An initiative to create a biomaterial that ‘grows’ from agricultural waste bound together by fungal cultures. The episode explores the many aspects and stages involved in introducing an entirely new material into the construction sector (certification, durability testing, scaling up, production chain, etc.), its potential and initial trials, including in informal settlements, and all the promising developments for more sustainable construction in the future, with less reliance on extractive and oil-dependent materials.

A presentation of the NGO’s various projects, particularly in Kibera, centred around the rivers that run through the neighbourhoods. The creation of community infrastructure and networks of public spaces, with a focus on gender issues, as well as a discussion of the threat of evictions, the struggle of slum dwellers to claim the land they live on, and the violence they face. The concepts of historical, community and ecological reparation, as well as care, are explored.

In this first episode of The Great Repair, we'll be exploring Lamu’s Swahili architectural heritage and the qualities of this traditional architecture in terms of thermal regulation, ventilation, spatial organisation, local materials and the craftsmanship of local artisans – qualities that are now in need of revival in the face of energy-intensive modern technologies (air conditioning, concrete construction, generic architecture, etc.). A presentation of the Waldorf School project in Nairobi: a school in the forest, surrounded by trees, whose walls are home to insects and a wealth of biodiversity.