An integrated community-driven village dubbed the “Warka Village”, is currently under construction in the tropical rainforest of Cameroon. Situated in Mvoumagomi, approximately 40 km from Kribi in the south region of Cameroon, the Warka village is destined for the Pygmy community, a gathering of villagers who live in groups of 30 people on average and 100 people at most.
The project is being developed by an Italian architect known as Arturo Vittori the founder of Warka Water, a nonprofit organization that focuses on innovative and sustainable solutions to solve some of humanity’s most enduring issues through the fusion of local knowledge and resources, visionary design, and ancient traditions.
Composition of the project
The Warka Village is being constructed using ancient local construction techniques and natural materials such as earth, water, stone, wood, and natural fibers only. According to Warka Water, this project aspires to transform the landscape of comprehensive human development, utilizing low-cost, sustainable, community-driven, high-impact multi-sector development interventions that are tailored to the villages’ specific needs.
Also Read: US$34m University of Yaoundé II construction project in Cameroon
It encompasses the construction of 7 bamboo Warka houses, 2 Warka towers to collect around 40 to 80 liters of drinking water from the air every single day, no flushing Warka sanitation systems using composting toilets, a Warka garden to harvest food, and a Warka pavilion.
With already 30 individuals living and working on the premises, the Warka village has been under construction for the past 18 months and it is expected to be completed in 2022.
Warka Water pilot project in Africa
The first pilot project of the Warka Water organization in the African continent was the Warka Tower in Ethiopia. Built using ancient knowhow back in 2015, the latter allows people to harvest water from the sky. Warka Water says that “It is a passive structure that functions only by natural phenomena such as gravity, condensation & evaporation. It is owned and operated autonomously by the villagers. The design is not universal but it depends on the local meteorological conditions, the geomorphological characteristic of the site, and the local culture”.
In addition to Ethiopia and Cameroon, the organization is also targeting other communities in places such as Haiti, Togo, and Colombia.
