Community Centre, Monduli, Arusha, Tanzania

3°24'54.7"S 36°12'41.7"E

2021

Project Fuel x Windows to Vernacular

The Maasai community makes up for a large portion of the population in the Arusha district of Tanzania. Moving into a sedentary lifestyle, the Maasai women walked long distances to bring back potable water. A project envisioned by Deepak Ramola along with the team at Project Fuel and Aravani Art Project and the local community of Losimingori village in Monduli, Arusha. After listening and learning from the people from the community a need design and realise a space that provides a multi-functional space for community-driven initiatives and a place to harvest rainwater, reducing the load on the women of the community.

The design and build is a participatory effort of the community and local bodies to help us understand the intended use of the centre. Active involvement of the community elders to ensure their needs were addressed, and modifications were made. Providing a space for people to come together, whether it's the women of the community getting together periodically, kids using it as a place to learn or a place where the community can set up shop for the visiting tourists.

The design of the project takes its form from the planning of the traditional dwellings in the region. Traditional dwellings pivot along with a central space for the livestock, similarly the courtyard acts a central pivot around which the roofed spaces are placed. Designed as two major blocks, the extended lopsided roof allows for natural flow through the building and ample surface area to collect rainwater. Openings are used to lighten the mass and allow natural light to improve the space quality. The spaces are designed to be flexible to allow and accommodate multiple kinds of activities throughout the day. 

Modular sizes, simplicity and involvement of the community in the design and build process helped realise the process successfully and smoothly. The structure will eventually be painted under an initiative of Project Fuel called 'The Wise Wall Project' where the wisdom of the members of the community shall be translated into art forms, and painted by volunteers and the community members themselves.