July 27th: This month, community members from the Ugandan Slum Dwellers Federation conducted an international exchange to Tanzania. The exchange was organized to promote skill development in low-cost house construction.
The training was organized by the National Housing and Building Research Unit of Tanzania and the Tanzanian Slum Dwellers Federation. Participants came from across the East Africa region to learn how to construct houses using soil compressed interlocking bricks and roofing tiles. At the end of the training, slum dweller federation members received a certificate in the techniques.
The houses were constructed as part of the Tanzanian Slum Dwellers Federation Chamazi Community Housing Scheme. The training will be a tremendous asset to the Ugandan Federation which plans to start construction of its own low-cost housing development in the coming months.
Mbale federation member, Sarah Kiyimba (pictured above right) was one of the team sent to engage in the learning-by-doing exercise and is now certified in the construction methods described. Sarah and the other Ugandan participants will now share their knowledge and experience with others in Uganda and no doubt play a leading role in the Federation’s construction projects going forward.
