Located in a formerly swampy, unsafe area by the Ngong River, KPSP05 boasts a decentralized sanitation facility, flexible community space, laundry pad, and various successful economic initiatives. The highly active Kibera Action Group Organization, which proposed the site, continues to maintain and improve the facility, even experimenting with urban agriculture.
Context
Original conditions at the site
KPSP05 sits a few hundred metres downstream from KPSP03.
The original site straddled a major drainage pathway and a natural spring, making it too wet and swampy for previous development attempts. An unsafe, overgrown space, it opened to a major pedestrian route running along the south side of the settlement.
Process
Community design workshop
Selected through an RFP process, the process to develop KPSP05 required extensive consensus-building, workshops, visioning sessions, asset mapping and prototyping.
Since it was not possible to connect to municipal sewer lines due to the location of the site, we explored alternative, decentralized sanitation solutions through workshops and “toilet tours."
Solution
Selection of toilets
The site comprises a multipurpose structure with movable partitions, providing flexible indoor and outdoor spaces for events and business ventures.
The sanitation block is connected to a septic and wetlands system that filters waste, stabilises the riverbank, and restores surrounding habitats, while the laundry pad is powered by the spring.
Impact
Opening celebration for KPSP05
KPSP05 is a major community hub and continues to generate income thanks to its location at a key river crossing.
An urban agriculture facility was added to the site in 2015, and KAGO is now working with KDI to replace the existing pedestrian bridge, creating a major entryway to Kibera.
