KWIECO Shelter House – Description from Hollmén Reuter Sandman Architects.
Kilimanjaro Women Information Exchange and Consultancy Organization (KWIECO) was founded in 1987. It provides advice on legal, health, social and economic issues to women. Women in Kilimanjaro are highly vulnerable to violations of their rights to life, liberty and security. Violence against women is permitted by social and cultural attitudes; the law has failed to provide adequate safeguards against violence, nor has it been able to promote attitudes conducive to women’s enjoyment of their fundamental rights.
KWIECO has outlined a project to develop the concept of a Shelter House. Together with Ukumbi NGO, KWIECO introduced the project to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, and was awarded funds for setting up the necessary operations and infrastructure for the first phase. The first phase of the project was finished in May 2015. Ukumbi NGO is doing fundraising for the second phase for the moment.
The building locate a shelter unit for 20 women with children at a time and office space for the organization.
The architecture of the Shelter House respects local culture and spatial hierarchy. Local materials, renewable energies, local manpower and know-how are used, as well as participatory planning to ensure that users have a sense of mental ownership in the shelter.
