EWB-NY Usalama Project

The Usalama Water Project v2.0

2012-03-01T14:15:00.003-05:00

First, I’d like to start by saying thank you to everyone who contributed to the design and construction of the wonderful library, classrooms and kitchen for the Usalama Primary School Expansion project.

Our chapter has been working with the community of Usalama for about 5 years. We have completed our scope of work at the Usalama Primary School and have much success to point to. One of concerns throughout our time in Usalama was the water system. Our partner and Donor, Mwikali's Gift, hired a local NGO to build the water system. Although the organization fulfilled their contract, currently only 1 of the 5 kiosks yields water.

This has left the community, our donor, and our team at EWB extremely disappointed. It is heart breaking to see the leaders of the community, whom we respect immensely, attempt to address these problems only to be ignored. Fixing this system is the only way we can close out our project responsibly.

Throughout our time in Usalama, we recorded water data, and other issues surrounding the system. We have also maintained an amicable relationship with the district water office. Last year, we learned that they are building a chlorinated water pipeline that passes alongside Usalama to Mtito Ande, about 20km away. They have said that if the community of Usalama wants to build off the new pipe line they can do so for an increased flow of treated water to repair the existing system.

I had the fortunate experience of visiting the community a few months ago to meet the key players and am excited to work with a great community. I have been involved with Engineers without Borders for four years on a multitude of projects and will be taking over as Project lead for the Usalama Water Project, though I have some very large shoes to fill.

Special thanks to Charles Newman the former Project Lead for Usalama that utilized his architecture experience to create a unique building that has been replicated in the community, for building great relations not only with the NGO Mwikali’s Gift, but with the community of Usalama, and I wish him the best of luck with his new endeavors as a Project Manager for IRC in the DR Congo.

This new project has been accepted by EWB-USA and is underway. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like to get involved on the project at usalama@ewbny.org.

Monica Louie, Usalama Project Lead

News of Progress from Usalama

2011-07-06T12:02:00.006-04:00

During a recent trip to Usalama, project leader Charles Newman was able to meet with the Primary school students, teachers and administrators.
The 4 new classrooms built in 2010, as well as the library built in 2009, are still being used daily and show few signs of wear. Structurally, there were no apparent cracks in the concrete, and the roof systems showed no signs of sagging or splitting.
During conversations with the school administrators, we reviewed the schools tests scores from the past 5 years. Since 2007, the students scores have risen by 15%. This can be due to various reasons. The new classrooms have enabled the administration decrease the class sizes - increasing the students exposure to the cirriculum and individual attention. The classrooms themselves also provide improved lighting and a ventilated environment conducive to learning and studying. The library has also had a positive effect. Not only do the students now have access to over 4000 books, but the school administration has initiated partnerships with neighboring libraries to start book lending programs.
In the past two months, the school has received 3 major awards: 1st in the district for most high test scores, 3rd in the district for highest average score, and 3rd for best school administration. We at EWB-NY cannot be happier for the community and their hard work and dedication to improving the lives of their young students.
We are continuing to work with the our donor, Mwikali’s Gift, and the community. Soon we hope to coordinate a close-out trip that will involve the monitoring of one final construction project of the community’s choosing.

Completion of 4 New Classrooms in Usalama

2010-10-18T21:28:00.001-04:00

    Our implementation project for June - August 2010 was recently completed on schedule and under budget. Project leader and architect, Charles Newman traveled to Usalama for the entire length of construction. Mathew Sisul, an engineer and long time friend of the community, and Avi Guter, a structural engineer, also each spent 6 weeks on site helping to guide the construction effort.
    Our goal was to construct 4 classrooms for the community of Usalama. Not only would such an effort culminate in 4 new, structurally resilient spaces that would allow for smaller class sizes for the students, but the construction effort itself would serve as a forum during which construction details and methods could be exchanged between our team and the community. Below is a general recount of our construction efforts, conducted along side the skilled masons of Usalama. (More detailed accounts, concerning specific details and the day to day events lives of the volunteers can be found in the preceding blog posts below.)

    The previous implementation trip in 2009, a library project for the community, taught us many lessons that allowed us to streamline our construction efforts during this trip. The library, a reinforced masonry structure, exhibited the typical construction practices of the region. We worked within these practices to ensure feasibility and clear communication with the local labor. Having this previous experience allowed us to improve upon our design strategies. We modified not only many design details, but also methods of operation and scheduling. Further, we worked with much of the same skilled labor, which opened up communication avenues from the beginning. Each of these enabled the project - of a much larger scale than the library of the previous summer - to come in further under budget, to remain on schedule, and to be completed as an improved example of quality design and construction.
    Our first major design improvement concerned the foundation depth. During our library project, our footing reached a depth of about 32”. After receiving input from many architects and engineers here in New York, we opted to decrease the depth of the footing, which saved on material and labor from the get go.

This modification also included reinforcement that extended up from the footing and up through the buttresses. This reinforcement continued up the length of the wall, eventually connecting and embedding into the ring beam. This continuous reinforcement is a perhaps the primary structural improvement over the library project. We also opted to use brick in every other bay of the exterior walls. These brick bays each included a window, and were located between the stone buttresses to minimize any structural weaknesses that might occur as a result of the weaker material. This introduction of brick provided substantial costs savings in our primary building materials. Upon plastering of the interior, we inserted a control joint at the brick/stone junction to minimize any cracking that might occur. We opted to use brick much more often after learning of such responsible practices.
After completing the ring beams, we constructed the gables above our of brick as well. By embedding the ring beam with 12”x12” pieces of wire mesh, we were able to connect and reinforce these portions of the walls with larger, continuous pieces of wire mesh. This tied the entire structure together, creating brick walls that is every bit as strong as their adjacent stone walls.
The exterior spaces presented various challenges. By this time, we had refined our planning strategies to work within the labor capacities of a single day of labor. It is important to mention that pouring such quantities of concrete could not have been accomplished without the volunteer labor of many of the parents in Usalama. On such days, we had the help of 10 - 15 volunteers. Such involvement allowed us to retrieve water throughout the day, mix the concrete, as well as to instill an ownership of the project in the community at large. Moreover, such help allowed us to retain the skilled labor at important locations in the production line. Each of the two exterior slabs were approximately the same volume of a single classroom slab, though both sites required the formation of stairs. Each stair required additional formwork, which in turn required accurate surveying, wire mesh considerations, and a clear, methodical approach.
Our masons took on numerous responsibilities, often taking the lead in helping ensure a smooth day of concrete pouring. One detail of note, is that of improved column bases. During the construction of the library, we were confronted with the reality that wood columns would eventually deteriorate due to ever present termites. Our solution created a localized budget overrun after the purchase of 10ft steel columns. This miscalculation gave way to a new detail for the classrooms that involved numerous short steel column bases. These 18” bases elevated the coming wood columns 6” above the finished grade of the slab. This, paired with a dose of pesticide around each, will ensure the protection of the columns for years to come.

The final three weeks of construction became a logistical challenge. As our team of Engineers Without Borders fell to one, the problems involving procurement of materials and construction oversight required careful delegation of responsibilities to the local masons. By promoting our head mason, Matungi, to a more administrative position; issues of personnel, early morning tasks, and salary distribution ensured continuous productivity through to substantial completion. This relationship created a forum during which we reached daily agreements regarding piecework, orders of operations, and exchanging opinions of material quantities needed.

The community of Usalama has taken a large step forward in working to provide 4 new classrooms for their next generations of children and grandchildren. The additional classrooms and social space will undoubtedly improve the learning atmosphere for the children, and the school at large. Further, the lessons exchanged between our team of Engineers Without Borders and the local labor, will have lasting impressions that will run along side the advantages of the newly built structures. Each of the masons maintained constant enthusiasm throughout construction, and will undoubtedly bring the knowledge of responsible building practices into their next local construction project. It is much the same with our team here in New York. Our lessons learned will be passed on to those working with us, and will be applied into our next projects for years to come.

Super Structure!

2010-10-03T16:37:00.005-04:00

The following is a post implementation report by Avi Guter, the third member of the EWB-NY Usalama, Kenya field team:

When I arrived at Usalama Primary School on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 the four classrooms had just begun to rise from the ground. The stone walls were between one and two courses high, sitting on top of the concrete strip footings below. This year, as Matt stated in an earlier blog post, we provided for vertical reinforcement in the buttresses. Short dowels sticking out of the strip footing were lapped with bars that extended to the top of the buttresses. We placed two twisted Y10 bars per buttress. After every two courses of stone that were placed, we filled in the buttresses with concrete to engage the rebar. The vertical reinforcement was sized to resist the overturning moment due to wind.

For horizontal reinforcement, we placed barbed wire every other course and wrapped it around the vertical buttress reinforcement at the ends of each wall. The barbs allow the mortar to mechanically bond to the wire. The combination of horizontal and vertical reinforcement served to tie the wall together, distribute load, and make the structure more durable. This is a departure from the thin flat metal bands of Misomo that were use on the library last year for horizontal reinforcement.

Between wall segments we left space for large windows. In order to reduce costs we filled in the area below the windows with locally made brick, which is cheaper than the quarried stone. The contrast of the deep red clay bricks was a nice accent to the grayish, light green and pinkish hues of the sedimentary rock that composed the walls. Additionally, at the bottom of the walls we installed plastic pipes to intake air for natural ventilation. The pipes were tipped slightly outward to prevent water from entering the classroom. Metal screening was added to each pipe assembly to help stop mosquitoes from entering.

As the Fundis, or skilled workers, erected the walls it allowed Charles, Matt, and myself time to prepare rebar for the ring beams on top of the walls (and take a quick safari in Tsavo West national park!). We kept the ring beams the same size as on the library - 6"w x 8"h - and used the same longitudinal reinforcement - (2) twisted Y8 top & bottom. However, we used a reduced stirrup spacing of - R6 @ 12" O.C. - where the beam was supported continuously on the walls. This was to provide additional confinement for the concrete. In the locations where the beam spanned over the windows to serve as a lintel, we placed the stirrups at 6" O.C. to increase the shear capacity.

We also bent rebar to provide a connection between the top of the buttress and ring beam. Simple angles were sufficient enough to lap with the vertical buttress steel and also develop horizontally into the concrete beam. The ring beam serves to tie the top of the wall in place as well as transmit load between the walls. One problem we noticed was that some of the stones in top course of the buttress were loose. Because it is the top course there are no stones above to “lock” them in. Since wood formwork is expensive and difficult to fabricate we decided against incorporating the entire top course of the buttress as part of the ring beam. However, this would alleviate the problem of loose stones.

On July 7th we poured the first ring beam for Simba High. In addition to the beam reinforcement we also embedded 12" wide pieces of chicken wire into the concrete spaced at 2'-0" O.C. The pieces stuck out the top of the beam approximately 12". These small pieces of chicken wire were later lapped with larger pieces that spanned from the top of the ring beam to wood truss members above. The chicken wire was to provide a backing for brick that was later to be installed above the ring beam in three locations: along the front of the classrooms and on both ends to fill in below the eves of the trusses. Although the brick is mainly a façade element and is non-structural, we wanted to prevent it from becoming a falling hazard either from high winds or deterioration by securing it with chicken wire and mortar.

The ring beam also provided a connection for the roof trusses. At every buttress we set 18” long 2x4’s on top of the ring beam. The 2x4’s had nails sticking out the bottom that were embedded into the concrete. Barbed wire or metal bands were also used to tie down the embedded 2x4’s. The wire or metal band was wrapped around the bottom of the ring beam to hold it in place. It was later tied around the top of the embedded 2x4’s. Roof uplift due to wind is an important design consideration; therefore we wanted to ensure the roof would be adequately tied down.

The other three ring beams were poured on the following days – Simba Low July 10th, Tembo South July 12th, Tembo North July 13th. Almost everything went smoothly, except one instance while pouring Tembo South. One of the Fundis, Joseph, fell from his perch on top of the wall as he dumped buckets of concrete into the beam. He dropped quickly and was caught by his shirt that got hooked on the top of the buttress. Amazingly, he was OK except for a few scratches on his chest.

Coinciding with the successful completion of the ring beams on July 13th it was also Matt’s last day at Usalama. We gathered all the Fundis and headed to Valentines, a local bar/guest house, where we celebrated with nyama choma (roasted goat), chapatti (flatbread), and plenty of Krest (bitter lemon drink) to wash it down.

Even with one man down, the next day we stayed on task and banged out all eight roof trusses for both classrooms at Tembo. To facilitate construction, we staked out a full scale template in the dirt. As the trusses were assembled two of the Fundi’s, Ben and James, took on the task of painting them all with a mixture of wood preservative and diesel fuel to protect against termites, a common nuisance in tropical climates.

The following day was equally as productive - we knocked out all eight trusses for Simba. At the end of the day we got a special treat from John and Kennedy, two workers, who broke out a guitar and started to sing some of their favorite Kamba tunes “One Man, One Guitar.” It definitely brightened the mood after a long day of hammering, sawing, and nailing.

Our next task was to build up the brick eve walls above the ring beam at each end of the classrooms. One difficulty this year was that the end walls were not perfect triangles, which made it harder to lay them out. The Fundis used string and some 2x4’s to create, as best they could, the shape of the eve wall. In addition to the horizontal barbed wire placed every other course, we used thin binding wire that bent around the barbed wire and stuck out beyond the face of the brick. The binding wire was to twist around the chicken wire (described above) and hold it in place. Each set of classrooms took one day to complete. [Note: At Tembo, plastic pipes were inserted in the eve walls to provide exhaust for natural ventilation.]

On Monday morning July 19^th, Charles and I headed to Kalimani’s Metal shop in Kibwezi owned by Kennedy – the man we purchased our windows and doors from. We requested Kennedy’s assistance to make a pot stand for a new stove that will go in the renovated kitchen. Kennedy agreed to help and insisted that we stay as they tack welded together the support assembly. The pot stand went through several iterations over many days before we felt it was ready.

Back at Usalama Primary School, the Fundis were busy erecting trusses. They carried each of the trusses into the classrooms and propped them temporarily on their sides spanning from ring beam to ring beam. When I arrived at the site I noticed the trusses lying on their sides and immediately had shores placed under the trusses to prevent them from bending out of plane. Some damage had been done and was noticeable when the trusses were placed vertically - some permanent warping occurred and a couple of splice connections needed to be reinforced. By the end of the day all 16 trusses were erected and temporary bracing was nailed in place to keep the trusses upright.

The next three days were spent excavating soil and placing hardcore for the exterior porch slabs situated between and in front of the classrooms at Tembo and Simba. Parents came to help in designated groups that the Chairman, Mr. Jackson, arranged. On Friday, July 23rd we were finally ready to pour the slab at Tembo. Concrete was mixed on the classroom floor adjacent to where the slab was being poured. We first laid down 4’x8’ pieces of light gage welded wire fabric (WWF) over the hardcore to reinforce the slab against cracking. As we poured concrete we tugged up on the WWF to keep it in the middle of the slab. It took us late into the day to finish, mainly because we miscalculated how much concrete was required and needed to prepare an additional batch, which cost us time.

The porch slab between the two classrooms at Simba, which is almost twice the size of the slab at Tembo, was ready to pour on July 26th. The sloping grade in front of the classrooms required the porch slab to step down four times. We used a surveying transit level to excavate the different bottom of slab elevations. With help from parents in the morning, the concrete pour went smoothly. After a delicious late lunch of stewed hen and cow peas bought for us by the Head Teacher Mr. George Katolo and Deputy Head Teacher Mr. Charles Wambua, we were energized and able to finish before sundown.

As the two porch slabs were prepped and poured two Fundis and their assistants installed windows and doors for all four classrooms. Like last year, all of the steel work was done by Kennedy at Kalimanis Metal Shop. However, this year there were a total of 16 windows and four doors, many more than last year. The inserts that held the windows in place were at slightly different elevations for the various classrooms. This required some of the doors and windows to be sent back to Kalimanis for adjustments to the steel embed heights. Additionally, because of the brick border that surrounds the windows we needed to make the steel embeds for the windows 12” long in order to be supported by the stone. We did not want the windows supported only by the brittle brick, which was not even integrally connected to the rest of the wall with a running bond.

After all the concrete, stone, and brick work was near completion our attention turned to the wood framing for the roof and porch. The week of June 27^th – August 3^rd was spent finishing the installation of the perlins across the tops of the trusses, erecting porch columns, adding cross bracing between trusses, making small trusses to support the roof between the classrooms, and making two beams to support these trusses.

When installing the perlins in some locations the Fundis cut notches out of the top chords of the trusses to make the perlins level. These notches however compromised the integrity and robustness of the trusses. Some notches even occurred at joints on the trusses. We assessed all the locations and noted where repairs needed to be completed. We suggested that on future projects instead of cutting into the trusses, the perlins should be shimmed up to make everything level.

One major change this year was the addition of cross bracing between the roof trusses. The braces serve to prevent all the trusses from ‘racking’ or tipping over. Without the braces, the trusses have no lateral stability in their out of plane direction. We also installed braces at the tops of the porch columns between the classrooms. In this area there are no walls to block the wind and the roof could potentially act like a big sail. The braces serve as the lateral system in this area.

The last big task was to install the corrugated metal roof panels. The highest quality brand sold in Kibwezi is Dumza, which are galvanized and therefore do not rust. They are also extremely reflective so when the Fundis installed them they wore sunglasses. Along the portion of the roof between the two classrooms we used twice as many nails to hold the Dumzas down because these areas are unprotected from wind. Roof installation for Simba coincided with an end of semester graduation ceremony on Monday August 2^nd. All of the parents who attended the ceremony were able to see all their hard work finally come together.

On August 4^th Kenya voted on their new constitution. The Election Commission set up a polling station in Usalama at the library that EWB helped construct last summer (2009). Charles and I biked to the school on Election Day and watched as Kenyans cast their vote. It was a tremendous feeling to see the Library become part of such a momentous occasion.

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.

Mt. Kilimanjaro

2009-02-19T09:33:00.003-05:00

Located approximately 60 miles southwest from Usalama, Mt. Kilimanjaro can be clearly seen on the horizon during a clear day. Though located in Tanzania, Kilimanjaro is vital to the people of the Kibwezi Division. Umani Springs, the source for Usalama's new water distribution system that also services about 15,000 other people, is recharged thru groundwater aquifers. Included in it's recharge area is Mt. Kilimanjaro. Seasonal snowmelt from it's glaciers provice Umani and many other freshwater sources with the majority of their supply. Over the past thirty years, the glaciers on Kilimanjaro have shrunk in size drastically, making a sensitive issue even more precarious. As we all know in Africa, water is life.

The following is a clip from a National Geographic program on global warming.

Usalama Project Wordle

2009-02-12T11:28:00.004-05:00

A little Wordle graphic for everyone. Go to their web site and create your own word cloud!!!

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

2009-02-12T09:13:00.007-05:00

Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci

Born into the Roman Empire, Vitruvius's early years were dedicated to artillery engineering for the Roman army. Though an architect in it's ancient definition, he was mainly known for his writings. De architectura or The Ten Books on Architecture is the only surviving book on architecture from classical antiquity. His assertions state that a structure must exhibit the three qualities of firmitas, utilitas, and venustas - that is, durability: it should stand up robustly and remain in good condition; utility: it should be useful and function well for the people using it; and beauty: it should delight people and raise their spirits. According to Vitruvius, architecture is simply an imitation of nature and the architect should strive to fulfill each quality effectively.

Though ornamentation plays a part, some see beauty as a matter of proportion. For Leone Battista Alberti, the rules of proportion were those that governed the idealised human figure. The most important aspect of beauty was therefore an inherent part of an object, rather than something applied superficially; and was based on universal recognizable truths.

Book III of De architectura layed the foundation for Vitruvius's later work studying proportions of the human body. He described the human figure as being the principal source of proportion among the classical orders of architecture. Illustrated by Leonardo da Vinci in the Vitruvian Man, the human body is inscribed in the circle and the square - fundamental geometric patterns of the cosmic order.

In Roman times, architects practiced a variety of building disciplines. In modern terms they could be described as engineers, architects, landscape architects, artists, and craftsmen combined. It is not wonder then that the word 'architect' derives from Greek words meaning 'master' and 'builder'.

2/10/09 Meeting Minutes

2009-02-11T20:19:00.003-05:00

Tuesday night, 2/10, members of the Usalama School Project met with Mwikali's Gift during their monthly board meeting. In attendance for EWB was Dave, Preston, Grayson, Joe, and Danielle. In attendance for Mwikali's Gift was Karen, Marilena, Monique, Sally, Jamie, and Robert.

After introductions, Danielle presented her revised master plan to MG. Initially created during the projects beginning stages, the master plan provides our team with a "living" design guide. The master plan is a visual map of the tangible project objectives and goals. See "Long-term Growth & Sustainability" link to view the MP.

Next we began digesting the current project scope, working our way through the construction phases starting with the new three-classroom building. A discussion ensued regarding the reasoning behind the number of proposed new classrooms. Initially given a class number by the Usalama Education Committee of six, after investigations into enrollment patterns and projections and the school's current shortage of space, the six additional classrooms felt appropriate. MG will research deeper into the topic and provide findings to EWB team.

Working our way down the list, we touched on each sub-phase, discussing it's priority and importance to that particular phase, but also the project as a whole. Because of the current economic climate, raising funds for the project costs will be difficult. There is a possibility that only a portion of the total cost will be available for the first year, therefore only a portion of the scope could be built. If this is the case, we as a team need to be conscious of whether what is built, as a portion of the total, has a negative impact on the overall usage and day-to-day operations of the school.

The latrines were touched on next. Dave described to EWB how the total cost for each was determined, and then how the quantity was determined. Despite the recommended ratio provided by the school Head Teacher, it was determined by Dave and affirmed by Andrea of GOAL that twelve new student latrines will be constructed at the school. Two of the existing latrines will remain in service until they fill completely. To save on material costs, an idea was floated that some of the existing classroom roof sheeting to be replaced can be reused on the new latrines. Though in poor condition, the sheeting could be doubled-up and perform just as effectively as a new single sheet.

Next we discussed the program and design of the community center. At this time, the preliminary sketch has been used for siting, estimating purposes, and stimulating discussion. We all agreed that more research is reqiured into what typical community center design and usage in the developing world is before moving forward. Each team, MG and EWB, are expected to create a short programming report with built examples to present to the other. Because there currently is no community center, and because the impacts of building one are tremendous, it is important that we take careful consideration into how the center will function and maximize it's benefits.

Lastly, we discussed PV array installation at both the school and community center. At the school, the most obvious benefit would be to provide lighting in the classrooms for night time learning. Robert mentioned that during their late winter/early spring season, students study under gas lamps due to the shorter days. The lamps can be dangerous to operate plus the fuel is expesive to purchase. At the community center the electricity could be used for lighting, for powering a radio or small tv, for charging mobile phones (as a micro-enterprise), or for powering a water pump. The need exists, and what is to be determined next is the array size and how that fits into the budget.

Meeting adjourned at 9 45 pm. This meeting was the first opportunity most members of each team met, and overall the discussion proved quite successful.

Action in Kibera

2009-02-03T09:54:00.005-05:00

This image comes compliments of the Wooster Collective and artist JR. Today, after more than a year of planning, 2000 square meters of rooftops have been covered with photos of the eyes and faces of the women of Kibera. The material used is water resistant so that the photo itself will protect the fragile houses in the heavy rain season. The train that passes on this line through Kibera at least twice a day has also been covered with eyes from the women that live below it. With the eyes on the train, the bottom half of the their faces have be pasted on corrugated sheets on the slope that leads down from the tracks to the rooftops. The idea being that for the split second the train passes, their eyes will match their smiles and their faces will be complete.

Awesome work!!!

Community Center Design

2009-02-01T13:01:00.008-05:00

Above is the rendering of the proposed community center for the school. In the front third of the space is the open-air lobby, four offices, and one conference room. Each Usalama committee will have it's own office: Education, Water, Health, and TOT (Training of trainers). The rear two-thirds of the building are an open large hall for community gathering needs. Currently the villagers meet informally at their homes or in the churches. Recently, the new water kiosks have become a new site for socializing, as people connect during their daily trip to collect water.

The site of the new community center will also include construction of new V.I.P. latrines and a cooking area. Located adjacent to the new village water tank, the site will serve as a place for informal gathering, training and education activities, festivals and celebrations, and formal meetings with government officials. (images provided by Grayson Jordan, thanks!)

COOL STUFF!!! Green WiFi

2009-01-29T16:15:00.006-05:00

I had posted a few weeks ago on a solar powered wireless system that appeared to be marketed towards individuals in developed countries. (The picture on the main page of a 'wired' suburban community gave it away) This afternoon I came across something even better, AND it works with the $100 laptop that we've all read about.

It is called 'Green WiFi' and it has been developed by an executive at Sun Microsystem through his work as manager of strategic marketing and solutions. It is basically wifi powered by a small PV module, equipped to work with the $100 laptops!

1/20/09 Meeting Minutes

2009-01-22T13:40:00.003-05:00

In an attempt to condition the team members to utilize the project blog more frequently, I will no longer email meeting minutes, but rather post them here!

Chapter:
- any interest in working with special needs children via Christina Thuli should email me for more info.
- Matt is looking for volunteers to present at chapter meetings. topics have little restrictions as long as they are engineering related. email chapter secretary if you're interested (secretary@ewbny.org).

Village:
- the rainy season hasn't been very rainy lately. when I spoke with Mr. Jackson last week, he mentioned the village was very dry and hadn't received rain since we left in November.
- Annie Malii should be in NYC as we speak. along with Mwikali's Gift, i am looking into throwing a small 'welcome back' party for her next week. will keep you posted.

Mwikali's Gift:
- they are scheduled to being a Malaria project in the village which involves distributing 2-3 mosquito nets to each family.
- still in negotiations with AMREF over their water distribution project. the remaining pipes to run treated water from tank to kiosks #3, 4, & 5 have still not arrived.
- karen would like to begin discussing fundraising strategies for the school, and is looking towards smaller events versus one large event. she is open to all ideas including grant writing. we should be brainstorming ideas at this time as fundraising will be our next step.

EWB Grants:
- danielle has been speaking with members of ASHRAE-NY about a potential grant opportunity. as ASHRAE is a technical organization, we spent time discussing items in our project which they might be interested in funding. suggestions included solar electric applications, irrigation & pumping applications, and passive ventilation fans.

Cost Estimate:
- though I would like to double-check my calculations, our total project cost is projected at ~$100K. a few items will need to be updated or added, but I expect this estimate to remain unchanged.

Rain Catchment:
- sizing of tanks and treatment methods were discussed. an annual demand will be calculated and tanks sized accordingly.

Building Designs:
- we reviewed the site plan and designs for the new classroom, administrative, and community center buildings. no significant changes are needed but there are a few structural issues to contend with before final drawing preperation can continue.

Next Steps:
- a bi-weekly meeting schedule will be adopted for the upcoming months. meetings will be held on tuesdays or wednesday at locations to be determined.
- we are making solid progress towards our final goal. design is moving away from the broad strokes, and now entertaining the details. everyone is doing a fantastic job and their sacrifice is much appreciated!

- Dave

Conservation of Mass/Energy - Bio-Latrines

2009-01-22T11:41:00.008-05:00

As a whole, the Usalama Project team has investigated most, if not all sustainable building techniques/processes/concepts applicable to the school expansion. This is the beginning of a series on those topics we've study and how/why they are (or are not) being used for the project.

The basic premise of the law of conservation of mass is that the mass of a closed system will remain constant, regardless of the processes acting inside the system. Simply put, matter cannot be created/destroyed, although it may be rearranged. In a closed system such as Earth, it is important to understand that we cannot engineer ourselves out of diminishing fossil fuel supplies. We must work with what has been provided, which leads me to Bio-Latrines.

Maslow's Hierarchy

A basic human need is food, as it provides the vitamins, minerals, and energy our bodies need to survive. Our digestive systems break-down food into simple components, absorb what is needed, then excrete the remainder as waste. In Usalama, excrement is deposited into pit latrines or oftentimes left exposed on their fields. Worse yet, in Kibera, a dense slum in Nairobi with little environmental infrastructure, stool is collected in bags and thrown on the street, dubbed "flying toilets". For pit latrines, this is the end of the carbon cycle.

Composting toilets are designed to continue the cycle by converting our human waste into healthy fertilizer to be then applied back on the fields to which we grow our crops. Biogas latrines, take composting a step further, and harness the methane produced from anaerobic digestion. This gas can then be used as fuel for cooking food, for electricity production (generator), and as a light or heat source. Other benefits include reduction in fire-wood collection time, income generation potential, and reductions in stored environmental waste. See video here (warning, will open media player) of Kenya biogas application.

The Usalama team has postponed implemention of either design until more education is provided on composting to the villagers and local excrement taboo is decreased. As a first step, we are including organic composting bins at both the community center and school so hands-on experience can be obtained. Within ten years, if composting is sustained and accepted, construction of a composting latrine would be suitable.

COOL STUFF!!! - Electric Mini in NYC

2009-01-22T11:32:00.005-05:00

Coming this April, BMW will loan the city ten electric Mini Coopers to participate in New York's SCOUT program (Street Condition Observation Unit), which searches for areas in need of infrastructure repair. Article via Inhabitat.

|
Images courtesy of 'Inhabitat'

The Mini-E is powered by a 150 kW electric motor and is capable of traveling more than 150 miles on a single charge. New York's mini fleet are part of a 500 vehicle pilot program rolled out by BMW to test viability in the U.S.

Pretty cool, be sure to keep an eye out for them this spring!

Kibwezi Region & Usalama Village

2009-01-16T16:48:00.005-05:00

The following plans are in their finished states. This should give you an idea of the area we're working with, in particular the specifics of the village's new water distribution system. "Village Plan" demonstrates how the water is piped to a central storage location, treated, then gravity fed back to 5 different kiosk locations, to be purchased/collected by the villagers. Notice the Primary School location near the village tank.

E-1, Existing Regional Plan | E-2, Existing Village Plan

Quick Rain Catchment Analysis

2009-01-14T16:45:00.009-05:00

Have been spending the last three days recalculating the project cost estimation, this time including labor. Am about 70% complete, but hit a roadblock at the catchment tanks. The school currently has one 38 cubic meter masonry catchment tank. Our proposal calls for rehabbing the existing tank, and installing and/or building 2-3 new tanks - one at the admin building for irrigation; one at the community center for drinking, cooking, irrigation & cleaning; and possibly another between the new classroom buildings.

At a projected enrollment of 540 students, @ 2 L/student/day, @ 5 days/week, @ 38 weeks/year, the total demand is approximately 205,200 L, or 205 cubic meters.

Existing masonry catchment tank | Possible new plastic tank

The region receives between 450 - 900 mm/year, so let's average that to 26.574"/year. Our new classroom building is about 2100 sf, and we'll assume an efficiency of 95%. Therefore, the potential collectible volume is 125,135 L. If we situate a tank between both class buildings, servicing both rooftops, there is potential to collect 250,166 L/yr. The potential is more than sufficient to meet the demand I calculated above, and almost enough to provide each student with 2.5L/day.

Classroom Roof Designs

2009-01-11T15:28:00.008-05:00

These models were presented to the school during the pre-implementation trip in November. We're trying to demonstrate to the village that they have options, that we don't have to build how things have always been built, and that we're receptive to their ideas.

They understand cross-ventilation and daylighting, but ultimately their concerns about classroom dust infiltration was an overriding factor. Classroom scheme 1 is their choice. Also, the portico was a big hit. Judging by their body language and comments, we exceeded all of their expectations.

Do schools kill creativity?

2009-01-11T09:52:00.006-05:00

Stumbled upon this video while researching classroom design and planning. From a 2006 TED conference in Monterrey. Both witty (cheeky) and profound:

Sir Ken Robinson

EWB-NY Board Meeting

2009-01-09T22:17:00.004-05:00

Our chapter held a board meeting this past Wednesday. It's good to sit down and speak face-to-face sometimes. Many of these people (in our organization) I never meet, though read about their work or projects. So it goes in an all volunteer organization...

Mostly we discussed the upcoming chapter schedule, so resources can be allocated properly. Each project team continues to make strides towards their end goals. There were only two active projects when I joined EWB-NY in December 2007, as of today, we have five active and two pending! Despite the crazy growth, we've been able to maintain the team autonomy which I love, so I'm pretty happy with things.

Upcoming events include a joint ASCE/EWB discussion on infrastructure in 2009, a Miraflores fundraiser at Galway Hooker on January 29th, a potential ASCE/EWB bridge design competition, and a potential EWB design competition for an NYC kite flying contest. You can find more details in Vic's weekly email newsletter. Also, as a general note, Matt is looking for volunteers to present at chapter meetings, topics are open to almost anything.

As a result of the meeting, I was inspired to update the blog again, this time adding more features to increase it's resourcefulness. Hope you enjoy, and if anyone know's how to upload pdf's, send me an email.

Largest Solar Plant... In the World

2009-01-08T11:22:00.005-05:00

Today I'm re-blogging. Saw this post on Inhabitat this morning. About the world's largest solar electric (PV) plant opening in China. The picture is pretty amazing.

Greener Gadgets

2009-01-08T11:16:00.005-05:00

Interesting conference coming up in New York City called Greener Gadgets. It's a one day conference on February 27, a bit pricey for attendance, but if you're into industrial design and saving the world, then this might just be worth it!

COOL STUFF!!! - Communications

2008-12-29T12:44:00.006-05:00

Have no idea if this works, but seems pretty awesome: Meraki Solar.

Not sure if this could work in rural Africa, but I'll be sure to find out. Meraki blog

COOL STUFF!!! - Energy

2008-12-29T12:20:00.013-05:00

I don't recall where I found this link, but was buried in my bookmarks. Looks to have some potential, but I'm easily swayed by clean, organized web sites. Potenco is the manufacturer of a hand crank - or hand-pulled to be precise - electrical generator.

in Rio

Apparently they just won a Popular Mechanics 2008 Breakthrough Award for "innovations that are poised to change the world". OK. The villagers in Usalama could really go for two things: a convenient location to charge their cell phones, and lighting (preferably portable). In June, the EWB traveling team tried using the HyMini to charge their cell phones, but had compatibility issues with the power plugs offered.

The Treegator

2008-12-29T12:02:00.008-05:00

We're always on the look-out for potential products that could be beneficial to villagers (thank you Sole). During our most recent trip, I left a Treegator Jr. with Mr. Jackson. Over the past several years, to beautify the school grounds, the parents and school have been attempting to plant and grow native trees in and around the courtyard. The trees, when mature, provide shading for the classrooms and make a dry landscape enriching.

Jr. / Original

I have seen the "original" in both Philadelphia and New York, and consider them a waste of taxpayer's dollars. People forget that these need to be refilled at least once a week, and people... always forget. Perhaps if the duty was given to a resident or business owner on the street, or even a "block warden". I gave the village one to test, so hopefully they'll at least respect the fact that this simple device utilizes every drop of water.

Water Distribution System Update

2008-12-17T13:39:00.010-05:00

As-Built Water System

During our 8 days in Usalama, we spent the majority of our time performing follow-up work on the almost complete water distribution system. Included in this post are two illustrative sketches of the system as-built (conditions during our trip) and it's final proposed design.

Proposed Water System

Back from Pre-Implementation Trip!

2008-12-17T13:25:00.009-05:00

at the water tank

being tailed by some locals

after the rains come the insects

Chyulu Hills

double-thumbs up!!!

Preston and Dave returned from their trip to Usalama on November 11th. Look for their photos uploaded to the project Picassa account (see link at right side of page)! More posts to come...

Follow-Up Trip to Usalama

2008-10-31T16:46:00.011-04:00

We (Preston Vineyard and I) are flying out of JFK on Sunday, November 2nd for our follow-up trip to Usalama and returning on the 11th.

The goals of trip are to present the four proposed site plans, the classroom, administration, and community center designs, create a discussion, and come to an agreement between the school administration, village leaders, and our team. We'll also be meeting with a Programme Engineer, Andrea Manenti, of GOAL Kenya, and visiting his project sites in Mutomo and we will welcome him to the village and introduce him to the project and villagers.

Updated site plans
(click to enlarge)

In general, we have to pick up all the loose ends, and finer points of the project, including budget, construction labor hierarchy and structure, scheduling, etc. And on top of all that, we'll be doing follow up work on the water pipeline, assessing the current situation so we can make recommendations for an appropriate solution.

- Dave (Project Lead)

Dave
Usalama, Kenya
June 2008 Assessment Trip

EWB-NY Event: Cambodia Project Milestone Gala

2008-09-18T10:48:00.009-04:00

From the Cambodia Project Blog:

Thursday, Sept. 18th 7:30pm-11pm
Peter Cooper Suite, 8th Floor
Cooper Union
Foundation Building
7 East 7th Street, NY, NY
milestone.gala@ewbny.org

The recent completion of the watergate structure marks a major milestone not only in the Cambodia Water Dam Project, but in the Engineers Without Borders-New York City Chapter as well. Join us at the Milestone Gala as we say "THANK YOU" to all the supporters who have made this work a reality!

Drumroll...

2008-09-15T12:00:00.007-04:00

(click to enlarge)

Our proposed schemes!

We presented these drawings to Mwikali's Gift a week ago and hope to do the same at the school during our next trip to Usalama, tentatively scheduled for mid-October.

What's still left to be figured out before then? How to break up the courtyard with hardscaping and landscaping and best place any PV arrays (whether on building roofs or on an independent structure). So if anyone has experience with this, or knows a landscape architect, feel free to pass along.

Mr. Katolo's Plan

2008-08-25T00:01:00.044-04:00

Mr. Katolo (pictured above) is the Head Teacher (H/T) of the Usalama Primary School. While on our assessment trip, the team met with him and the Deputy Teacher (D/T) to discuss the expansion of the school and understand how he envisioned the future school to look like. To do that, EWB-NY, lead by team member Sole Mendez, guided Mr. Katolo through a planning exercise.

The exercise involved placing various sized painted wood blocks on a scaled map of the school grounds. Mr. Katolo was thus able to arrange where he felt new buildings (white blocks) should be built in relation to existing buildings (blue blocks) to best serve his students. During this process, our team, the D/T, and an additional teacher were also able to provide input.

(click to enlarge)

The above sketch is of Mr. Katolo's proposed plan at the planning exercise's conclusion and it is guiding our planning team in understanding where, why, and how school officials believe new buildings incorporating would better meet their needs.

(click to enlarge)

1A School Site is a scaled sketch of the existing site plan of the entire Usalama School property. Please note the location of the water tank and pipeline, the previous EWB-NY project in Usalama, in relation to the location of the school. (A future post on the water project will also cover the impact of both projects on one another)

(click to enlarge)

2A School shows the existing school site plan and the priority area of the school land. Existing buildings and selected dimensions have been labeled and identified. The wind direction, as was prevalent during our trip, and a grade, determined by a topographical survey, are also shown.

(click to enlarge)

3A School Detail is also of the existing school but shows more landscape detail of the grounds. The numbers in the classroom buildings denote forms, or grades, that are taught in each particular space. Pre-primary is taught outside of the school grounds in the church located in the south market. (See sketch "1A School Site" for location of church.)

Our team is actively using these plans as reference as we create three proposed site plans to show our partner non-profit, Usalama Primary school officials, and the village. After review and a consensus is reached, we'll be able to pursue appropriate financing and begin planning construction. []

Left Behind

2008-07-21T07:46:00.016-04:00

The way these kids leave EWB-NY project lead Dave Staller to eat dust leads me to believe there are future Mary Chepkembois and Bernard Lagats in the pack.

Speaking of leaving things behind...

About a month ago, Usalama team member Larry Parrington announced that he would be leaving the US (and the group) for Ecuador on a one-way ticket. We're glad to report that Larry has safely arrived at his destination and is so far enjoying the experience. The following is from his first blog entry on June 30, 2008:

so i've packed up, moved, stored, sold, or gave away everything i own except for a backpack's worth of gear. a rather large backpack. tomorrow i fly out of my life in new york city and into whatever follows.
i'm flying into guayaquil ecuador. from there, i'll be making my way over the course of a few days to vilcabamba where i'll be working on a farm for a few weeks, and trying to learn some spanish while i'm at it.

You can follow larry's adventure at http://www.lllars.com/ []

Our Partners

2008-07-14T19:13:00.006-04:00

If you haven't checked our project photos in a while, you're in for a surprise!

We've uploaded all our assessment trip photos online! Make sure you check 'em all out. []

Case of the P.T.A.

2008-07-04T14:04:00.046-04:00

The people of Kenya's Usalama community and EWB-NY have reestablished their partnership and are again working together to use engineering (and architectural!) know-how to solve community issues.

As previous posts have indicated, the community has outgrown the local school and is eager to not only expand but also improve its existing facilities. EWB-NY's Usalama project team sent four of its members to Usalama from late May to early June to gain an intimate understanding of this latest project. The community has shared with us its vision for the school's future and it's now our turn to determine a feasible solution.

To that end, and with all team members back Stateside, the entire team's working on:

Creating a plan of the existing school grounds
Writing an assessment report
Uploading trip photos and videos online
Presenting to our donors and the EWB-NY chapter our trip findings
Assembling a subcommittee for the water project
Researching:

Latrines (composting and sustainable) and their materials
Rain catchment systems: methods, materials, and maintenance
Solar panel manufacturers based in Nairobi, Mombasa, and elsewhere in Kenya

And there's as much to write about as there is work to do. So, in the following weeks we'll introduce you to key members of this school improvement project, both here in New York and in Usalama, share stories from the trip, and unveil plans for the school's future. We'll also provide an update on the project that began our relationship with the Usamala community: the water project. []

Who They Are

2008-01-09T21:40:00.000-05:00

Mr. Jackson, School Chairman | Mr. Katolo, Head Teacher | Annie Malii, Ground Contact

| |

Mr. Charles, Deputy Teacher | Ms. Priscilla, Teacher | Mr. Fausten, Teacher

| |

James (in red), villager | Jimmy, villager | Schola, villager

| |

Mrs. Malii, Matriarch | Mr. Malii, Patriarch | Nick, Uncle Nick

| |

Matua, Mason | Bonniface, Macgyver | The Kids, The Kids

| |

Long-term Growth & Sustainability

2008-01-09T21:18:00.005-05:00

Early in this process, team members Danielle Miley and Joe Mulligan created a master plan for our project:

Version 1.0

Version 2.0

Prior to our assessment trip, Sole Mendez created a sustainable planning pamphlet for each team member and to present to the school and village:

(see pdf)

Used to determine enrollment patterns and projections, this image of the school's enrollment statistics is vital to our planning:

Primary School Expansion

2008-01-09T20:37:00.002-05:00

Currently, the school has two classroom buildings (6 & 3 classes, total 9), an administrative building, a kitchen building, a rain catchment tank off the six classroom building, one teacher pit latrine, and three student pit latrines.

In February 2008, at the recommendation of the Usalama team, Mwikali's Gift wired $5000 to Mr. Jackson, School Committee Chairman, to renovate the six and three classroom buildings. With the funds, concrete floors were added to the classrooms (previously were compacted dirt), steel doors were added to each class, operable glass windows were installed, rotted roof trusses were replaced, the exterior of both buildings was stucco'd and painted, and an additional gutter was added to the six classroom building to contribute to the catchment tank.

In June 2008, our team performed an assessment of the school site and conditions. We used planning exercises to engage the school officials, performed architectural surveys of each existing building, performed a topographical survey of the entire school property, held many formal & informal interviews, and visited three local primary school's for comparison. While in the village, we also assisted Mwikali's Gift member Karen Brodsky as she assessed the state of the water project.

All this information was then taken back to New York, were it was digested thoroughly. After multiple meetings concerning master planning, we narrowed our ideas down to four site plans. We also compiled preliminary cost estimation, investigated construction scheduling/management/priorities, and designed preliminary buildings.

In November 2008, Dave and Preston went on a pre-implementation trip to the village. On site, they presented our ideas, and came to an agreement between the school/village and our team. They also performed some much needed follow-up on the water distribution system.

Currently, the team is busy designing all the buildings for the site, and eventually completing a total cost estimation for the project (and of course fundraising!). We'd like to begin construction as soon as possible, meaning our ambitious goal is late February/early March.

What we're planning on building:

- 2 classroom buildings of 3 classes each
- 1 new administrative building (deconstructing existing admin)
- renovating existing 3 & 6 classroom building roofs and rehabbing the rain catchment tank
- 5 student V.I.P. latrines with 2 stalls each
- 2 handwashing stations at latrines
- 1 teacher V.I.P. latrine
- 1 kitchen with food storage
- 1 new catchment tank at administrative building (planning drip-irrigation in shamba, as learning field)
- 1 new community center w/ V.I.P. latrines, a cooking area, cell phone charging station (PV), and organic composting bin.

Project Background

2008-01-09T20:11:00.000-05:00

Usalama was the first EWB-NY project for the chapter. Initially, the objective was to design a potable water distribution system for the village alongside Mwikali's Gift. The first assessment trip for the water project was made by Matt Sisul and Scott Snelling in January 2006. A second assessment trip by Matt Barber was taken a few months later in May. Matt accompanied the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign EWB chapter as they construction several V.I.P. latrines for the community while he continued testing and gathering data. Design and construction management of the system eventually passed hands to a local NGO, AMREF, in 2007.

During our two trips, there were obvious other needs in the village. One of the most pertinent was the deteriorated and overcrowded state of the village primary school. Between 1993 and 1997, one six-classroom building, one three-classroom building, an administrative building, kitchen, and several pit latrines were constructed by the parents with outside aid. Constructed with minimal funds the buildings quickly deteriorated. Despite the building quality, the passion and energy of the teachers and administrators, and the commitment of the parents, attracted more and more local children. In 2005, total enrollment at the school was 176 students (pre-primary + forms 1 - 8). Total enrollment in 2008 is 486 students, a 276% increase in three years!

And our next project was formed...

Who We Are (Cast of Characters)

2008-01-09T19:20:00.005-05:00

Charles Newman, Project Lead, Architect

Matt Sisul, Civil Engineer | Avi Guter, Structural Engineer

Preston Vineyard, Technical Lead

Danielle Miley, Environmental Designer | Sole Mendez, Architect | Dana Kaplan, Enviro. Engineer

| |

Joe Mulligan, Civil Engineer | Jenn Cass, Enviro. Engineer | Sahar Ghaheri, Industrial Designer

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Matt Barber, Health Point Person | Grayson Jordan, Architect | Scott Snelling, Water PL

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Antonio Salvador, Architect | Andrea Manetti, GOAL Manager | Karen Brodsky, Mwikali's Gift

| |

Usalama School Demographics

2007-05-19T18:22:00.003-04:00

Information Provided by the January 2006 Health Assessment.

Health Assessment by Christina Riechers, Rich Yang and the Usalama Youth Committee.

About the Usalama School

2007-04-29T18:03:00.001-04:00

Usalama Primary School Development
(Information provided by the residents of Usalama.)

Community in Usalama settled in the area since late 1992. They started by opening --- farms and building houses. Children by that time were attending schools outside the village walking long distances to and from the schools.
· 1993, we started building our school using local materials. We came together and found that there was need to build our school.
· By 1995, we approached Action0Aid Kenya (an international organization) for assistance to build classes. They supported us to build 6 classes.
· The classes were not enough, so parents organized themselves and up to now we have managed to build 3 more classrooms and one office.
· We started with very few parents in the schools. We had 40 parents. They have increased in due course and now we have 132 parents.
· Our government provided trained teachers. We have ten trained teachers in the school.
· Other development in the schools included planting of trees in the school compound. This was done by the parents collectively. We are still planning to plant more trees.
· We have a feeding programme in the school. Food is provided by the government.
· We have one cook who is paid by the school parents and one night watchman paid by the government.
· Our government also provided us with school text books 2 (?). Problems Encountered
· Parents’ contribution by cash is very low due to high poverty levels in the village.
· Most of my parents depend on farming and here we usually receive unreliable rainfall most of the time.
· When we get good harvest, our crops are destroyed by wild animals from the neighboring forest and game ----. · Inadequate water supply and lighting facilities in the school.

Village Goals:
· To continue developing our school.
· Adding more classrooms
· Fencing the school compound
· Building a technical institution
· Building 5 latrines
· Building school improved kitchen
· Making the school a boarding school in future
· Build a school community library
· Develop an orphanage home
· Establish/build a community meeting hall
· School Playing equipment
· Build dormitory facilities in the school

Pics of the school available HERE.

Usalama School Improvement Project

2007-04-29T17:18:00.004-04:00

Since January of 2007, EWB-NY has been working with Mwikali's Gift, our partner NGO, to develop a new direction of aid to the village of Usalama, Kenya. During a previous visit to the village, the members of the community indicated that they would benefit from improving the school facility in the village. They have provided us with details of the problems at the site so EWB-NY can pursue a new project with the community along the guidelines provided by EWB-USA.

The scope of the project as of now will be planning for the entire campus to meet the needs of the village and their neighbors. We will then select the most pressing and reasonable facilities to build in the first phase.

The preliminary Schedule is as follows:

May:

1. Draft and agree upon Memo of Understanding between EWB-NY and MG

2. Send in Continuing project form to EWB-USA for approval.

June-July:

1. Research sustainable technologies, local construction techniques, novel construction techniques, novel systems (rainwater, solar, etc.)

2. Work with village and MG to organize and document needs of school.

3. Preliminary Schedule, Design & Cost Estimate

4. Begin fundraising

5. Organize Site Assessment & Site Assessment application

August:

1. Site Assessment

2. Fundraising

3. Update schedule, design, cost estimate.

September - December

1. Design

2. Fundraising

3. Implementation Application

January

1. Implementation Trip

2. Fundraising

More images available HERE.

Usalama Water Project - Introduction

2006-11-17T23:15:00.001-05:00

The Usalama Water Project aims to provide a clean source of water for the village of Usalama, Kenya. The residents were forced to leave their previous homes in 1990 due to the creation of the Chyulu Game Reserve.

No infrastructure has been provided since they settled in Usalama. The nearest existing source of water is 2.5 mi (4km) away and this water is untreated.

The Usalama Water Project intends to implement a 3-phase plan to construct a water system:
Phase 1: Tap into the existing Mtito Andei Pipeline, construct a 2.5 mi pipeline, and provide a chlorine doser.
Phase 2: Tank & distribution around the village.
Phase 3: Irrigation

The domestic water system for Phase 1 is currently under design. Construction is scheduled to occur from July to September, 2006.

It is estimated that it will cost $27k to finance the construction of Phase 1. In addition, EWB’s volunteer efforts for engineering and construction support efforts are expected to incur expenses of $16.5k, of which $8k has already been raised.

In order to achieve the goals of developing the infrastructure of Usalama, Mwikali's Gift NGO has partnered with the New York Chapter of Engineers Without Borders.

For more information on Usalama, please watch the Filmstrip we created. Also refer to the excellent article and slideshow published by the Tribeca Trib neighborhood newspaper.

Your tax deductible donation will help the villagers of Usalama obtain their goal of obtaining a reliable source of clean drinking water.

Make Checks to: "Engineers Without Borders-USA";
Memo line: "Usalama Project"

Mailing Address:
Matt Sisul, EWB-Usalama Treasurer
c/o Parsons Brinckerhoff
One Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10119

Or donate on-line via Paypal
Or contact at: usalamaproject@gmail.com

Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit humanitarian organization established to partner with developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life. These partnerships involve implementing sustainable engineering projects.

Current Tasks

2006-04-11T06:03:00.000-04:00

Here is an overview of what each member of the team is currently working on:
- Village of Usalama: responding to Latrine Project questions, measuring pressure in Mtito Andei pipeline, organizing volunteer work crews.
- Mwikali's Gift: facilitating peer review of EWB's proposed pipeline, sending KPC letter via UN, permissions for Tribeca Tribune photos.
- Peter Riechers: Mtito Andei pipeline inspection report
- Scott Snelling: project schedule, Memo of Understanding with Village & EWB-UIUC, PDH for presentations
- Matt Sisul: Site Assessment Report, project financials
- Preston Vineyard: project engineer coordinating design (drawings, maps, calculations, quantities, cost estimates, construction instructions)
- Christina Ho: chlorine doser selection, estimate, and procurement
- Matt Barber: procurement planning, Phase 0 - sign, material depot, and NY liason to Latrine Project, trip preparations
- Shannon Graeber: Kiosk design (drawings, quantities, cost estimate, construction instructions)
- Aniju Varughese: 45 m^3 Tank design (drawings, quantities, cost estimate, construction instructions)
- Carol Hawk: soil analysis and agriculture issues
- Bill Rosenzweig: economic analysis of water system & determining number of kiosk to construct in Phase 2
- Martine Klein: pursue grants (NPR, Rotary, etc)
- Amanda Simson: fundraising, planning event
- Kathrine McCullough: project pamphlet, planning event
- Christina Riechers: health assessment report
- Esther Mun: designing graphic for t-shirt and book bag
- Eric Lahita: EWB-NY webmaster
- EWB-UIUC: preparations for Latrine Project implementation trip (May 15-June 5)
- EWB-USA/Meg VanSchiver: reviewing #807 implementation presentation for Latrine Project

Handout

2006-02-27T23:00:00.000-05:00

This handout summarizes the planned scope, schedule, and budget for the Usalama Water Project, as of February 2006. It is meant to be printed on a single piece of 11x17 paper, double sided and folded like a book.

www.flickr.com

Filmstrip Link

2006-02-14T15:08:00.000-05:00

Click on this link to watch a 4 minute Filmstrip that tells the story of the project.

Presentation 02-21-2006

2006-02-14T10:42:00.000-05:00

Click to see the Powerpoint slides from the presentation that Matt Sisul, Matt Barber, & Scott Snelling presented at PB regarding the recently completed site assessment and upcoming design and construction phases of the Usalama Water Project.

Slide01.jpg
Originally uploaded by EWB-NY.

Site Assessment Photos

2006-02-14T07:58:00.000-05:00

Click on the photo below to be taken to the slideshow on Flickr.com

Trench Digger 1
Originally uploaded by scottsnelling.

Maps

2006-02-14T07:18:00.000-05:00

www.flickr.com

click on the images to see our Maps on Flickr

Site Assessment

2006-01-13T18:13:00.000-05:00

Matt and Scott have returned from Kenya. They were in Usalama, along with technical mentor Peter Reichers, to perform a Site Assessment between January 14-28th. The consensus is to develop a plan for constructing a new +2.5 km water pipeline from the exsting Mitto Andei Pipeline to the village Usalama.

Photos, reports, presentations, maps, calculations, schedules, design drawings, and cost estimates will follow.

Con-Ed Lab

2006-01-05T20:58:00.000-05:00

Con-Ed Lab
Originally uploaded by EWB-NY.

Christina was kind enough to invite Matt and Scott to the Con-Ed lab to practice testing water and using a colorimeter. Matt and Scott will be leaving for Usalama next week.

Site Assessment - Equipment

2006-01-05T20:47:00.000-05:00

This entry outlines and describes the equipment we have puchased for use during the Site Assessment.

Topo Map

Kibwezi Topo Map 174.4
Originally uploaded by EWB-NY.

It took many phone calls and google searches before we suceeded in identifying a perveyor of Kenyan topographic maps. East View Cartographic has detailed maps of much of the globe. We were able to buy an electronic version (.tif) of the 1974 Survey of Kenya quadrant 174.4, 1:50,000 scale map for ~$150.

Water Quality Test Equipment
With regards to portable water quality test kits for field use, there are two recommended kits: Oxfam/Delagua (ref EinE pg 195) costing ~2500 Pounds Sterling and the Hach Mel 850 (EWB Water Guidlines) costing ~$2000. On the other end of the price range is the kit sold by the Christain organization Lifewater International costing $25.

After much research and consideration we decided to assemble our own test kit by piecemeal ordering of the necessary tests from Hach . Engineering in Emergencies (EinE) pg 204 recommends testing of the follwing water parameters: Iron, Flouride, TDS, Nitrates, Turbidity, Colour, Taste/Smell, pH, and colliform bacteria. In addition, we felt it was important to test for Arsenic and Chlorine. Our piecemeal kit is able to test for the above parameters and cost ~$1200. The main reason we were able to save money when compared with the Mel 850 kit was because we eliminated the incubator.

The Hach Pathoscreen test is a presence/non-presence test for colliform bacteria; it does not require incubation. Like the Mel 850 kit, our piecemeal kit includes the Hach DR 850 Colorimeter. This handheld electronic instrument will be used to test for Iron, Flouride, Nitrates, Tubidity, and Chlorine. Sepparate reagents (powder added to each sample) must be purchased for each parameter to be tested in the Colorimeter. The Colorimeter works by measuring the color of the sample. Sepparate tests were purchased for TDS and Arsenic. PH paper was also puchased. Various hardware (bottles, bags, test cells, thermometer, dropper, wipes, demineralizing bottle, hard case, etc) rounds out the kit.

We also purchased one of the $25 Lifewater kits, for comparison sake. This has the following tests: Nitrate/Nitrite, pH, Chloride, Iron, Hardness, and Pathoscreen. All of the tests, other than the Pathoscreen test, use paper test strips. The kit is somewhat limited in the water parameters it tests for, but considering the price, it is a useful kit.

Surveying Equipment
Our serveying equipment consits of a Garmin eTrex GPS (~$90), an abney hand level (~$60), and a 100' measuring tape. The accuracy of the gps will be sufficient for most of our mapping and surveying needs. The abney level and tape will be used when we need extra accuracy for measing elevations with regards to drainage and gravity-fed pipelines.

First Aid Kit
We purchased all of the items listed on EWB form #604 "Recommended Medical Kits Contents.

Travel Health Insurance
Per EWB recommendations, we purchased travel health insurance through Specialty Risk Insurance. It cost ~$25 each for coverage over our 2 week stay.

Kibwezi Region Rainfall and Agriculture

2005-12-17T13:57:00.000-05:00

The Dryland Husbandry Project- Kenya website has a few maps showing the annual rainfall and agricultural potential for the Kibwezi region:

Kibwezi Rainfall Map
Originally uploaded by EWB-NY.

Site Assessment Trip - Preparations

2005-12-16T15:00:00.000-05:00

EWB-USA has reviewed our Site Assessment Plan and given us formal approval to go ahead with the trip. Scott Snelling and Matt Sisul have purchased airline tickets for Kenya from January 14-28, 2006. Karen Brodsky of Mwikali's Gift NGO will also be traveling with us. Peter Riechers will be meeting us in Usalama.

Fundraising Party

2005-12-15T19:18:00.000-05:00

Party Flyer
Flyer Designed by Esther Mun.

Thurs 12.15.05
7pm-11pm
$20 Cover includes 1 drink
Morrisey Park
121 St. Mark's Pl @ Ave

DJ Dave Ferris will be spinning some records.

**Update - Despite freezing rain and threat of a transit strike ~60 people came, enjoyed themselves and donated just over $1200 dollars total.

Fundraising Party
Originally uploaded by EWB-NY.

Hydrogeologic Survey Results

2005-12-04T13:10:00.000-05:00

Kibwezi Geo Map
Originally uploaded by EWB-NY.

Earth Water Ltd completed a Hydrogeologic Survey of Usalama.

It is estimated that the projected 1800 residents of Usalama will require 9510 gallons (36 m^3) of water for domestic use per day (5.3 gal (20 liters) per person per day). Earth Water Ltd estimates that a well tapping into the aquifer under Usalama would only be able to provide 1270-3170 gallons (4.8-12.0 m^3) per day, assuming around the clock pumping.

Earth Water Ltd's investigation indicates that a borehole well would need a depth of 165 ft (50m) below ground level. Hand pumps are generally practical for well depths of 150 ft (45 m) or less. Usalama does not have electricity. A diesel powered pump is an option, but it would be difficult for Usalama to maintain, repair, and fuel.

Earth Water Ltd recommends that an 5 mi (8km) long pipeline be built from Umani Springs to Usalama. Many neighboring villages pipe water from these springs. A water tower could be built allowing a gravity-fed water system for the region.

Problems with this scheme include negotiating with the many stakeholders having water and property rights, also, elephants in the region have a history of vandalizing and destroying above-ground pipelines. Not to mention that this would result in a very large construction project.

Other possible options for water supply include rainwater catchment (18-36 in (450-900mm) annual rainfall), drilling a well in the nearby government owned forest, harvesting and storing water from shallow hand dug wells during the rainy seasons, subsurface dam of seasonal river and others we haven't thought of yet.

The Site Assessment Trip will be EWB-NY's opportunity to evaluate all of these options. We are confident that we will be able to find a workable solution. It is likley that the best solution for Usalama's water supply problem will be a patchwork quilt of multiple sources.

The bottom line is that this is not going to be a simple project of simply boring a well and attaching a hand pump.

Project Planning

2005-11-18T18:48:00.000-05:00

Project Organizational Chart
Originally uploaded by EWB-NY.

The Organizational Chart shows the roles and lines of communication between each of the 12 engineers currently volunteering on the project. It also shows how Mwikali's Gift NGO serves as the primary line of communication between EWB and Usalama.

EWB-NY has drafted a preliminary project schedule. It outlines all of the tasks that will be performed and when each task should be completed. Obviously the schedule below is too small to be legible, but that is okay. The schedule is very ambitious and we don't want to make any promises we can't keep. Suffice it to say, EWB-NY has a plan and we intend to partner with Mwikali's Gift and the Usalama Community Board to put it into action.

Usalama Project Schedule
Originally uploaded by EWB-NY.

The project will consist of the following phases:

Site Assessment Preparation
Site Assessment Trip
Design Development
Final Design and Vetting
Implementation Trip Preparations
Implementation Trip (Construction)
Report & Outcomes Assessment

EWB-NYC Chapter Meeting

2005-11-17T23:16:00.000-05:00

EWB-NYC held a chapter meeting tonight. There was an excelent turnout of 21+ attendees. Scott Snelling and Matt Sisul introduced the Usalama Project to the chapter. We are excited about the prospect of adding new volunteers to the project.

Site Assessment Presentation

2005-11-16T23:17:00.000-05:00

The NYC chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is currently working on planning a site assessment trip. We are preparing a presentation to the national directors of EWB in order to gain approval to move ahead. The site assesment trip will likely consist of sending three engineers plus one director of Mwikali's Gift. The goals for the site assesment include: determining a suitable location and capacity for a well, performing a baseline health survey, and engaging the community.

***Update: On 11.29.05 EWB-USA informally approved EWB-NY's Site Assessment Trip plan. We expect a formal approval letter shortly. We hope to travel to Usalama in January to two weeks.

Project Background

2005-11-13T23:19:00.000-05:00

UNDER CONSTRUCTION -

1990 - Residents are relocated from the Chyulu hills to Usalama to make room for a game reserve. {{Questions- correct year? which game reserve? did people already live in Usalama, or was it a new settlement? Did the government force the residents to go to Usalama, or it was just the most convenient place to relocate? Were the residents forced to leave the old village? What was the old village's name? Did Robert move to NYC before or after the relocation? Note - this website http://www.ossrea.net/dhp/dhp02-01.htm says that the Kamba people were kicked out of what became Tsavo National Park between 1925-36. It says most relocated, but some stayed nearby in the Chyulu hills. }}

Month, 200X - {{date?}} Mwikali, a resident of Usalama, dies giving birth. Robert Malii, Mwikali's brother, is inspired by his sister's death to try and improved the conditions in his native village. Robert has been living and teaching pre-school in New York City since 198X. {{date?}}

Month, 2005 - {{date?}} Inspired by Robert's caring motivation Mwikali’s Gift, a New York City based NGO, is formed with the intention of raising funds to help Usalama meet its fundamental needs.

Summer, 2005 - Robert Malii returns to Usalama and helps the village organize a community board comprised of committees responsible for overseeing each aspect of community development.

Summer, 2005 - A village-wide election is held. Jeremiah Kisove is elected as leader. Note: the village also has elders and tribal leaders. [xx??]

Sept, 2005 - Mwikali's Gift meets with EWB-USA to discuss a potential partnership.

Nov, 2005 - The New York Chapter of EWB and MG formally form a partnership. The goal of the first project is to provide a source of clean, potable water. Both entities intend to have a long-term commitment to the village and hope other projects (school, sanitation, electricity, etc) will follow.

Jan, 2005 - Three engineers with EWB and one member of MG travel to Usalama to perform a Site Assessment.

Kikamba - English Translation

2005-11-12T22:55:00.000-05:00

The official languages in Kenya are English and Kiswahili. However, the language spoken in Usalama is Kikamba. Only two residents of Usalama speak English. Kikamba means the "language of the Kamba people and is one of the 400 Bantu languages spoken in Africa.

We were unable to locate any Kikamba-English dictionaries or phrasebooks. Fortunately, Robert Malii agreed to translate a wordlist to create a makeshift phrasebook. The wordlist and phonetic translation is given below. A corresponding audio file (*.wav) is also available for your iTunes (contact usalamaproject@gmail.com).

Kikamba – English Word List

Hello / Goodbye : JA-MBO / KWA-HERI
My name is : JINA LANGU NI _____
What is your name? : JINA LAKO NANI?
me / you / him / her / they / us : MI-MI / WE-WE / YE-YE / HA-WA / SI-SI
I like / dislike: NA-PE-NDA / SI-PE-NDI
Yes / No : NDI-YO / HA-PA-NA
Stream : M-TO
Which direction : UPA-NDE GANI?
Water : MA-JI
Well : KI-SI-MA
Pump : M-TA-MBO-WA KU-PIGIA-MA-JI
Dig : CHI-MBA
Rock : MA-WE
Sand : CHA-NGA-RA-WI
Dirt : M-CHA-NGA
Farming : U-KU-LI-MA
Food : CHA-KU-LA
Hungry : NJAA
Thirsty : KI-U
Eat : KU-LA
Drink : KU-NYWA
Sleep : LA-LA
Bed : KI-TA-NDA
Sit : KE-TI
Stand : SI-MA-MA
Walk : TE-MBE-A
Run : KI-MBI-A
Build : NJE-NGA
House : NYU-MBA
Toilet : CHO-O
School : SHU-LE
Book : KI-TA-BU
How much : KI-A-SI GA-NI?
How many : GA-PI?
Kshs : SHI-LI-NGI
Did : NI-LI-FA-NYA
Do : FA-NYA
Will do : NITA-FA-NYA
(Too Much : SANA)
Clean / Unclean : SA-FI / CHA-FU
Hot / Cold : MO-TO / BA-RI-DI
Death : KI-FO
Sick / Healthy : M-GO-NJWA / HA-FI-A
(Good : NZU-RI)
Birth : KU-ZA-LI-WA
I understand / don’t understand : NA-E-LE-WA / SI-HE-LEWI
Man : MWA-NA-U-ME
Woman : MWA-NA-M-KE
Child : M-TO-TO
Long / Short : NDE-FU / FU-PI
Big / Small : KU-BWA / NDO-GO
Fast : HA-RA-KA
Come here : KU-JA HA-PA
Give me some water: TA-FA-NDALI NE-PAY MA-JI
Talk : SE-MA
Happy : FU-RA-HA
Work : KA-ZI
Play : CHE-ZA
Can I take your photo : NA-WE-ZA KU-CHU-KU-WA PI-CHA YA-KO?
Elephant : NDO-FU

1 : MO-JA
2 : MBI-LI
3 : TA-TU
4 : I-NNE
5 : TA-NO
6 : SI-TA
7 : SA-BA
8 : NA-NE
9 : TI-SA
10 : KU-MI
11-19 : KU-MI NA (----)
20 : I-SHI-RI-NI

---------------end audio kikamba lesson 1 ------------------

I need : NA-TA-KA
Tea : CHAI
Now : SA-SA
Difficult : NGU-MU
I don’t have money : SI-NA PESA
I am a poor man : MI-MI NI MA-SI-KI-NI
Bridge : NDARAJA

December 2005
Translation and audio prepared by Robert Malii
Wordlist prepared by Scott Snelling