minihaus

Images of the Gando Primary School in Burkina Faso, a project by Diébédo Francis Kéré.

Choice quote from the project site:

"All the people involved in the project management were native to the village, and the skills learned here will be applied to further initiatives in the village and elsewhere. The way the community organized itself has set an example for two neighbouring villages, which subsequently built their own schools as a cooperative effort. The local authorities have also recognized the project’s worth: not only have they provided and paid for the teaching staff, but they have also endeavoured to employ the young people trained there in the town’s public projects, using the same techniques."

And an excellent quote by the architect from Urban Dream Management, where I stumbled across the whole thing:

"Don’t give people a readymade house – they won’t take care of it. Give them materials and knowledge how to build – they will build with responsibility and pride, and use their learnt skills to build again when needed."