Urban Development Project Shibam, Yemen

2007 On Site Review Report 2942.YEM by Salma Samar Damluji Urban Development Project Shibam, Yemen Architect GTZ Shibam Ofﬁ ce Client Local Communities Design 2001 - Ongoing Completed 2005 - Ongoing Urban Development Project Shibam, Yemen I. Introduction Based in the city of Shibam and encompassing the Greater Shibam district, this is a community development project set up to empower inhabitants to restore their immediate environment and improve the quality of their lives. The project has a wide operational programme embracing four components: • Heritage conservation (housing and monuments restored by master builders) • Economic development (women, crafts and agriculture) • Community initiatives • Infrastructure (solid waste management, technical infrastructure: water, electricity, sewage, streets, lighting) II. Contextual Information A. Historical background The ancient city of Shibam is one of three major urban centres in Wadi Hadramut, along with Say’un, the capital of the Interior, and Tarim to the east1. It was the commercial capital where the caravans assembled on the Arabia trade route. Due to its composition and stunning setting, Shibam was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List (1982-1984). Mud-brick high-rise buildings cluster in a walled mass that exudes the genius of Yemeni architecture. There is no definite date for the construction of this city, but its name is mentioned in early texts and in pre-Islamic poetry (Umru’ al Qais). One of its mosques was supposedly constructed during the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Harun al Rashid (786-809). Locals tend to date the older buildings to 200 or 300 years ago, but it is an established fact that these buildings have been repeatedly reconstructed over the centuries to sustain the architectural mass and volume of the city. B. Local architectural character Different house types occur in the different areas and towns of Hadramut, partly as an expression of socio-economic status, partly out of a need for security. The vertical expansion of the housing was informed by the topography, with horizontal expansion being restricted by proximity to arable land (Shibam) or by locations pitched high on the flat plateaux of mountains (e.g. Hajarayn). Larger towns were walled for defensive purposes, leaving limited space for expansion inside. In terms of interior organisation, the ground floors of Hadrami houses were almost always taken up with grain and staple food storage. In Shibam the ground and first floors have dark, 1 For a more precise description of the geography and history of Shibam and Hadramut see; The Valley of Mud Brick Architecture, Shibam and Tarim in Wadi Hadramut, (Damluji, Reading 1992) 1 lofty and narrow depots with few openings for ventilation. Sheep and goats are kept in adjacent rooms and terraces on the first floors at night. The second and third floors were designed as several living rooms (mahadir) used by the men, while the fourth and fifth floors contained living areas used by the women, along with kitchens, washrooms and toilet facilities. The sixth and upper floors were used by the children or by the newly-wed couples of the extended family. Terraces placed at the upper levels compensated for the absence of open courtyards in the house. C. Climatic conditions Shibam and Wadi Hadramut are in an arid climate zone: southern Yemen and its coast are subject to seasonal rains during the sub-continental monsoon. D. Site and surroundings Shibam is one of few historic cities of the Interior that is not built directly against a mountain backdrop. It sits on a raised earth dais, often described by historians as the mound of an ancient city’s rubble, and is surrounded by a city wall (sur). It was constructed on the main artery that runs east–west through the middle of the wadi, and was originally entered through its main southern gateway. To the north are agricultural fields, to the west the old cemetery. Urban expansion has taken place to the south, across the flood path (saylah), in the adjacent town of Sahil Shibam. Like the other new towns of the wadi, Sahil Shibam has witnessed unprecedented urban sprawl in the last two decades. Within the city walls there are 437 private houses (of which 398 are inhabitable and 39 in ruin). There are six mosques (with an additional six situated in the spate irrigation fields outside the city walls), two madrasas and one private zawiya. The city has four public squares as well as smaller plazas between the housing clusters. There are four buildings housing charitable associations; two public palaces, the city gate, two primary schools (one private and one public), a health clinic and an administrative complex by the southern gateway consisting of four buildings. There are 134 shops (mostly on the ground floor of residential buildings). III. Programme A. History of the inception of the project The Shibam Urban Development Project (SUDP) was launched in 2000. A joint Yemeni- German venture, it aimed to capitalise on 10 years of cooperation between the two countries in the field of urban development: the GTZ (German Technical Cooperation) represented the German side, while the GOPHCY (General Organisation for the Preservation of Historic Cities of Yemen), under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture, was to implement the project on the Yemeni side. The project cooperates closely with the Social Fund for Development of Yemen (SFD), an organisation concerned with alleviating poverty and assisting Yemen to offset the effects of economic reform. The SFD provides some funding to heritage projects that involve 2 preserving traditional building techniques and creating jobs in the construction sector; it has financed most of the project’s conservation interventions. The project also cooperates with several local institutions, including the Local Council, which was created as part of a nascent decentralisation process. Several other community-based organisations form an integral part of the project’s partnerships. The SUDP was envisioned to take place over three phases. Currently, it is at the end of its second phase. The first phase, which ran until 2004, concentrated on opening up contacts with the community, organising and mobilising community-based organisations and initiating interventions based on community participation and priorities. The second phase of the project has consolidated initiatives undertaken in the first phase, strengthening the local capacity to manage and implement interventions and enable the process to become operational. B. How were the architects and specialists chosen? According to the project director, many of the requisite skills for implementing the programme were initially lacking in the area. As a result, the project at first depended on a core team recruited from other parts of Yemen and on ‘backstopping’ by international and regional consultants. The housing programme, in particular, required both short-term backstopping and long-term assistance from several GTZ and DED consultants. However, when the Shibam Historic Housing Unit was established, the GOPHCY gradually took over responsibility for running it, to the point where it now handles all of its daily operations. The unit also depends on the services of an old master builder, who advises on appropriate traditional techniques. Before a subsidy can be determined and a house restored, the programme requires a documentation and assessment of the problems with the building. At first, four technical teams from the area were qualified to do this. Each was made up of one architect and one engineer, generally young graduates who lacked experience of working on traditional mud structures (mud architecture is not taught at local universities). Each team engaged a senior master builder, whose input was an indirect on-the-job training for the young professionals. The teams also received on-the-job training in documentation and assessing priorities. As the demand for the project’s services grew, the number of teams was increased to eight. The teams are routinely evaluated on performance, accuracy and punctuality. Occasionally, when quality slips, a team is replaced: this has happened three times over the last five years. The work is carried out by local master builders and their crews. For the historic housing programme the owner is free to choose any professional they wish. Restorations of public monuments, which are fully funded by the project, are tendered out by the SUDP. The project is also involved in the tendering process when a house is to be restored through a high level of subsidies (as occasionally happens with very poor families where the head of the household is incapacitated and cannot oversee the work), or involves specially delicate ornamental and historic features. Any master builder wishing to acquire commissions from the project has to be admitted to a professional association that has been set up to ensure adherence to 3 traditional building techniques. A committee of elders supervises the work of the master builders and resolve any conflicts that arise over the quality of the work. For non-construction work such as community development projects, training, capacity building, etc. consultants were often recruited from Yemen. Experience on similar projects in the region was an essential qualification. C. General programme objectives The main objective of the project is ‘to strengthen the local community’s capacity to preserve its cultural heritage and in doing so ensure that the community shares the economic returns and benefits of having preserved this heritage’. This strong emphasis on economic development stems from the premise that urban heritage constitutes one of the main assets in a country with precious few resources. In preserving its heritage, Yemen is actually preserving an important asset for its future development. The project adopts an integrated approach to urban development focusing not only on the conservation of heritage but also on improved urban management. Solid waste management has been enhanced by working with local authorities to develop and finance collection routes and infrastructure.

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