Auto-construction in

Africa

Prospects and ambiguities

Albert0 Arecchi

This article outlines the desirability of Assisted or organized auto-construction is based on the voluntary and
encouraging ‘do-it-yourself’ construc- unpaid work of the members of a community (of an urban district or a
tion of lodgings and facilities in Third
World communities. At the same time,
village), in order to build facilities or lodgings. The intervention of
the author points to the many pitfalls technicians and skilled workers is necessary in order to carry out the
involved in the development of such project efficiently, but is devised and takes place in many different
projects. He looks, in particular, at the
importance of using local materials, the
ways. Traditional forms of architecture have often been able to solve
complex role of the experts concerned construction and climatization problems in the most logical and
with the project, and at the dangers of convenient way, without resort to expensive systems of high energy use.
ideological differences and misguided
good intentions.
It is impossible to transfer the mentality of an inhabitant of a Western
city, used to the availability of rich sources of energy and so forth, into a
Keywords: Community participation; Hous- completely different situation. In Africa, UN (UNDP and HABITAT)
ing; Africa
projects are developing experience in auto-construction. Simple
The author is with Environment and De- machines are improved and used for building cement and soil blocks.
velopment in the Third World (ENDA), carrying out prototype projects of various kinds of dwellings and
Dakar, Senegal. He may be contacted at
facilities, and improving the sanitary quality of urban environments.
via Breventano 36, I-27100 Pavia, Italy.
Auto-construction has always been practised by peasants throughout
the world, in areas where specialization does not exist because of the
dispersal of the population or a poor economy. Nowadays there is an
increase in spontaneous auto-construction in the urban suburbs, not
only in the Third World but throughout the world. In Italy. for instance.
it is the cheapest way to acquire lodging. and the ‘new town-planning’ of
the 1980s is studying how it may be used.’
On the other hand. the wide diffusion of ‘bricolage’ (do-it-yourself
techniques) by the mass media represents only the latest manifestation
of the need for self-sufficiency in the face of the ideology of advanced
industrial society. This need for self-sufficiency demonstrates two basic
aspirations: to use part of one’s own time to avoid ‘market chains’; and,
much more important, to master. in an industrialized environment a
process of training and management to control one’s habit and physical
environment. The urban societies of the earlier industrial age rejected
‘bricolage’. Now, hyper-industrialized man discovers it as a means of
’ ‘Ooss\er: Autocostruzlone e gestione del escaping from an increasingly oppressive ‘civilization’.
territorio’, Urbanistica Informazioni, May-
August 1982, pp 23-l 10. But where auto-construction is a traditional symptom of poverty.

0264-2751/84/060575-05$03.00 0 1984 Butterworth & Co (Publishers) Ltd 575

 whet-c ~CM govcrnmcnla ;Ii-c anxious to niodcrnizc, to niakc zyxwvutsrqponm
~luili~ a nd

hLlts ;I thing of the past. one sonictimes risks \ouncling nco-colonialis;t

when propounding the advantages of auto-construction. Thi\ is the case
in Algci-ia. \? hei-c evcryonc ta lk\ a b o ut people‘s participation. zyxwvutsrqp
17~11
where l,ositi\‘c initiatives ;irc met 1)~ the reticence of the 1~0171e and
their l>olitical rcprcscntativcs. In their opinion. the only M’;I~ to 13rogrcss
is throu$ irldLl~tri~lli/.~ltion.l
“‘AlgBne’. Tecmques et Architecture. When it i\ collcctivc. organized and sul’l>0rfcd hy apI”-ol>riatc
Reglrex-France ed. February-March
tcchniqucs, IioMcvcr. aLlto-construction i4 ii incans of clevclopin~
1980.
% is interesting to note here the activity of coniniunit~ ;iw;Irc‘ncss ancl niutii:il iiicl. For such ;I l>rocc45 to dcvclop
two international NGOs which have their cffcctivel~. ;I 1>01>ul;ir cohesion c a p;ihle o f ignoring social cliffercnccs
head offices in Africa. ADAUA (Association
a nd interpersonal or familv conflicts rnust hc established. In basic ternis.
for the Development of African
Architecture and Town-Plannina), whose one c;iii identil\, three different kinds of mutual aid:
main office is located in Oua@dougou,
0 I\ yo nta ne c ~Lls a nd very conihative t!pc. which h:il>pcii\ in
Upper Volta. devotes itself especially to
auto-construction projects and the de- situations of c\trenic ncccs\ity. with ;I <;trong itleologicnl coniponcnt
velopment of suitable technologies for cq~lx~d to c>st~rhlislieti lxjwcr. a nd c ve ii revolt. It is ;I unity which
construction. It re-evaluates the use of
C O IllC \ fro m ;I c o illilio il struggle ;igainst opl>rcssion. In Latin
local materials through new techmques of
employment and promotes local artisan America. such action is apL>,arent
.. in the organization of effective
act&it& as an alt&natlve to Industrializa- clis\ident si-oups. eqxxially in urban suhurhs. Hut in Africa. I>oI>ul:ir
tlon of the habltat. ADAUA has carned out
projects of successful architecture for Up-
unit! i\ clil%cult hcc;iu\c’ of the cttinic. religious iiiid cultural mix in
per Volta, Mauritania and Senegal (‘Build- the pol>ulations cjt toivns. (‘ohcsion is easier in rur;iI ;irc’;i4. in the
Ing toward community: ADAUA‘s work tn social Cii\,ii-oiiiiiciit of villages.
West Africa’, M/MAR, January-March
1983, pp 35-51). Above all, in Mauritania,
0 l‘he second type aims at ‘guided popular lxirticipation and the
at Nouakchott and at Rosso, there are ci-cation of ;I nii\;cd social structure. cooperntives and organizations
hundreds of dwellings which have been I’or nianagenicnt in the po o i- arcas of underdevelopcci countries.
assigned to give hospitality to nomads and
The ‘\elf-help‘ ideology then rcprcscnts the beginning of ;I
have been urbanized after several waves
of drought of the past few years. At ~ocio-prodlictive evolution of the ward or village. fa llo ws a c c e ss to

Nouakchott, the use of local plaster as iic w c lia rlnc l4 01’ ~overnnient and/or international aid. and {>roposcs
material of construction has been intro-
nc\\ tlistrihution of t;lsks ;~ncl housing costs ~ ixovitled that the
duced (Figure 1).
ENDA (Environment, Development, Ac- development ot Io c a l cr:lfts and skills. lo c a l capacities foi- m:~nual
tion), whose head office is located In \vork. LIW o f ‘i’rc c tinle‘ or holidays for the devcloprnent of housing.
Dakar, Senegal, has more diversified in-
terests. It IS Involved in energy planning, c\;ist. The commrinit)‘-vill~lgc4 of Tanzania a nd Mozumhique. or the
soft technologies, ecodevelopment, as :l~ricultur~rl cooperatives of M:&~ascar. arc niod~ls \vhich to a i1

well as auto-constructIon. Projects current- cstcnt Afi-ica i\ trvinc i to imitate , far

;I\ as fo o d. cnerpv ~iild
ly underway comprise cooperative town-
I>r~~diiction sell’-sut.l’iciuncq arc conccrncd. In pro-Westcrri~~coun-
planning for the fishermen of Diokoul, in
the Seneqalese town of Ruflsque. A cer- tries. such xtions arc cncouracccl
c hv_ various interniitional accncics
taln numb& of dams are being donstructed or hilateral cooperation. rather than dcmandctl h\_ *~~o~c’rnn~c‘n~s:
for the protection of the shore against the
eroston of the sea-waves. Schoolrooms,
non-government~ll org;lnizations ha \ e hc e n estahlishetl as in the
dwellings and improvements of the water industriali;led countries and thcv coiicc‘rii themselves \vith situ:itions
grid are part of the actions already carried neglected Ix the public. ~itlministration. Ma nv Europe:in c‘ountrics
out within the framework of this town-
planning project. Also forecasted IS the
iii- c in conipetition to finance ho4pit:ils. communitv centres oi- c)thci-
dlffuston of a tvoe of construction studied facilities \vhich often Drove LISC ~C S. Fiowc\er.- if dcvt’lonn~cnt
by the architeciiabricio Pedroza on behalf [7roiccts ;irc‘ ciirriecl out without 4~1c ll intervention. the\, can he iisecl
of UNESCO, which is particularly suitable
;I\ ; con\,cnicnt ;ilihis for- the incfficienc\, (and soiiie;iniu4 for the
for auto-construction as it is very simple,
and the Investment in manpower IS more cc)rruption) 01’ the ruling govcrnnicnt.’
important than the cost of the used mate- 0 Finall\;, thcrc arc the progrcssivc rc+nlc\ which thcnlsclvc\ I~roI>~~sc
rials (‘Dossier: autocostruzione’, Nigr/z/a.
May 1984, pp 43-47). (See Figure 2.)
mutual aid and productive self-sufficiency iis iiii ideology for
‘For details of the first expenences of national cle\~clollnieiit. Wh;it L\ ii4 ;I popular
. . mobilization for the
auto-construction in Mozambique, see Ing- c o ~ll~lio il interc4t t~ii- ns into ;I mor:il impci-;itivc: lxol>lc’ may feel
emar Saevfors, Upgrading fhe Canico
Habitat in Maputo: the First Experiences.
forced into ~ruto-construc‘tion. l‘hix happened in Tanzania in 1074
UNDP Self-Help Housing Project MOZI751 ~vhcii the pi-occ\\ of ‘vill:igir.:ition’ \+;I\ accelerated in the :i@cultu-
021. Maputo, October 1977; and Albert0 raI societv II!, gathering the lxqxil:itions in settlements. l‘hc s;inie
Arecchi, ‘Mozamblco: vlllaggi-comunl e
can Ix found in c\lxricnces 01’ Pluto-cons1ruction in Moz;tmhique
autocostruzione‘. Terzo Mondo. 1979. pp
33-65. \vhcrc ~xxq>lc ha\c I’elt ohligcd to parficipate (Figures 3 bind -!).’

576 CITIES November 1984

Figure 1. ADAUA plaster dwelling in
Nouakchott, Mauritania. zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

As soon ~1s:tuto-construction becomes part of :I government program-

me. it raises an important question about the best policy for the
development of productive forces. In a country whose ohjcctives :rre full
employment and. among others, better working conditions and coor-
dination of the building sector. has the state the right to make citizens or
cooperative peasants build their own houses :lnd therefore make them
work double hard by depriving them of their free time’! Or is it not
preferable to move towards ;I diversification of t;isks and create
specialized employment in the building sector?
To what extent can the call to mutual irid be pushed when it is
addrcsscd to people :rlready making the most of their own productive
efforts? The profitability of ~ruto-construction may bc socially and
economically cvaluatcd by considering the peasant’s lift. his periods of
non-activity. and his a b ility to sa c rific e tim e to wo rk zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihg
on his own house.
There ;tre, ho we ve r, a lte rna tive s. Pro fita b ility a nd e ffic ie nc y m a y a lso
be a sse sse d in the c o nte xt o f e m plo ym e nt a nd inc o m e . In the c a st of
ample so c ia l m o b iliza tio n fo r pa rtic ipa tio n in ho using p ro je c ts, fo rm s of

invo lve m e nt a nd c o o pe ra tio n may va ry a nd ric e d no t c o nsist m e re ly of

fre e a nd no n- spe c ia lize d la b o ur.

Figure 2. Dwelling types for auto-

construction, Senegal (devised by the
architect Fabricio Pedroza for a
BREDA-UNESCO project).

CITIES November 1984 577

 #.<$
& ; ~
** ,.

Figures 3 and 4. Auto-construction in

the slums of Maputo, Mozambique. Auto-construction and use of local materials

Role of technicians
Mutu~rl aid prct,jccts require consiclcrahk administixtivc eftkrt zyxwvutsrqpon
and
con\t;int wpcrvision. Al the beginni~ig, the quality of work is not
unit’ornl and one ha\ to abandon technictucs which ;lrc too sophi~ticatcct.

578 CITIES November 1984

 Auto-cott.s~nrction zyxwvutsrqp
in Afric ci

The organization of the building site is also difficult, due to the

participation of voluntary labour (working part-time), without experi-
ence. But the results of mutual aid constitute an enormous social
potential for social development. allowing entire communities to master
the process of building their own habitat. The manpower trained during
this process is no doubt less specialized than the manpower of a
traditional firm, but it is more aware, more attentive to and careful of
the habitat in which it lives, and of which it can see the evolution.
The designer’s passion for a ‘designed project’ sometimes constitutes
a serious hindrance to the user’s full participation in habitat projects.
The language of design is a language understood by few people. Thus.
technicians are bound to make the effort to change their language and to
explain ideas, choices and solutions adopted, in another way. External
intervention is too often overvalued, either because the foreign
cooperator is a catalyzing element or it is he who chooses and describes
the experiences to be published. The recycling of technicians and
experts may be one of the main difficulties in the implementation of
auto-construction projects: the relation between architect and user is
crucial.
Two new requirements are the adaptability of projects to local
conditions in order to allow management and maintenance with the
minimum of imports. and the training of artisans and ‘intermediate’
technicians able to apply and diffuse technological improvements on a
limited scale. However. the cooperation programme itself must include
full availability of professionals for long periods, and a flexibility quite
different from that of more conventional professional-user rela-
tionships.

Risks and limits

Of course, a programme of planning which is self-focused and locally
developed clashes with the commercial requirements which provide
Africa with ‘ready to use’ industrial plants constructed almost exclusive-
ly by foreign personnel (ie by European technicians and labourers, so as
to establish a permanent technological dependence in the assisted
country as far as the management and the maintenance of the ‘gift’
plants are concerned). In the long term, paradoxically, not a penny will
have been actually transferred from the industrial country to the
developing one, nor will a job have been created, but companies of the
donor country will have worked for some years. solving their own
economic problems with the funds of international agencies.
Another risk is the ‘colonialism of ideas’. Many cooperation
programmes seem to have been drawn up with the aim of exporting
cultural and ideological patterns of society. However, even the projects
based on the best intentions might be wrong in the evaluation of primary
needs. For instance, ADAUA, an international association of architects
who work in the field of auto-construction, has accomplished an
efficient village community centre at Mont Rolland in Senegal, which is
actually being used as a depository for agricultural implements and
rubbish. The peasants already had their own meeting-point at the
nearby catholic missionary post, but did not want to disillusion those
foreigners who were so kind as to build something at any price.

CITIES November 1984 579