Showergy Meeting Minutes - 13.08.2011

Meeting Minutes for 13th August, 2011 - Showergy, Nairobi

Attended by: TKC, MC, KK, JH

AGENDA

1. Determine need

2. Determine features to include

3. Determine implementation – strategy and challenges

PEOPLE

Why are people not using the shower? 1. Privacy 2. Money 3. Cold water (heating water using paraffin or charcoal usually here)

Water vendors - from the same tribe (Kisi), get their water from the central government. 11000KSH to install the main pipeline

Surveys with women - most men at work in the industrial area

Types of women asked - 1. Household helpers 2. Unemployed 3. With little kids 4. Operators of bathrooms and toilets

Landowners - Don’t really listen to their tenants, post-pone. They seem to have more of a say in the conditions of the tenants. Oftentimes, they don’t live on the plot, just come around to collect rent at the end of month. Tenants don’t usually have opportunity to speak up, or be heard. They seemed to be more willing to pay more in terms of rent should the plot have decent bathrooms/toilets.

All hands-meeting with the community - is a question, because we need to give more information and more tangible stuff to every stakeholder involved in order to generate maximum impact. May have to be put on hold for the time being until we are more set.

Partnering - who do we want to work with from the community? Amusha Youth Foundation. Description of who youth group is - community driven effrot to first organize football, and then run by the youth in order to do something for their community, some of their members also have other jobs and work elsewhere. More like a club. Ages ranging from 6-18.

Facebook link:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amusha-Youth-Organization/172886317335?sk=info

Translators - paying? yes

Land owners - C.F. to Showergy Stakeholder Survey document dated 28.07.2011

They seem to be very essential to the practical implementation of the project. How do we first find them though?

1. Ask our translators

2. Telephonic interviews

3. Income generation aspects for the landowners to be figured out

Talk to operators of toilets and showers - sometimes they are water vendors as well, sometimes the operators are community workers, sometimes they are youth groups or women groups. Water vending takes place in conjunction with toilets and showers.

Consumers - How much they’re willing to pay? Showering not their top priority, first money goes for food and water, especially for the kids, but any money beyond that would be used for showering. Although it seems like it’s not their top priority.

‘Building our allies’ -

1. Liasoning with people, communities and organizations outside just KJ \

2. Going back to the same people we met earlier, to start gaining their trust, also in the hope that may connect us to other people around

3. Time commitment

4. Capacity building

5. Other NGOs helping us garner more contacts - discussion about Sanergy’s involvement with them as well.

MATERIALS AND DESIGN

Materials - accessible usually, but costs vary a lot and most prices are quite negotiable.

a. Showerheads - mostly accesible, flow rate(?)

b. PVC pipes - called PPR

c. Pumps - can be slightly tricky, 1. China 2. Italy - hand or electrical ? Corresponds with observations in slums that water is hardly available, and that even if the water is there, pumps are not readily accessible. Mostly comparisons to be made as of now. Any other miscellaneous comments/ special fittings needed should also be noted. Specs to be asked/ noted.

Pumps 1. Pretty expensive 2. A major reason for no overhead showers

Soil 1. KJ has blackish, clayish soil that doesn’t drain that well (upto 3 days for the rain to totally evaporate from the soil), a concern for the biosand filter. Seems futuristic at the moment.

The way forward...tests. Maybe it’s too early to do the majority of tests, although some preliminary ones can be done.

1. Soil?

2. Showerhead testing with pressure flow

Design - can be done later at MIT as well, although some research in that area needs to be done. the more important thing right now seems to be that the community’s needs be really understood. It’s really important, at this point, to start

MAINTAINENCE AND RUNNING - WATER issues

Running showers mostly not used – because of 1. Lack of water - can control the amount of water to shower with just a basin 2. Lack of pumping mechanism to bring water to the overhead tank

Urban agriculture - Water is not used in that area for growing anything locally, some poultry

Water uses - Cooking, drinking, washing clothes, bathing - 2 jerry cans on an average per day, on wash-days extra cans ordered

Scarcity of water because of 1. Government rationing of water 2. Collusive behavior of water vendors 3. Cutting of certain water points

MISCELLANEOUS

Why we chose Kwa Jeunga and not Kibera – scope of the project

a. Huge diversity within the slums – some people have access to some bathrooms, some don’t have any access at all

b. Discuss role of men and women in their showering habits

c. Income discrepancy between Kibera and Kwa Jeunga – KJ seems a lot more wealthier (relatively) compared to Kibera, so it seems more plausible that people would be more willing to pay

Price - mostly standard everywhere 5 KSH for cold water, 10KSH for hot water

Heating - also seems to be an issue with most people here - especially in the cold winter season, like right now

Plots - Some had only toilets and not bathrooms, some had bathrooms and not toilets. If a bathroom is present, they would use it most definitely. Usage depends on the status of employment. Also depends on the distance of the bathrooms from their homes. What impacts whether people choose to stay on the plot 1. Facilities 2. Neighbours 3. The nature of their employment (or not)

GOING BACK TO THE AGENDA, we summarize:

1. Determine need – Our first week’s findings demonstrated need, but true need to be determined by talking to more people and more kinds of people in the area. More work in this department needs to be done, but it seems like we’re on the right track!

2. Determine features – connecting to more people here to establish a base and their trust, and genuinely assessing features to be added to the shower. E.g. heating, over-head shower, etc

3. Determine implementation –

a. Strategy – more landowners, operators, organizations and schools,

basic materials testing

b. Challenges – lack of water,

lack of reliable pumps,

social incentives needed to contribute,

lack of space,

unemployment and thus unaffordability within people