We have just been introduced to EdKenya through the Chairman of Harambee Schools Kenya who has just set it up. It is an online community for NGOs involved in Kenyan education. It has only just started and is just getting going, but it's free to join and looks great!
It will be such a valuable tool when looking at planning schools, networking with those who have worked on educational projects previously and to share like experiences.
If you are involved with a school project or with school policy and education in Kenya make sure you sign up.
We were blown away by the Thuthuka School garden in Tembisa Township near Johannesburg as seen last week on Around the World in 80 Gardens. After viewing some stunning botanical gardens in Cape Town and a beautiful and opulent garden and home in Parktown, Johannesburg - the Thuthuka School garden brought tears to my eyes! The students work in the garden of their school to grow edible herbs and flowers, vegetables and trees. The children are so happy and delighted to have the space and resources to be able to beautify their school and you can feel their enthusiasm and passion when they show you around...
There's not much information around about how they started the garden or how they have made it so beautiful- as far as I can google they have had support from Food and Trees for Africa - a South African based organisation that embrace best practices in sustainable environmental activities that empower poor communities while also playing an important role in reducing carbon emissions- truly inspiring!
The continuing story of Gemma and The School of St Jude is being aired on Australian Story this Monday, June 8th. You can watch a preview of the half hour story here.
If you are unaware of the work of Gemma Sisia, Gemma opened what once was a small school in Northern Tanzania with the help of her friends, family and her local Rotary Club. It started with a handful of students and is now thriving with 1151 students, 130 teachers and 200 staff. Read more about Gemma and this amazing success story which is The School of St Jude by visiting the website.
We love sharing great organisations with you all and here is a fab one. Kickstart is a not for profit organisation that develops and markets new technologies in Africa. The low-cost technologies are bought by local entrepreneurs to create profitable small scale businesses.
We visited their offices when were in Kisumu to see how their MoneyMaker irrigation pumps worked. As you can see we had to give it a test run!
Over 60 000 people in Kenya, Tanzania and Mali are running profitable businesses using these pumps. This is a great video which features co-founder Martin Fisher, the Kickstart team and the MoneyMaker pump in action.
Another great product that we were looking into was the stabilised soil block press. Affordable shelter will always be in demand and this press provides a solution. There are plenty of other technologies to check out on the website such as cooking oil technologies and lots more.
bricks + cartwheels is an Australian based non government organisation that
works to provide an opportunity for people and communities to directly influence their own built environment.
As architects we seek to act as
facilitators to empower and engage communities not normally served by good design.
We believe in the potential for young designers to play a critical role in the built environment and the improvement of peoples’ lives.
bricks + cartwheels is currently working with the community of Katolo, Kenya to implement the design and construction of a new secondary school for girls.
We have just been introduced to EdKenya through the Chairman of Harambee Schools Kenya who has just set it up. It is an online community for NGOs involved in Kenyan education. It has only just started and is just getting going, but it's free to join and looks great! 
