The members of New Nairobi Dam Community have been working together with the community to develop Kibera since we were founded in 2006. Our site is located close to the Nairobi Dam and the river that runs through Kibera. Due to flooding during the rainy seasons, the site was swampy and impassable on foot. It was deemed un-buildable by residents and therefore used as a dumping ground. The site was
an isolated, crime-ridden space that posed a large safety concern for residents. Our first act to turn this unusable space to a productive public space was a general cleanup of the site, where community members, both adult and children, removed trash. In 2007 we partnered with KDI (Kounkuey Design Initiative), to instal a simple, stone and wire-mesh gabion system- to create flood control and build a simple wood and concrete bridge to withstand a 100-year flood. With the cleaning of the site and flood control in place, NNDC in partnership with KDI constructed a shade pavilion to serve as a flexible space for the community. The pavilion can accommodate more than 200 residents. Operable tin panels open and close to regulate air and light, and are used as a drying rack for harvested water hyacinth. The roof of the pavilion funnels rainwater into two 10,000-liter tanks. The water is then sold by NNDC. Since its construction, both a school and a church have requested the use of the pavilion for their activities and now rent the space from NNDC. Close to the shade pavilion a small office and a park with benches, chess tables and a play structure made entirely from recycled materials was constructed. The office structure was constructed from locally sourced materials to house NNDC´s community operations. Next to the office a small urban farm where NNDC grow vegetables was built. Each of our enterprises at the site contributes a percentage of their profits to a site maintenance fund. The small urban farm is used for group members to grow and wholesale vegetables to local kiosk operators. In this same space a business called "Grow Kenya" produces compost from collected vegetable waste from kiosks around Kibera that is in turn packaged and sold to residents. A third group, "Kiki Weavers," is a women's weaving cooperative that harvests water hyacinth, an invasive w**d choking the nearby Nairobi dam, to create, sell and export eco-friendly baskets and crafts.
