Bio-Center Kinawataka, kampala uganda
PHOTO DESCRIPTION
Can a community sanitation project in a slum be the starting point for obtaining land rights and housing finance? That’s what we explore in this project, inspired by a methodology developed by UN-Habitat.
PROJECT INFORMATION
Location: Uganda
Year: 2024-2025
Client: ACTogether Uganda
Size: Hydroponic growing tests
established four slum housing stands
Funding: Cisu
Contact: Klara Elmdahl
kel@aug.ngo
Subtitle
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Sustainable sanitation and energy
Millions live in slums in sub-Saharan Africa with no improvements in sight and often with the threat of forced evictions looming over their heads. The miserable living conditions often result in poor health, which is part of what keeps people trapped in poverty.
In this project, we built a so-called biocenter in the Kinawataka slum in Uganda’s capital Kampala. A biocenter provides public toilets, showers, clean water and public spaces that are in high demand in the slum. The building also produces biogas, which is a cheap and environmentally friendly alternative to burning charcoal for cooking. The Biocenter was built in collaboration with local partner organizations and is run by a local cooperative.
The Biocenter was inaugurated in Kampala, Uganda, on June 6, 2023.
Local insight
Meet our partner ACTogether Uganda. Established in 2006 as an independent Ugandan organization affiliated with the international network Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI). It is registered as an NGO in Uganda and strives for equitable and inclusive Ugandan cities with united and empowered urban poor communities that have the capacity to voice, promote and effectively negotiate their collective interests and priorities.
Sharing ideas and collaborating by sitting together is always the best!
MEETING IN PROGRESS
“The Bio-Center has put us, Uganda and the Federation on the map. Because they are doing amazing work here. People see the initiative as something new in the country.”
Development goals and impact
- Improve health and reduce poverty by providing access to toilets, showers and clean water.
- Transfer knowledge about slum biocenters from Kenya to Uganda by bringing in Kenyan biocenter experts as consultants.
- Establish a local biocenter cooperative that can become a dialogue partner in a potential subsequent land rights project
- Build skills and create local jobs during and after construction
The project has created a cleaner and healthier environment in the slum area where the biocenter is located, as access to good toilets reduces the use of dangerous, overflowing latrines and the open sewers that cross the neighborhood. The project is designed as a precursor to a subsequent land rights project that can test opportunities around cooperative ownership of land and housing. All as part of developing sustainable solutions that improve conditions for the urban poor in sub-Saharan Africa.
Project team
Cora Aamo Aspen
Chairman
cas@aug.ngo
Cora has experience from home and abroad, as a volunteer, student and professional architect. Her focus is on creating engagement and collaboration across borders and cultures.
Catherine Merlo
Board member
cme@aug.ngo
Catherine is a social and environmental impact strategist and MBA whose professional purpose is to drive systems change in organizations to support a just green transition.
Karsten Kristensen
Treasurer
kkr@aug.ngo
Karsten is an architect specializing in cultural heritage and disaster management. His interests include innovation driven by traditional knowledge and research as leverage to solve global problems.
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