Matatu

Long description

When I was a boy, I was obsessed with Matatus, I loved the details of how they are painted, the graffities and slogans, the ear-piercing music and the breakneck driving styles and pace.

I build my first toy matatu when I was a boy of 6 years. It helped me oversee that we did not have the money to buy toys, or even food. Today, this passion comes with an awareness of the growing capitalist culture in Kenya, home of some of the biggest secondhand markets in Africa, evidence for a global throwaway culture.

With my project I want to give kids in my neighborhood a different perspective, an alternative to our poverty mentality. In my workshop and courses, I show them how to build a matatu, which is a symbol of our Kenyan culture and pride. They learn to access and use their creativity to make something great from other people’s waste, which is 1) a life skill and 2) a necessity to make our world a more just and environmentally friendly place.

Activities:

Create a safe and healthy environment to offer workshops and regular courses/activities for kids (Furniture, toilets and wash rooms, kitchen etc)

Provide the tools to make the matatus – work benches, cutting devices, manual shredder, injection machine

Tools and materials for the workshops: knifes, scissors, protection gear, paper, pencils for the design

Provide training for the team: safety, first aid, handling of machines

Additional Images