The Eco-Village Initiative
In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, a village in Kariobangi a low income settlement in Nairobi were ambushed and their houses demolished by government officials looking to reclaim land many of the settlers had legal claim
to. Over 8000 were evicted with no recourse It is in these conditions that 40 women from the evictees formed a welfare group with support of the Women’s Collective Kenya, to rebuild their lives and eventually homes.
The women in our group are mostly elderly, our shosho or grandmother is 76, our youngest member 24 but amongst them are children and grandchildren some of who have been separated years after the eviction. We are embarking on a rather ambitious project to raise funds for land, and build the WCK Eco- village, a haven for these women. We meet every month, in Kariobangi a km from the site of eviction, where we raise funds. Every member has committed to contributing 14 cents USD a day or 5 dollars a month which goes into the Eco Village fund. We are on our 9th month of collections. We also contribute to a welfare fund that helps with emergencies, food and rent for those that need it.
THE ECO-VILLAGE IS AN AMBITIOUS PROJECT that we hope will not only be dwellings but also with thriving gardens and hubs. We intend to use stories of connection to land and dispossession as a design and advocacy tool. We are currently working on Phase 1, setting up the Hadithi lab by collecting our women’s stories.
1. FEMINIST HUBS -
THE JENGA LAB: Currently being set up, by utilising knowledge and expertise of the women group knowledge on construction and material we aim to begin material tests and prototypes in 2024.
THE HADITHI LAB: The womens group is predominantly over the age of 50, the story lab will explore various tools of knowledge transfer and advancing advocacy and policy through storytelling, currently underway. The Hadithi lab will host the WCK podcast, an upcoming documentary and voice recordings of interviews with women in our collective.
What women do…
What women can do…
What women have done …
What women would like to do …
What women don’t want to do …
THE ECO-VILLAGE HADITHI LAB
– Hadithi as a planning tool.
– Hadithi as a tool for advocacy.
– Hadithi as a fundraising tool.
– Hadithi as creative practice.
– Hadithi for filling historical gaps.
– Hadithi for Archival work.
– Hadithi as intergenerational knowledge transfer.
– Hadithi as healing and care.
(Hadithi- story)
1. Mambo ya zamani (Memory mapping)– An understanding of the spaces they’ve been in, the spaces and
places they have lost, draws to a mental and emotional understanding of their connection to land, space and
belonging.
2. Mambo kwenye fikira (Mind mapping) – An understanding of what they would prefer ,what land justice
looks like to them, a call to imagination of better considering sometimes difficult pasts.
3. Mambo ya kila siku (Activity mapping) – An understanding of their lived realities and day-to-day activities
related to land and home.
4. Mambo ya kijamii na ujamii (Community and familial mapping) – An understanding of their current and
past relations to other people and how land connects them.
5. Mambo ya Kijiji, jiji na mji (Urban mapping)– An understanding of how their activities connect to larger
urban systems, an example is the women who grow vegetables in their small gardens and sell locally.