What We Do

Self-help housing with the poorest communities: the Korogocho project, our partners in Kenya, and the projects we have completed.

What we do

Korogocho Self Help Project

The aim of the Commonwealth Housing Trust (CHT) is to provide financial and material assistance for housing projects for people in any of the Commonwealth independent states whose membership is confirmed by the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Our object is to help people in the poorest communities to have decent homes. We try to improve the lives of people currently living in slums and especially to support community-led housing initiatives.

In keeping with the inspiring values of our founder, Clifford Dann, we aim to help people to be part of solving their need for decent housing. At the same time, we do all we can to avoid replacing slums with poor quality dwellings that would become slums in the future.

After completing the Gilgil Project in Kenya we undertook extensive sponsored research in the Nairobi area to identify a possible small-scale housing project to work with and support. We encouraged the development of a self-help group of 25 families living in the Korogocho slum. See the About Us page.

Our approach

  • Community-led: families design, save, and build with us
  • Self-build with training, so skills outlast the project
  • Sustainable, low-maintenance homes with solar power and water harvesting
  • Minimal overheads: we depend entirely on donations, grants and sponsorship
The place

Korogocho

An elevated view over the packed iron-sheet roofs of the Korogocho slum.

Part of the Korogocho slum, where some 200,000 people live in homes like these.

200,000
people in 1.5 square km
30
acres of dumpsite, among Africa’s largest

Korogocho was created in the 1960s, a shanty town on Government land used to relocate Nairobi slum dwellers and set 11.5 km from what was then the city. It has become home to some 200,000 people living in 1.5 square kilometres. It is now right next to Nairobi’s vast municipal dump, Dandora, established in 1977. One of the largest unofficial landfill sites in all Africa, it now spreads over thirty acres. Parts of the slum sprawl on to it, even as the dump itself sprawls into the slum.

Many people pick over the dump for a living, for what they can use themselves or to sell, as one MWAMKO member has done in the past.

All the city’s waste comes here: chemical, medical, industrial, agricultural and domestic. As the heap grows, the rubbish is regularly burned, enveloping the slum in toxic black smoke. Some fires arise spontaneously from the gases forming in the waste. All this has profound and documented consequences for health, on top of those the residents already face from overcrowded conditions, lack of clean water and sanitation.

In 2001 the dumping site was declared full and a health hazard for the neighbouring population but it continues to operate as before. A UNEP report showed long ago that the toxic fumes cause a wide variety of consequences for people’s immune, nervous, endocrine and reproductive systems, with more than half the children having lead levels in excess of international norms and with residents suffering a high level of respiratory diseases and cancers.

The area is characterised by overcrowding, by limited access to economic and social opportunities, and by its high levels of unemployment and of crime. Most workers are engaged in the informal economy or self-employed and there is great poverty.

Some of the MWAMKO members were born here, and their children and grandchildren also.

Imagine living under this continuous, poisonous pall of smoke, blotting out the light.

The air in Korogocho is reportedly the most toxic in Nairobi
Gallery

See for yourself

These photos were taken by CHG and are typical of the conditions in which the MWAMKO families live. Lack of basic urban services, high population density, high unemployment and illiteracy have left a large share of Nairobi’s population living in deplorable conditions, not least in the air they breathe.

Korogocho: A view over part of Korogocho with makeshift houses huddled together. Crowding, rubbish, no clean water or sanitation; life is hard.Korogocho The Site: This is the new site showing the fencing built by the members of MWAMKO. With your help we can turn these two acres of land into a thriving community.The Site Trainee: One of the building trainees at work.Trainee Street life, Korogocho: About 200,000 people live within 1.5 sq km, next to and sometimes sprawling over Nairobi’s vast rubbish dump. No clean water supply, no sanitation, just great poverty.Street life, Korogocho A typical household: Households in Korogocho don’t have access to clean water at home. It has to be bought and is quite expensive. These heavy containers are carried home by children or by women. These makeshift structures are homes.A typical household Water pipes: Water pipes criss-cross the slum but not to homes. Here a boy gets water from a leak, his container partly in the litter and contaminated water in the drain.Water pipes Drains: Two little girls by a drain filled with rubbish. It’s not clear whether they are playing or perhaps scavenging, as many people do for a living on the municipal dump.Drains Main street: A busy main street and lots of informal stalls, sheltered from the sun by umbrellas. There are several hawkers and street sellers among our families: an informal economy and a precarious income.Main street A darkened sky: Imagine living under this continuous, poisonous pall of smoke blotting out the light.A darkened sky Fires are commonplace: Fires frequently burn on the dump, yet people go about everyday activities under the toxic, choking, black smoke. The air in Korogocho is reportedly the most toxic in Nairobi.Fires are commonplace Training programme: One of our aims is to train some of our young people to help with self-build. Here are some of them, learning masonry and form work, thanks to a grant from UN-Habitat and local practical support. They have now found work.Training programme No hot water: Despite the difficulties, people work hard to keep clean, using only cold water (not drinkable) for personal washing and clothes, brought from communal standpipes.No hot water

If you would like to play a part in building their new lives you can find out how to donate here. You may also like to see the documentary Choking City, shown on Kenya’s Citizen TV, which includes scenes of life in Korogocho. Search for it on YouTube

Our partner in Kenya

Commonwealth Housing Group Kenya (CHG)

After deciding to work with the MWAMKO families in their pursuit of new homes and better lives, CHT in the UK began to work with a partner group in Kenya dedicated to the same goal. This new informal group acted as liaison between MWAMKO and CHT and carried out decisions of the CHT Trustees after discussions between all parties.

As the project grew, the group was formally registered in Kenya as a non-profit Community-Based Organisation, the Commonwealth Housing Mutual Help Group, known as CHG. This is now a flourishing independent organisation, thanks to a dedicated and successful team of highly qualified Board members. All Board members are volunteers and have extensive relevant professional experience.

Two current CHG Board members worked closely with CHT founder Clifford Dann from the earliest days of the project, as did a third, now back in the UK and currently a CHT Trustee. The spirit of the project has been maintained and developed, while the work and responsibilities of CHG have expanded exponentially.

CHG is now the executive arm of the project in Kenya, supported by the Commonwealth Housing Trust in the UK. Members of the CHG/CHT Liaison Sub-committee have regular online meetings and maintain contact about all aspects of the project, reporting to the CHG Board or CHT Trustees respectively.

Many other volunteers also give their time and expertise to CHG, from the newly qualified through to established, sometimes retired, professionals. The young volunteers include two graduate engineers from the Technical University of Kenya, a media and communications intern and an IT intern, and others are gaining valuable work experience against a background of high unemployment in Kenya.

CHG maintains a close relationship with the MWAMKO families, with MWAMKO representation on the CHG Board, the CHG Project Management team and the Housing Allocation Sub-committee.

CHG has been successful in gaining local support, both financially and in kind, through valuable local partnerships. These successes enabled the first phase of works, installing the water and sewerage infrastructure. However, the level of funds that can be raised locally is not adequate to meet the overall costs of the project.

Logo of the Commonwealth Housing Mutual Help Group: a house held in two hands above the words Commonwealth Housing.

Project planning & management

CHG has developed detailed financial and procurement policies as well as internal and external policies on anti-terrorism and money laundering, all geared towards strengthening accountability.

  • A Site Engineer and an RICS-qualified Quantity Surveyor are in place, both of whom worked with Clifford Dann on the Gilgil project. A builder and a pro bono architect are also on the team
  • The Quantity Surveyor, working pro bono, leads on construction contracts, valuations and financial management of the contract
  • CHG’s Project Management Committee ensures transparency and accountability in procurement and financial policy. It is chaired by CHG Treasurer Peter Simkin, with CHG Chairman Harrison Kwach, CHT Trustee Bernadette Gitari and the technical team
  • The Housing Allocation Committee guarantees a fair and transparent process, with two MWAMKO representatives, two CHG Board members and CHT Trustee Bernadette Gitari
CHG team members and MWAMKO builders in safety vests gathered around a wheelbarrow on site.
Progress

Milestones achieved so far

The original vision was never limited to providing new homes. It was and is also to enable new, better lives with more secure livelihoods. A large element of self-build has always been part of this vision, demanding an educational component to help people improve employment opportunities.

Achieved

  • 2 acres of land bought, secure title registered, with funds from CHT
  • Land fenced by MWAMKO members
  • Based on Clifford Dann’s original designs, the site layout and housing design were developed by local architects, pro bono, to criteria discussed with MWAMKO members and further developed with CHG (Kenya) and CHT
  • Planning permission granted
  • Layout to allow small plots for families to grow food or to provide some income, for example by keeping chickens
  • Plans made for water harvesting, solar panels and other green and sustainability measures
  • Young people trained in building skills, both to help with self-build and for their future livelihoods
  • Water supply and sewerage infrastructure installed
  • Construction began in July 2020, fully compliant with Kenya building and Covid-19 protocols
  • Foundations of the first five houses completed on 3 September; walling for the first house reached gable level in late October

The next steps

  • Finalisation of tenancy agreements for the MWAMKO families
  • Self-build programme details to be agreed with the 25 member subscribers of MWAMKO
  • Continuing research with consultants on integrating the most appropriate green and sustainable options into each stage of the building programme: materials, water and waste management, solar energy, internal road surfaces, maintenance and the design of garden plots
  • Contractor sponsor support to be secured
  • Roofing and finishing the first house, then completing the other four foundations
At their June 2020 meeting CHT Trustees were delighted to vote to donate the money to enable the foundations to be built for the first five dwellings. This very tangible step was a real success after the loss of Clifford Dann, whose vision it was, rewarding the great patience shown by the MWAMKO families despite the difficulties of the Covid pandemic.
You can support their next milestones
What does the project look like?

The site and the plan

The site

Kamulu is on the outskirts of Nairobi and the site was chosen by CHG, MWAMKO and CHT together. Since the site was bought the area has seen great expansion of building and of public transport. There will be work for our builders once the project is over. There are now many schools, shops, churches and amenities. When we first saw it there were a few goats, some cattle, two churches, a school and very few houses.

The plan

Key elements in the architect’s brief were durability and sustainability, as well as low running and maintenance costs. Each house has a solid foundation and incorporates features such as solar panels, rain and groundwater harvesting and a “shamba”, a garden where the family can grow food. The best green solutions are implemented wherever possible, with ongoing discussion with local experts as the work proceeds. These criteria apply to the whole site, including the design of the drainage and sewerage systems, the fencing of the site and of the individual plots and the internal road paving.

Satellite map of Nairobi showing Korogocho and the new site at Kamulu.

Location map: the Korogocho slum and the new site at Kamulu.

A completed stone house with a red roof, seen from the rear and left.
Architect’s plan of the subdivided site layout with numbered plots.
Site plan with numbered house plots, the first row highlighted.

The first house is on Plot 8, followed by Plots 7–4. Houses are built from number 8 down to number 1 because of the lie of the land, then from 16 down to 9.

Completed projects

What we have already built

The first project undertaken by the Commonwealth Housing Trust, very soon after being established, was to fund and build nine houses in Sri Lanka for people displaced by the tsunami in 2004. Turning to a different Commonwealth country on another continent, we then built accommodation for disabled children so that they could attend and board at a primary school in Gilgil, Kenya.

One of the nine houses built in Sri Lanka: a small single-storey home with a pink painted porch.

Sri Lanka

Nine new homes in Sri Lanka

The tsunami which overwhelmed Sri Lanka on Boxing Day in 2004 led to an estimated 75,000 people losing their homes. CHT was a new charity and so not eligible to join the UK Disasters Emergency Committee intervention. Undeterred, CHT decided to sponsor building new homes for some of the poorest people affected by the disaster, working closely with the Surveyors’ Institute of Sri Lanka.

Local property professionals were invited to design and build nine houses without delay. This was a ‘hands on’ scheme, organised and supervised by professional surveyors who volunteered their services. The project was funded by CHT and 100% of all funds raised was used directly for the construction works. The finished houses were allocated to applicants suggested by Sri Lankan contacts, with the applications scrutinised and approved by CHT.

Children sitting together on the grass in front of the Gilgil Township hostel building.

Gilgil, Kenya

Gilgil Township Hostel

Gilgil is a small township 65 miles north-west of Nairobi. It is a mountainous area and children often have to walk long distances to attend school. There are 900 pupils at Gilgil Township primary school, with a separate teaching unit for children with special needs.

It was decided to use our construction, network-building and fund-raising expertise to build a boarding hostel for them within the school grounds, aware that those with disability may not be able to walk, and if they can they are still vulnerable. Girls in particular run the risk of abuse and rape. The design, accommodating 32 youngsters, allows for future extension should the need arise. The children are collected by their families for home life at weekends and school holidays.

Fund the next stage of building

You can support the work of the MWAMKO families by donating to buy the materials needed to reach their next milestones.

Donate now