2016 ICT4D Conference

The Kibera Town Centre, a clean technology facility in one of the largest slums in the world, is an effort to merge high-quality physical facilities with new information-based design and operational capabilities.

See http://kiberawater.com for the UAV video flyover video.

We have built basic physical components (large building, deep borehole, water treatment, clean water distribution systems (bulk water, piped, and jerry-can), a highly efficient waste water treatment plant, power management systems, high-bandwidth microwave networks, local data caching and streaming infrastucture) and  we combine them to provide high quality basic services: clean drinking water, hand washing, cafe and restaurant, toilets, showers, laundry services, power and computer services. From this, we are working to build human systems of management, governance, rapid adaptation, agility, and response to community needs. We are attempting to bring new capabilities into one of the most entrepreneurial communities in the world, the slum community, and enable innovation in that community.

Our thirty managers, all from Kibera, are constantly refining and creating new ways to build upon this platform in a constantly changing political and economic environment.  We provide business skills training, IT training, credit and savings services, job placement focused on Internet-enabled jobs, educational and library services, and
are developing programs in construction crafts--in partnership with Kiberan organizations, local government, and  Kenyan and international corporations.  We incubate new enterprises that use these capabilities in new ways.

From an ICT4D perspective, we have created a testing platform to integrate new technologies in energy, water treatment, water quality sensors, spatial data acquisition, operational management, and information services. Our challenge is to demonstrate their effectiveness.

Our design incorporates real-time sensing and control of the physical plant, customer and service  quality monitoring through point of sale and proximity capabilities, and a continuous attempt to integrate disparate and conflicting technical and information systems. We are trying to understand the path from Software Defined Networks to Software Defined Buildings, Communities and Cities.

John Gage will describe the successes and failures of the Human Needs Project, and where we stand in creating a community-owned, self-sustaining center to develop a set of capabilities with Kiberan residents and the integral role that ICTs play in their delivery.