Bio-centre in Kinawataka

In this project, we have built a so-called bio-center in the Kinawataka slum in Uganda’s capital Kampala. A bio-centre provides public toilets, showers, clean water and public spaces which are in high demand in the slum. The building furthermore produces biogas which is a cheap and environmentally friendly alternative to burning charcoal for cooking. The bio center was built in collaboration with local partner organizations and is run by a local cooperative.

The project has provided a cleaner and healthier environment in the slum area where the bio-center is located, as access to good toilets reduces the use of hazardous, overcrowded pit latrines and the open sewers that crisscross the neighborhood.

Millions live in slums in Sub-Saharan Africa, with no improvements in sight and often with the threat of forced eviction looming over their heads. The miserable living conditions often result in poor health which is part of what keeps people trapped in poverty.

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 to improve conditions for the urban poor in sub-Saharan Africa.

DEVELOPMENT TARGETS

• To improve health and thereby reduce poverty, by providing access to toilets, showers and clean water.
• To transfer knowledge around slum-adapted bio-centres from Kenya to Uganda by involving Kenya bio-centre experts as consultants.
• To establish a local bio-centre cooperative that can become a dialogue-partner in a potential, subsequent land rights project.
• To build skills and create local jobs during and after construction

The bio centre was inaugurated in Kampala, Uganda, on June 6, 2023. See news about the opening here here.