Postmen

The designer outfits from the Dutch mail company must be very strong and warm as they prove very popular amongst the Zambian man.

girlpower

So many strong women: cooking, gardening and tailoring these women work hard and than I haven't mention yet what they can carry over such a long distances.

residents development committee

All the informal settlements have a Residents Development Committee (RDC). The RDC is the eyes and hands of the council in this area. They keep up with all new structures, status of roads, waste, water, but also allocation of new plots what makes their work interesting and responsible! With the RDC of Kamunza we were checking the settlement boundaries and instructed them to respect the neighboring land owners. All their input will also be used for the upgrading of this area that will (hopefully) commence soon. Pictures are taken by kennedy our driver

living together in the community

In the peri urban areas most of the households can not afford a connection to the waterline. In this settlement a "waterbar" is constructed on a central spot were residents can buy water per liter. The community pre school is in the community shelter and uses chalk on the wall.

container projects

They are a permanent feature of the modern city. In Macha they are refurbished into computerrooms and serve to link rural communities to the internet http://link.net.zm/ In the Netherlands the container projects are abound in the creative industry examples from an office at NDSM and F.A.S.T. (Free Architecture Surf Terrain), made by Refunc. The 24 containers of the Puma store currently sail around the world.

Biofuel powered Zambia

6000 Jatropha trees are recently planted in Macha covering a field of 500 ha. As the price of diesel is very high in Zambia this might become a great alternative.

Macha works

Macha is one of the 5 chiefdoms in Choma district. We visited the area and saw a lot of inspiring projects done in a rural area where ICT is the leitmotif. It is difficult to comprehend all the projects; schools and training centres, housing, biofuel, airport, eco tourism, craftshop, medical research and clinics, radio&tv station, cafe, bank and e learning pianolessons! http://www.machaworks.org/

when I grow older, I will be stronger

When I grow older, I will play football for the Netherlands! with the boys and some other friends we watched the World Cup Final.

challenge of slums

My homework for today: reading the Challenge of Slums, a analysis of slums worldwide made by UN habitat. It shows the problems, prospects, casestudies, numbers, factors of slums and their social, spatial and economic characteristics and dynamics. The report argues that the number of slum dwellers is growing and will continue to increase unless there is serious and concerted action by all relevant stakeholders. On www.unhabitat.org all reports can de downloaded for free as pdf, it is a very useful database.

waste

The common method of domestic and commercial waste management is burning and burying on the site. This was acceptable in the past, but the situation has changed. There is more waste, with different characteristics. The existing dumping site is not in a satisfactory location and there is no control over the type of waste materials which are dumped. I made the above observations and took photo's, meanwhile an EU bid has been written by my colleague.

trade

The mining town of Kitwe also hosts 1 of the largest markets and university in Zambia. There are numerous small and big businesses in this town.

urban explorer

The new mini busstation and market in Ndola will open shortly a similar development is desirable for Choma. All the buses and vendors are expected to move within the new development that is initiated by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing and Ndola City Council.

urban design forum

I'm preparing an urban design handbook for Choma, what do you think I should do with the colourful kiosks and shops? My colleagueas all agree they should be cleared... I think they should remain, what is your argument?