Read the rest of The Baker Stove is a Safer, Energy-Efficient Cookstove for the Developing World

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Post tags: Baker Cookstove, Baker Stove, carbon monoxide, Claesson Koivisto Rune, cookstove, developing world, energy-efficient cookstove, energy-efficient stove, humanitarian design, indoor air pollution, kenya, Recycled aluminum, safer stove, stove, wood-burning stove

Dutch designer Diederik Schneeman recently added a new object to his wonderful collection called Flip Flop Story. Crafted from used flip-flops washed ashore in Nairobi, Kenya, this unique new table brings new life to lost soles.

Read the rest of Diederik Schneemann Constructs a Table from Flip-Flops Found Along Kenya’s Beaches

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Post tags: "green furniture", Diederik Schneemann, dutch design, Flip Flop, Flipflop Story, kenya, Milan Furniture Fair, nairobi, recycled, Recycled Materials, table

Read the rest of Eco-Luxe Treehouses at Ngong House Provide an Epic “Out of Africa” Experience

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Post tags: "natural materials", bespoke tree house, boutique hotel, eco-luxe, giraffes, kenya, Luxury Tree House, Meryl Streep, nairobi, Nairobi National Park, Ngong House, Out of Africa, Rothschild giraffe, safari destination, Treehouses, upcycling

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Post tags: adaptive reuse, arab design, candlelit cave, cave turned into a restaurant, coral cave, Design, Diani Beach, eco design, green design, indian ocean, kenya, south coast, sustainable design

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Post tags: "natural materials", Africa, Claudio Modola, coral, Daylighting, drift wood, eco design, equatorial light, green design, kenya, Lamu, local craftsmen, makuti roof, Manda, Solar Power, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, Sustainable Materials, teak

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Post tags: "natural materials", backpacking, eco design, eco-tourism, floating bar, green design, island, island-hopping, kenya, Lamu, Pontoon Restaurant, Recycled Materials, Solar Power, sustainable design

Read the rest of Stilts: Inhabitat Monkeys Around in Sustainable Kenyan Treehouses

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Post tags: Africa, Andy Barbour, backpackers, Coral Rag Forest, Diani Beach, eco design, eco-tourism, green design, kenya, makuti roofers, natural ventilation, palm roof, solar heated water, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, Sustainable Materials, thatched roof, tourism, Treehouses, Wildlife

Richard Turere, a 13 year-old from Kenya, has been making waves at the TED conference with his innovative invention — a LED system that prevents lions from killing livestock (and also humans). Richard, whose family lives within the Nairobi National Park boundaries and raises livestock, had always seen lions as a threat to their livelihood. As such, Richard said he always “grew up hating lions”. However after taking part in a global talent search last year, Turere came up with an ingenious solution.

Read the rest of 13 Year-Old Kenyan Invents LED System That Protects Livestock, Lions and Humans

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Post tags: child inventors, children genius, endangered species, invention, kenya, lions, livestock, Nairobi National Park, Richard Turere, scholarship, TED Conference

What started as the 15,000 Bottle Caps for Africa concept just a few months ago is now an actual built computer learning center and library thanks to architect Charles Newman and the organization Under The Acacia. The Kenya-based project revolved around Newman’s inclusive approach to design, which made it imperative that he work closely with the local Maasai people and give them ownership over the build. More than an architectural feat decorated with colorful bottle caps laid out by Maasai women according to traditional jewelry patterns, the project also creates social cohesion and introduces technology in a non-intrusive way. Newman explains, “In a community that has historically resisted western influence, allowing them to create something unique to their tribe helps them understand that while computers might be foreign, it is an opportunity to further enrich their own culture.” Read on for Inhabitat’s exclusive interview with this revolutionary architect.

Read the rest of INTERVIEW: We Talk to Architect Charles Newman About 15,000 Bottle Caps for Africa

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Post tags: 15000 bottle caps for africa, Adele’s Literacy Library, Africa, Charles Newman, Charles Newman Design, Engineers Without Borders, Greystone Aviation, Greystone Learning Center, habitat for humanity, inhabitat, Internet Society, Jess Teutonico, kenya, Loita Hills, low impact, maasai, Maasai culture, recycled bottlecaps, Recycled Materials, repurposed materials, reused materials, social design, traditional techniques, Under the Acacia, Village Earth

Africa has some of the planet’s most beautiful and endangered species, such as rhinos, elephants, leopards and lions. However, over the decades, poaching has severely impacted on these species seeing many of their numbers plummet to an all-time low. Despite conservation efforts and nature tourism, it is shocking to learn some African countries still allow ‘sport hunting‘. This week, Zambia finally officially banned the hunting of lions and other endangered wild cats such as leopards.

Read the rest of Zambia Finally Bans the Hunting of Endangered Lions and Leopards

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Post tags: Africa, african conservation, botswana, david attenborough, endangered wild cats, hunting ban, kenya, leopards, lions, poaching, sport hunting, wild cats, zambia

A new design for rural schools could revolutionize Kenya’s education system. British architects Jane Harrison and David Turnbill worked with Atopia Research to design the WATERBANK school in Nigare Nyiro, which harvests rainwater and stores it in a reservoir on the school property. In addition to providing up to five liters a day per student, this ingenious system enables girls normally responsible for collecting water outside of the home to attend classes and receive an education.

Read the rest of WATERBANK School Harvests Rainwater for Underprivileged Students in Kenya

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Post tags: Africa, Atopia Research, David Turnbull, eco design, education, green design, Jane Harrison, kenya, locally sourced materials, PITCHAfrica, rainwater harvesting schools, sustainable design, water catchment, WATERBANK Schools

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Post tags: Daylighting, Design, Gender Violence Recovery Center, Health, hospital, inpatient hospital, James R. Jordan Foundation, kenya, Kenya Women and Children's Wellness Centre, nairobi, natural ventilation, outpatient, perkins+will, public health, sun shading, Sustainable

Peace and unity through photography — that’s the idea that the I am Kenyan project aims to promote. Their goal is to avoid similar incidents as those that hit Kenya during the 2007 presidential elections, when uncertain election results spurred tribal clashes across the country. As 2013 sees a new presidential election there are some concerns that post election violence might occur again.

Read the rest of “I am Kenyan” Photography Project Aims To Promote Peace and Unity During the 2013 Kenyan Elections

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Post tags: global, I am Kenyan, kenya, Kenya General Election 2013, Photography, Photography project, Solidarity, Unity

These amazing Night Heron wind turbines made of locally-sourced scraps give rural Kenyans a whole new lease on life. Based on Hugh Piggot’s open source design, the turbines are built from recycled car parts and other scrap materials and cost just over $2,000 to build and install. 32 million Kenyans are unable to read at night without polluting kerosene lights or to refrigerate food and medicine – daily activities that we take for granted. These new, affordable turbines provided by Access:energy have genuine potential to change that.

Read the rest of Night Heron Wind Turbines Made of Scraps Make Rural Kenyans Energy Independent

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Post tags: "wind power", Access: collective, Access: energy, eco design, green design, Hugh Piggot, IndieGoGo, kenya, locally sourced materials, Night Heron Wind Turbines, Recycled Materials, rural kenya, scrap materials, sustainable design, village

Kenya already gets half of their energy from hydropower, but with drought looming, the country is ramping up their geothermal energy production with a fourth geothermal power plant that captures energy from lava deep below the earth’s surface. Toshiba has been contracted to provide the majority of the equipment needed for the Japanese-funded plant, which will be constructed and online by April 2014. Once the plant is up and running, one quarter of Kenya’s power will be supplied by sustainable geothermal sources.

Read the rest of Kenya to Tap Lava Power With Toshiba-Built Geothermal Energy Plant

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Post tags: geothermal, Geothermal power, geothermal power plant, kenya, kenya lava power, kenya renewable energy, lava energy, lava heat into energy, lava power plant, Toshiba, toshiba energy, toshiba power

Yesterday, the world said goodbye to one of its most fearless environmental voices – Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai. Decades ahead of her time, the brilliant Kenyan author and environmental activist founded the Green Belt Movement that has since planted millions of trees. She stood up for the environment long before it was fashionable to do so, and steadfastly challenged her own corrupt government when there was no one to protect her from dangerous consequences. In 2004, Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote “a holistic approach to sustainable development” that focused on the interrelatedness of social injustice and environmental degradation. She was the first African woman to receive that prize, a source of enormous pride for women everywhere.

Read the rest of Outspoken Environmentalist, Feminist and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai Passes Away at Age 71

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Post tags: cancer, corruption, eco design, Environmental activist, green design, kenya, new york times, Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Plant trees, Social Justice, sustainable design, The Green Belt Movement, Wangari Maathai

Here’s an incredible story about upcycling and human ingenuity to brighten your weekend: the MIT Fab Lab is teaching people in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Kenya how to make their own DIY wireless internet networks out of easily found local materials. Just $60 of readily accessible materials like cans, wire, and plastic tubs can stretch an ad-hoc network made of two over-the-counter routers and make it work for thousands of people. A simple car battery can power the system, so there’s no electrical infrastructure required – which is a boon to villages in places like Pakistan and Afghanistan where an electrical grid is unreliable or nonexistent. Check out the story on SFGate if you want to find out how to build your own network – it can be done virtually anywhere!

Read more over at SFGate >

+ Fab Lab

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Post tags: $60 Wireless internet, afghanistan, digital divide, DIY wireless internet, fab lab, FabFi, fablab, internet, jalalabad, kenya, MIT, MIT Fab Lab, Pakistan, wireless internet

Construction on the largest utility-scale wind turbine project in Africa is set to begin construction in Kenya in December of this year after the group behind it received a letter of support from the Kenyan government. The Lake Turkana Wind Power project, once finished, will consist of 360 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 850 kilowatts that will generate a total of 300 megawatts of electricity. The letter of support from Kenyan officials gives the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) project government backing in the sale of their energy and will help them seal the deal on their final round of financing, putting the last wheels in motion for bringing this project online.

Read the rest of Construction on Largest Wind Farm in Africa to Start in Kenya This Year

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Post tags: Africa, african renewable energy, kenya, kenyan renewable energy, lake turkana kenya, lake turkana wind project, lake turkana wind turbine, renewable energy in africa, renewable energy in developing countries, renewable energy in the kenya

Read the rest of Kitengela: Off-Grid Recycled Glass Village Lights Up Kenya’s Masaai Plains

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Post tags: "wind power", Eco Architecture, kenya, Kitengela Glass, Masaai plains, nairobi, passive design, recycled art, recycled glass, recyling facilities, Solar Power

The Kibera slum of Nairobi is home to a million people — and no electricity. Kibera residents use dangerous and heavily-polluting kerosene lamps to see at night, and despite their fervor for soccer, watching the World Cup has been entirely out of reach — regardless of how geographically close it may be. Until now — a Swiss not-for-profit, Solafrica, has provided a portable solar power station that runs a large donated TV where residents can gather to watch the event.

Read the rest of Africa’s Largest Slum Will Watch World Cup on Solar-Powered TV

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Post tags: Africa, kenya, kibera, nairobi, solar lighting, World Cup