Eco Moyo offers free education to children whose families could not otherwise afford it. Having established its Education Centre in 2017, by 2019 it needed to add two further classrooms, for 60 more children. Nature played a major role in the design process. The buildings stand on a stepped concrete plinth on foundations of coral stones, earth, and kifusi – crushed recycled building rubble. Some distance beneath their overhanging corrugated metals roofs are sisal-covered ceilings that trap heat radiating from the metal. The main structural elements are casuarina trees: felled locally and priced by diameter rather than length, they were ultimately used throughout instead of more expensive sawn timber, with thinner cut-off pieces for less crucial elements. Surrounding the main space are three opaque walls of makuti - a thatch made from dried palm leaves - and two screens of casuarina cut-offs and sisal. The roofs slant towards water tanks to the rear.
Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture
