‘PUSHING THE WEEK’ AN ETHNOGRAPHY ON THE DYNAMICS OF IMPROVING LIFE IN KIBERA: THE INTERPLAY OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL INFLUENCES THESIS MSC DEVELOPMENT AND RURAL INNOVATION WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY AND RESEARCH CENTRE THE NETHERLANDS KEYWORDS SLUM, NGO’S, UPGRADING, GRASSROOTS, UPWARD MOBILITY, IMPROVEMENT, AGENCY, INFORMALITY, TRIBALISM, SPATIALITY, ETHNOGRAPHY STUDENT EVA VAN IWAARDEN STUDENT NUMBER 870712-383060 [email protected] SUPERVISOR DR. B.J. JANSEN SOCIOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE [email protected] ABSTRACT The title of this research starts with ‘pushing the week’. This is the translation of the most eaten vegetable in Kenya and Kibera, a kale by the name of ‘sukuma wiki’ in Swahili. As this research progressed and life in Kibera was examined more closely, it seems that language around life and living in Kibera can be seen closely related to the name of this vegetable that is eaten almost every day. ‘We are just pushing ahead in life, another week, lets see where it takes us’. No matter what is written down about life in Kibera, another week starts, and another one, and another one… This research examines how women living in Kibera perceive improvement of life in Kibera. This topic is very dynamic, broad and has many ways in which it can be approached. It is impossible to merely ask some questions and draw conclusions about a space so dynamic and a population in all its diversity. As most slums worldwide, Kibera is a popular place for organisations to lend a helping hand, where community initiatives are plenty and where slum upgrading programs are implemented. Then, Kibera’s population is not merely awaiting handouts, because more often than not have plans, dreams and ambitions. This research displays the complexity of understanding life in Kibera; the negatives, the positives and the neutral about it. It challenges what is recently written about slums or informal settlements worldwide. There is a large body of literature where slums are treated as places where outcasts and unfortunates try to find their urban space. Then, we are ignoring a large body of people who are inventive, passionate, that work hard, that have their own dreams, where some are addicts, many work over twelve hours a day, some wish to be famous artists, some long to be teachers, where many hate heavy rains and power-cuts, where most work hard to make their dreams come true and where some fall astray in the difficult environment. It is almost as if Kibera is a place similar to so many others in the world. I am not saying we should leave Kibera to deal with itself, as continued support is of course beneficial to many. Improving life in Kibera cannot be equalized to solely wanting to leave the slum, to gain more financially or as if improving is only focused on the individual. Rather, improvement is often family focused and Kibera is not a place to ‘run away’ from. If there is one message I wish you take from this writing, it is that including so-called slums in formal urban planning will lead to best outcomes and doing away of presumptions about slums will improve the situation for those living there. 2 PREFACE When I started to think about a topic for my thesis, one of the first things was to at least get myself in a context that is unfamiliar. The less I know about a place and the more out of my comfort zone I will be, the more I will learn. That is what I thought. And this has proven to be true. For a long time I have been interested by urbanisation. The drive that people have that there more is to gain in urban environments as opposed to rural places is interesting to me. Then it is impossible to look past the urbanisation that Africa is going through. More people find their place in cities, demanding extremely rapid growth. The topic of this thesis has broadened my mind a lot. I am thankful for all the opportunities I have in my life and thankful for the means I have to discover more. I want to thank Bram Jansen for supervising me. From the first proposal to this final result I have come quite a way, and his feedback and guidance have contributed much and helped me to be more critical. Also, much thanks to Sabina who hosted me in Kibera and who took me in so friendly, shared her family with me and actually gave me my African home. I also want to thank my family and friends for support. I will only name a few, but this list could be near to endless. My family; Henk, Hanja, Jos and Boaz and the attic I can always return to. Special thanks to Noura, Miguel and Jeroen; for endless amounts of coffee and a listening ear. To Cody, Brandy, Edu and David back in Kenya for friendships and suggestions and the peek into their lives, the relaxing hours and eating chapo together. You made Kibera a place where I will keep returning to, even if it only was to hear you joking again and for you to teach me more bad words in Sheng or Swahili. Then, I want to especially thank the women in Kibera that I have interviewed. They have given much more than words; their time, interest, laughter and I’m very happy that we have been able to talk about our lives. Eva van Iwaarden August 2015, the Netherlands 3 TABLE OF CONTENT Abstract ...............................................................................................................................................2 Chapter 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................6 Problem statement........................................................................................................................11 Research Questions .......................................................................................................................12 Methodology .................................................................................................................................13 Chapter 2. Theory and literature .......................................................................................................22 Slum discourses.............................................................................................................................22 Gray spaces...................................................................................................................................27 Assemblage thinking.....................................................................................................................27 Slum Rhetoric................................................................................................................................28 Slum informality............................................................................................................................29 People’s Economy .........................................................................................................................29 Cities without slums......................................................................................................................30 Interventions.................................................................................................................................31 Social exclusion .............................................................................................................................32 Conclusion chapter two.................................................................................................................33 Chapter 3. Sketching Kibera ..............................................................................................................33 Vignettes.......................................................................................................................................34 Livelihoods ....................................................................................................................................37 Community life & motherhood .....................................................................................................38 Women’s struggles & husbands....................................................................................................40 Conclusion chapter three ..............................................................................................................43 Chapter 4. Perceptions on spatial Kibera ..........................................................................................44 Patterns and villages.....................................................................................................................45 Insights in the unmapped..............................................................................................................46 You know you are in the slum when…............................................................................................47 Space and access ...........................................................................................................................49 Conclusion chapter four.................................................................................................................51 Chapter 5. Tribalism and ethnicities in Kibera...................................................................................52 Background on ethnicities.............................................................................................................53 Opinions on the post-election violence and tribalism ...................................................................55 Languages.....................................................................................................................................59