Improving life in slums from the inside | Oliver Von Malm | TEDxFHKufstein

When I was a student of architecture

I had the chance to work in some
of the largest architecture offices

around the world.

I was part of the design team - working on
buildings like this one in Saudi Arabia.

I spent five months working
in Beijing on this particular building.

I had the chance to work with some of the
best architects in their field

and it was a great time.

I learned a lot of skills. I learned how
to deal with these large-scale projects.

But then there was a point where I felt:

”Well it kind of still doesn't feel
like this is what I want to do

by the end of the day.

So at some point I decided
I'm gonna leave from Beijing

and I'm gonna go travel.

This is where I arrived.

So, I was backpacking
through Kenya and Tanzania.

And --in the end
I was stranded in Nairobi

because I was out of cash.

I couldn't really do much.

So I was sitting there in the hostel
and I asked:

"What can you do in Nairobi
if you don't have any cash?"

And the hostel lady proposed
I could go on a slum tour.

I could go and visit Kibera slum which is
one of the largest slums in the world.

And basically the deal was:

A guy from the slum would come,
pick me up, show me around

and get five euros for that.
So I agreed.

And I went with this man
[who] we see in that picture.

And these were my first impressions
[that] I had of Kibera.

So, many things I had on my
mind were absolutely true.

There was rubbish everywhere,
there was obvious poverty,

there were sick people.
The smell was overwhelming.

And that was quite..
quite a strong thing

experiencing that for the first time.

But I got along quite well with my guide.

We were the same age.

And we ended up talking a lot.

So I decided to just come back
by myself the next day.

And looking at it a bit closer I found

there is also a lot of good things
in that area.

There is smiling, there is happiness,
there is music playing,

there [are] people dancing, celebrating.

And I could feel there's life
here in that place.

And well...

What my teacher;-- Ah, Sorry.
My guide was actually a teacher.

He had started a school for children,

who couldn't afford going to public school
because it's not free in Kenya.

So, he was teaching there
without getting any salary.

And [he was] even trying to provide food
for the kids in the schools

from his own money, which he made
from side jobs like a tour guide.

And I got invited to teach a bit
in these schools.

I was teaching a bit of mathematics,
geometry of course, ...

and we made a volleyball net.
And we got to know each other quite well.

And I was really impressed
that these people who had nothing

really wanted to do something
to change the future of their kids.

So, I had to leave but I told them:

Well maybe, there is some way
I can help you once I'm back home.

So, I took my flight and I was sitting
there on a stopover in Amsterdam.

And I was asking myself:
Are you really gonna do it?

Because, if you do it,
it might mean a lifelong commitment.

And what I said was:
Sure, of course you're gonna do it.

And it didn't feel bad at all.

This is from my notebook
which I had on the travels.

I right away had my first to-do list;
a few organizational things.

And most important probably was that
I somehow had to collect that cash.

And the very most important point,
number five: Don't panic.

Well, so I had to become a bit innovative
for point four: Collecting that cash.

I was still a student and most people
I knew were students.

And the only thing students
always have money for is beer.

So I organized these parties
where I was selling drinks

and with that profit I was able
to start supporting these two schools.

So I started sending over
the first donations

and I was able to get
some minimum salary for the teachers

and to provide a bit of help
for the food for the kids.

And what I got back was like joy.
That was just incredibly motivating.

You know, these kids get super excited
about new school books.

You know ... I mean I wasn't that excited
about a new school book.

Yeah, but they know it's
like a privilege. Yeah.

And when you see that
it really keeps you going.

It's a very motivating thing, yeah. So you
get much more out of it -personally.

And so, I continued and now I have
[the] help of friends,

I'm partnering with other NGOs.

And now we managed
to raise there two schools.

We have been supporting kids
- from an initial number of 80 kids

to more than 600 kids today
- within the last six years.

So, today we still care about getting them
breakfast and lunch in school.

We can build additional classrooms
- bit-by-bit expand the school.

And we can even provide
a bit of medical care.

This is one of the schools.

And it seems like people like it.

And it's good at that point.
The only thing is ...

now it is way too small.

And if you look closer,
there's other things.

Well first of all, down there you see
two classes combined in one room,

which is not ideal for teaching.

Up there you see the inner courtyard
which for a lot of kids --

It's just not enough [room] to play.

The toilets are unhygenic
and insufficient.

And most problematic is the heat.

So, we got like up to 50 degrees Celsius
in these classrooms.

And yeah

So, the teachers asked me:
"Oliver aren't you an architect, right?

Can you help us build a second storey
or a new school building for us?"

And I was really happy
that they asked me that,

because I felt
for the first time after four years

I could really help with what I've
learned with my profession.

And I took this question
to be my architectural master thesis.

And I designed a new school building
for them.

On the same plot, two storeys high,

with a bit of a bigger courtyard.

And I wanted it to be
an inspirational place for the kids,

because it's from primary
to upper primary.

It's very important years for children
to be at an inspirational environment.

And I said, only because it
has to be cheap,

it doesn't have to be
only practical or ugly, you know.

And maybe through my thinking
I can make it as cheap as a normal school.

Just by dealing - by using my technology,
my thoughts and I'm gonna tell you how.

I was looking at the way
they were currently building in Kibera.

So basically what they do is
they put up a wooden scaffolding

and then they use some wet mud

and with the bare hands
they put it inside that scaffolding.

And after that they would apply a layer
-like one inch- of plaster on the outside,

which results in a wall
like the one you see underneath.

It's basically a good concept

because it comes from the vernacular way
of building there.

So it's a solid thick wall
using the local material

but it's not really what people want.
They don't. --

They want it to be a very straight wall.
It looks like a poor man's house to them.

And also it collapses every now and then
after the rainfalls.

There's two. Twice per year
heavy rainfalls in Kenya.

And then they have to fix it
like that yellow wall we saw before.

It just collapsed and we had to
completely rebuild it.

And yeah, so I thought.

Still, I want to stick to that method
as close as possible.

So I thought why not reverse the method.

Built the plaster first and then
fill it with earth afterwards.

So I had the idea of making
these prefabricated concrete bricks.

[About] that size, hollow elements
that can be filled with earth.

And of course it had to be as practical,
as free to design

in the slum, for the people,
as they always do.

So, if you think of Kibera,
you can easily imagine

a slum is not like Manhattan,
it's not a rectangular grid.

So, you need to be completely flexible
in angles and plant.

So these elements can do that.
They can be arranged in a modular way.

You can freely expand,
shorten, make openings.

And you don't need any mortar.
You can just flick it together.

Clearly I didn't want to
only assume it's a good idea

or that people like it maybe.

So there you see me discussing
for example with Mr. Olowh.

He has more than 40 years experience
in construction in Kibera.

And he helped me a lot actually.

To say okay, well, this is a good size
for our people to carry it.

For the elements we have this kind of
concrete, this kind of concrete mixture.

And yeah, we both came to the conclusion
that this really can work there.

And people will be happy
to have that technology.