This document discusses a course on designing technologies for liberation that focuses on building biocentres in Kibera, an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. Students in the course will engage in prototyping and other activities to develop technologies and services to support the biocentres.
#12: David, the biocentre manager, showing us usage of the kitchen. This kitchen is located in a pocket OUTSIDE the biocentre. Most kitchens are located in the middle of the toilets, though a few biocentres have built their kitchens as a separate adjacent building
#13: An example of biogas being pipped into nearby house (this is Nicofeli, the biocentre near the main street that gets a huge amount of traffic)
#14: An example of a kitchen that is separate from the toilets. Notice the biogas being pumped in through the back.
#16: Price of charcoal: 40 shillings per bucket. Price of biogas, if successfully produced, should be less than 10 shillings for the equivalent amount of cooking
#21: Corruption. David shows us his books. The numbers did not add up to what he told us verbally (~500 visitors each day). On our last day, we spoke to Umande (Melvin Mora) who told us that they knew about the corruption and that the biocenter managers were pocketing upwards of 1000 shillings per week.
#22: We realized on our last day that the problem was with more than just pricing, it had to do with the product and the experience as a whole. For example, many entrances to biocenters are dirty and difficult to walk through
#25: We were so touched by the sight of the girls school that we decided to donate some rice on our last day
#26: Sitting inside Melvins friends home. This is the furthest back I could stand in the home in order to take the picture. The man is sitting on his bed that he shares with his sister. The room is a square room, ~ 2m by 2m, and it costs him 1600 shillings/mo to rent