NEW 1000 HOUSE KENYA PROJECT

Urban poor contribute savings for micro financing of construction using Parry materials.

In the late 1980's Parry Roofing technology achieved a major advance following the decision by the architects and developers of the major housing development at Koma Rock to the East of Nairobi to specify frc Pantiles for the roofs. Over a million tiles were produced by a cluster of small workshops located around the housing site using Parry Multivibe vibrating tables and moulds.

JPA Director, Nick Evans drew up a unique set of supervision and quality control procedures enabling the formal sector contractors to use, with confidence, the output of informally-organised production teams. Notable among theses was 'Humama', a women's group, drawn from one of Kenya's most disadvantaged communities, the sprawling slum settlement of Mathari Valley. Working at the time for the African Housing Fund, the person who conceived the vision how this project could create livelihoods for dozens of Nairobi's poorest citizens, was a Swedish architect, Ms Ingrid Munro. The Munro's (Ingrid's husband Bob is a UN official) had already changed the aspirations and standing of many of the male slum children organising a highly successful football league. Crowds of supporters attending the games, patronised the vendors' kiosks and barrows selling food, drink and other basic consumer products. Trading provides livelihoods for many of the urban poor in Africa and well-attended football game is a great economic stimulus.

The Koma Rock Estate now comprises almost 3000 houses and eighteen years after the launch of the original project forms just one part of Nairobi's expanding suburbia. The area is highly regarded and the value of the houses has risen, creating (as originally intended) an appropriate asset for mortgage finance - the foundation of rising prosperity for middle income households.

Koma Rock Estate : Examples of the houses built in the late 1980s using Parry roofing tiles.

As a result of a spontaneous movement from among the 'street communities' which Ingrid Munro had helped to provide livelihoods, a new trust has been formed 'Jamiibora'(better families) Why should the poor not also benefit from the concepts of micro-finance, land tenure and rising asset values from construction of their houses out of permanent materials - especially if the permanent materials are produced with their own labour? The Trust has now established a mechanism by which small street traders can accumulate savings and negotiate short-term loans. It already has 40 branch offices! With the enthusiastic support of some leading figures in Kenya's business community and help from a Scandinavian ngo, work has now begun constructing a new housing settlement at Kaputei, 40km from Nairobi. The project to produce the building materials began by borrowing some of the 18 year old machines from the original Humama workshop, which has remained in operation providing roofing tiles and blocks for renewal and extensions. Subsequently it was decided that much more capacity was needed, and 5 new Parry Super Roman Tile plants have been ordered and commissioned together with equipment to produce hollow concrete blocks for the walls. JPA Chairman John Parry visited the project site in early May. He saw that despite unseasonably heavy rain which waterlogged the site and temporarily severed the road link, production of tiles and blocks was in full swing with many familiar faces hard at work in the remarkable new project.

Jamiibora Project Director, Ingrid Munro with John Parry	New Site workshop at Kaputei
Women tilemakers producing Super Roman Tiles	Road to the site temporarily waterlogged

back to Previous News