St. Jerome\u2019s Centre<\/strong>, a sanctuary for disadvantaged and displaced children on the outskirts of Nakuru, Kenya, isn\u2019t your ordinary structure. It has plenty of natural light and, in a departure from dormitory style which is the norm with other orphanages, there are quiet nooks and crannies for study, reading or just plain relaxing.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unique for another reason too. St. Jerome\u2019s is a community creation built by local people using local materials. St. Jerome\u2019s\u00a0 is one of nine global initiatives jump-started by Orkidstudio<\/strong>, a UK- based charity founded in 2008 by James Mitchell, a lecturer in humanitarian design at the Mackintosh School of Architecture, Glasgow School of Art.<\/p>\n

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Exterior View\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Interior View<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Dormitory Interiors<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Study Space<\/strong><\/p>\n

Orkidstudio focuses on process rather than the final product. It believes the art of creation can inspire and foster pride among peoples regardless of race, nationality or circumstance and that sharing skills and knowledge, on-site, empowers them and thereby affects social change. The organization is funded by a consortium of institutions and corporate patrons.<\/p>\n

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UK students helping to fill earthbags<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Volunteers cutting cores\u00a0that are used as cladding<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel happy when we\u2019re working with the men, something that has never happened in Kenya,\u201d says Hellen Nyambura Kamau, a Nakuru local who helped build the Centre. Hellen and her Kikuyu brethren filled simple grain bags with local soil- it has a 20% clay content \u2013 and tamped it down to form earthbags the size of stones. Normally, stones would be used as a foundation but bags are lighter and easier to handle. Placed at ground level, they form the building\u2019s structural foundation. Placed between studs and covered in plaster, they can also form walls.<\/p>\n

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Local crew member filling earthbags<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Building a wall of earthbags<\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition, earthbags help regulate the building\u2019s interior temperature by absorbing the heat of the daytime sun and releasing it at night. I would like to make more earthbags, says the would-be entrepreneur emboldened by her on-site experience. For more of Hellen\u2019s story, watch the video below.<\/p>\n