Introduction

ABMT refers to processes, materials, elements and tools that are compatible with the local socio-cultural, economic as well as physical and ecological environment of an area. Essentially, they should be affordable, innovative, safe, environmentally friendly and with significant socio-economic multipliers. To address poverty, unemployment and affordability challenges among low and middle income communities, ABMT should ideally be decentralized, locally controlled, people-centred, labour-intensive, cost-effective and sustainable.

Appropriateness is however relative and varies with geographical location, individual needs, income groups and project scope. It is also influenced by built-environment policies and regulations. For instance, industrialized prefabricated components are preferred for large projects and by affluent households.

The Ministry has relentlessly promoted the use of Interlocking Stabilized Soil Blocks technology due to its high appropriateness, local availability of soils, small scale application and potential to address poverty and housing affordability challenges facing majority of Kenyans. When properly utilized, ISSB technology has the potential to reduce construction costs by up to 50%, create sustainable employment, transfer skills, conserve the environment and raise living standards. The Ministry also undertakes to disseminate information on industrialized prefabricated materials for use by interested parties.

The ABMT function’s overall objective is to facilitate/coordinate collaborative research and documentation; technology incubation and enterprise development; and technology transfer, capacity building training and dissemination to facilitate efficient and cost-effective housing delivery.

One of the functions of the Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development is to mitigate the high building costs as stipulated in the National Housing Policy in order to facilitate the realization of the right to housing as enshrined in the Constitution (Article 43 1 (b)). The ABMT co-ordination at the County level is undertaken by the County Directors of Housing.

Various institutions have engaged in research on local construction building materials with the University of Nairobi through the defunct HABRI having taken a leading role. The initiatives led to the development of Specification Number: KS 02-1070 for stabilized soil blocks by Kenya Bureau of Standards in 1993. Further code 95 was published in 1995 with the expectation of adoption by various local authorities. However, only a few of them adopted the new adaptive by-laws, a situation that derailed the implementation and wide use of the appropriate materials and technologies in Kenya.

The slow pace of ABMT uptake in the Country has been occasioned by among others: lack of harmonized regulatory framework, slow adoption by the built-environment professionals, poor workmanship, prevailing research gap as well as inadequate local capacity for driving ABMT technology including fabrication, servicing and maintenance of equipment.

The regulatory lacuna is due to be addressed once the Housing Bill, Revised Building Code, National Building Regulations and Built-Environment Bill are enacted and operationalized. The Ministry has further conducted capacity building trainings and forged collaborations with various research, technology incubation and training institutions. Appropriate enterprise development models are set to be introduced to empower community groups and Small and Medium Enterprises. To enhance affordability and access to housing, promotion of the manual block press machines shall be up-scaled. The Ministry has also reviewed the National Housing Policy, prepared guidelines on the implementation of ABMT and proposed establishment of a National Housing Development Fund which if adopted would go a long way in facilitation of ABMT uptake and realization of affordable social housing.

The Ministry has established a Regional ABMT Centre at Mavoko, 9 Sub-Regional ABMT Centres and 73 Sub-County ABMT Centres in the country. The Centres are the focal points of delivery of various ABMT services as follows:

Regional ABMT Centre

• Formulation and continuous updating of the regulatory framework on ABMT
• Development of ABMT Collaborative Research Agenda with various partners
• Preparation of Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) on collaborative research, technology incubation & enterprise development and capacity building with various strategic partners on ABMT
• Compilation and publication of periodic baseline surveys on the ABMT and scale of adoption reports
• Benchmarking and documentation of best practices at national, regional and international levels
• Incubation of viable local technologies and reverse engineering of other technologies Facilitating branding, standardization and quality control on application of ABMT
• Carrying out capacity building trainings and workshops for trainers, artisans, technicians, community groups, county staff, professional groups; among others
• Coordination and management of inventory for accredited ABMT professionals, technicians and artisans
• Development of curriculum and manuals on ABMT trainings and user application processes
• Development of short courses on ABMT and green building processes
• Development of criteria for transfer and adoption of foreign technologies
• Advisory role for entrepreneurs in ABMT selection, prototype development, commercial production and marketing
• Consultancy services on ABMT
• Conducting socio-economic feasibility studies on various technologies
• Compilation of detailed reports on innovative resource-efficient building materials/products and construction systems
• Facilitating development of simple, innovative, green, cost effective house-type plans
• Facilitate procurement of various ABMT equipment, spare parts and servicing/maintenance
• Appraisal & monitoring of the ABMT function
• Preparation of periodic reports on ABMT and sharing with the Director of Housing

• Implementation of ABMT regulatory framework
• Conducting periodic baseline surveys in location-specific ABMT
• Initiate research proposals to address specific ABMT needs at the Sub-Regional level for action by the Regional ABMT Centre and its partners
• Support for identification, development and dissemination of locally available materials as well as those made from agricultural, domestic and industrial wastes
• Conducting socio-economic feasibility studies on various technologies
• Compilation of detailed reports on innovative resource-efficient building materials/products and construction systems
• Assist in capacity building and skills development through training of artisans and craftsmen
• Facilitate production of simple building components using local materials, skills and manpower.
• Coordinate with national and county governments on provision of periodic training and orientation discourse for professionals like engineers, architects, town planners, contractors and construction managers for creating confidence in use of new materials and technologies
• Implementation of collaborative research agenda at the Sub-Regional level
• Benchmarking and documentation of best practices at sub-regional level
• Ensuring adherence to standards and quality control in liaison with the Regional ABMT Centre
• Dissemination of ABMT curriculum and training manuals contents
• Collaboration with various institutions on capacity building on ABMT application
• Liaising with both the Regional and Sub-County ABMT Centres on standards and quality control
• Procurement of ABMT equipment in liaison with the Regional ABMT Centre
• Appraisal & monitoring of operations and performance of the various ABMT Centres
• Inventory of accredited technicians and artisans in liaison with the Regional ABMT Centre and Sub-County ABMT Centres
• Preparation of periodic reports on ABMT and sharing with the Regional ABMT Centre

• Implementation of ABMT regulatory framework
• Conducting periodic baseline surveys on location-specific ABMT
• Initiate research proposals to address specific ABMT needs at the Sub-County level for action by the Regional ABMT Centre and its partners
• Implementation of collaborative research agenda at the Sub-County level
• Compilation and documentation of best practices at the Sub-County level
• Dissemination of ABMT curriculum and training manual contents through various channels
• Management and maintenance of ABMT machines/equipment
• Mobilization of community groups for ABMT training and uptake
• Provision of technical services in adoption and application of innovative building materials and construction technologies in ABMT housing projects by various stakeholders
• Ensuring adherence to standards and quality control in liaison with the Sub-Regional ABMT Centres
• Maintain a data base on projects and trainees on ABMT application at the Sub-County level.
• Procurement of ABMT machines/equipment for use atthe Sub-County level
• Appraisal & monitoring on implementation and performance of the various ABMT projects
• Inventory of accredited technicians and artisans in liaison with the Regional ABMT Centre and Sub-Regional ABMT Centres
• Preparation of periodic reports on ABMT and sharing with the Regional ABMT Centre and Sub-Regional Centres

Current available technologies include; Interlocking Stabilised Soil Blocks (ISSB), Interlocking Concrete Blocks (ICB), Expanded PolyStyrene Panels (EPS), Precast Concrete Panels, Compressed Agricultural Fibre (CAF), Monolithic Construction, Pre-fabricated Housing, Recycled Plastic products, Bio-digester Onsite Sewer System, Integrated Bio-digester and Bio-gas System, Concrete Waffles, Light Gauge Steel, Bomakazi and ISSB Professional Services; among others.

ABMT Database

The recent past has witnessed emergence of various ABMT, some of which have been documented for wider public awareness and utilization. Stakeholders with innovative solutions are encouraged to liaise with the Ministry so that their technologies could be evaluated for inclusion in the Ministry’s website if viable.

The Ministry has been promoting the use of these blocks in all 47 counties on ISSB application, production and construction processes as well as maintenance procedures. The Ministry has procured 204 ISSB machines which are available in 83 ABMT centres established across the 47 counties as one of the Kenya Vision 2030 flagship projects. Since 2013 to date, about 9,300 people have been trained and over 3,000 residential houses constructed using ISSB countrywide. Appropriateness of ISSB is however relative and varies from one place to another depending on various circumstances. The technology should therefore be analyzed against other competing alternatives such as quarry stones, coral blocks and bricks, among others, to determine its suitability.