interior. The semi-arid climate allows for a fairly stable weather pattern outside of the two rainy seasons. Weather conditions daily are typically warm, dry, and sunny.

Outside Learning Environments

2009-02-24T15:28:00.012-05:00

Sudoku Puzzle & Chess Board

Back in the Fall, during the schematic design phase and site planning, our team discussed different ways to incorporate the space outside of the classrooms into the learning environment. We are interested in building a school that engages the students both inside and outside of class. The open space between buildings creates fantastic areas to develop a learning station. One of our initial ideas was to build a large (9'x9') grid that could double as a Sudoku puzzle and a chess board. Made of dirt or sand, the students could write their number or chess piece directly onto the grid.

Just this past month, an organization called Project H Design completed their first "learning landscape" at a school in southern Uganda. After hours of extensive research they created a program tailored to the students at the school, and easily installed.

Project H Learning Landscape, Southern Uganda

This pilot program is a scalable grid-based system for elementary math education. Because math is universal, the system can be applied to any country. More photos can be found on Inhabitat. Ten games teach concepts including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, as well as spatial and logical reasoning through individual and team-based competition. When not used for a particular game, the space doubles as a classroom with the addition of benches!

Members of the Usalama Project will be attending a Project H meeting this weekend to discuss applications at our school. If the Project H name sounds familiar, you may remember them from their Hippo Rollers.