James Archer invention
Arch. James Howard Archer was born in
1937 in Nairobi. He graduated the Oxford School of Architecture in
1960. He is credited with the architecture of many buildings in
Kenya, notably Nation Centre and Lonhro Towers. However, his passion
to make Kenya’s slum dwellers benefit from the piling mass of
rubbish in their neighbourhood is outstanding.
Archer came up with a ground-breaking
invention; popularly known as Jiko ya Jamii (Swahili for community
cooker). The cooker which is strategically placed in Kibera’s Laini
Saba has alleviated the problems of the people in Kibera. From
sellers of perishable foods, mothers preparing meals to one having a
hot shower before work, the cooker has benefited the people.
The cooker is fuelled by the trash
collected in Africa’s second largest urban slum (Kibera). The
garbage is then burnt at over 800-degrees thus maintaining the
cleanness of the environmental. The cooker has caught the attention
of international bodies such as United Nations Development Programme
and United Nations Environmental programme, as well as from NGOs.
In 2008 the community cooker did win a
prize in the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona. Kenya is
seeking alternatives to charcoal and wood currently used in many
Kenyan homes and the cooker is a step towards realisation of an
energy sufficient nation.
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