Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The St. Catherine vocational development project works
locally in Muhanga, a rural area in south-western Uganda,
and strives toward building and facilitating a resource
centre that will educate, inform and engage the local
community. Since 2012 the plans for a resource centre
has taken form in co-operation with ASF Sweden. With
the support of the ASF design team and a minor field
study grant from SIDA we spent two months in Muhanga
in September-November 2014, where we explored
methods of involving children in the planning process.
By performing a series of workshops and evaluating the
process we strived towards an empowering, pluralistic
and inclusive participation in the design process of the
resource centre.
With a point of departure in the notion of a children’s
perspective and with methods based on PRA practice,
several workshops were performed together with
8-12 year olds and their teachers. In addition to the
workshops observation and inventorial work on social
and ecological factors were carried out. This work was
aiming towards collecting a vast background material to
create a sustainable landscape architectural design for the
outdoors space of the resource centre together with and
for the children.
In the course of the study we have stumbled upon and
have had to confront issues such as hierarchical structures
and landscape and childhood perspectives that all affected
the participatory process and the final design concept.
Facing unforeseen obstacles critical reflexiveness,
sensitivity and flexibility became important assets. We
hope that our attempts and the lessons we have learnt can
help future facilitators in making informed choices.