The Architecture of the Community Involvement Process

Sani Bona (hello) from South Africa!
2 hour trip yesterday to a community called Kranskop...north of Central Durban. Majority of the community is Zulu and we visited a high school in which Project build is constructing a new classroom. This was a really fun session for me to try out my community workshop tool.....legos....yes, the legos that you played with as a child. I used them with the students and it proved to be a great way to get the students to talk freely about their school and their community. I started off asking questions about how they felt about their school and about the main hospital in their community. There is a huge connection between health, education and community. Schools are used by hospitals and health centers as a way to reach the community. An NGO that works through the hospital often visits the school to provide HIV testing, awareness workshops, and training in health based fields. The school is also used by the community for church services, sports events, and community mtgs. After leaving the school I am left with the question....how do you combine the two.....create a place for health and education? Is there a need for a hybrid?.........i'll post fotos later....legos will luv it:)


Today I did a similar workshop with various stakeholders for a "Project Build" project. Community organizers, construction staff, architects and admin staff were involved in the meeting. I asked a series of questions that dealt with how the different stakeholders work together to help the community and to help each other build a project. In the end they expressed that the workshop was good for them to better understand their working relationships, and the challenges that they each face on a daily basis. A major challenge that seemed to come up was communication and funding. Communication between community members, organizers and builders. We strategized on different ways to improve that connection. ...........using legos was a great way to break the ice and allowed people to be free and open with how they expressed themselves.........it was a lot of fun..... Suzanne (Executive Director) has contacted me several times to express her gratitude for the workshop....apparently the workshop has helped her employees realize the importance of connecting with the communities that they serve........two thumbs up!

I am now at the office of an architect in Durban that uses alot of community workshops in their design process. East Coast Architects - I discovered them on the Architecture for Humanity website. They have done alot of work for Oprah's angel network....I have been told that they LOVE Oprah in South Africa...I wonder why.....back to the point...........East Coast Architects has done some amazing work involving community members in both a transparent design process, and in the building of a facility. They mentioned the importance of ceremonies in African culture and incorporating a ceremony in every part of the building process....brick making, foundation building, mural painting...etc....the more the community is involved the more sustainable the project can become...........so much good stuff.....

tomorrow I visit a AIDS orphanage, and a mtg with the AIDS Foundation.........should be good