Hayi Al Maarifa Project, Part 4: Construction Workshop Series

 

Author: Rowa Elzain

During the summer break of 2018, MCTspaceLab along with Khoud 6 (Hayi Al Maarifa) community collaborated on a series of construction workshops aiming to share participial basic knowledge on wood construction, natural shading elements, and planting within the youth members of the community. The workshops was also a testing ground for the Tree per House Initiative.

Introduction

The project of developing public spaces in Hayi Al-Maarifah district in al Khoud 6, seeks to do so with the engagement of the youth of the community, for the community. Hence the construction workshop for the youth 2018 was aimed at enhancing the public outdoor qualities in public spaces in addition to building on the skills and knowledge of the participants. 

The topics that were discussed within the workshop were: sustainable and local materials, construction methods, personal initiatives, and finally high quality public spaces. The objectives of the workshop were: 

• strengthening the capacities of young minds and developing their talents and ideas, 

• contribution to projects that serve their community through their investment of time, 

• highlighting models that concern the development of public spaces within neighborhoods.

Image from the first set of workshops on wood construction which focused on building a bench

Participants

The workshop took  place at the public hall at Al Khoud 6. Conducted within a period of 3 weeks, the workshop started on the 27th of July and ended on the 11th of August, 2018. Both female and male participants between the age of 11-16 years old participated in the workshop. The workshop consisted of 12 registered  participants out of which 7 were male and 5 were female participants. The facilitators of the workshop consist of Rumana Al Othmani, Mariam Al Taie  and Maiysa Al Manthari. The workshop was sponsored by Al Saraya Technical services.

images from the second workshop focused on creating shade with natural materials and fabric.

Workshop process 

The workshops were conducted on a weekly basis (every Friday and Saturday) focusing on a particular method each week, where the participants acquired certain skills from each of them. First week was the bench construction workshop, where participants learned the basics of carpentry by reusing the wood from the construction sites and scrap wood from carpenters. Second week was focused on building a shading tool where the participants learned how to create a shaded structure using local and natural material such as palm tree leaves which is available throughout the region.. Third week was the planting workshop, where the participants learned gardening and planting skills through which they will be able to create green pathways and gardens in their homes and neighborhood. The entire concept of the workshop revolved around building up necessary skills that would help develop public spaces within the neighborhood.

Images from the third workshop dealing with basic gardening.

Output of workshop exhibited in front of the Public Hall neighboring Hayi Al Maarifa Mosque.

Following steps

The output was movable outdoor fixtures that enhanced the outdoor quality and uplifted the community’s lifestyle, in addition to the new found skill in carpentry, planting, and weaving. The final location of the constructed bench, shade and planter was outside the public hall in the area.

This was an ideal location to attract interest of the community and encourage them to implement similar concepts within the neighborhood’s public spaces. The workshop found it's success as the participants began building their own outdoor furniture at home. In addition, the series of workshops provided a testing ground for our current/on-going project 'Tree per House Initiative'.

Workshop Sponsor:

We would like to thank Al Saraya Technical service for there financial support for the Construction Workshop Series conducted by MCTspaceLab in collaboration with Khoud 6 (Hay Al Maarifa) community.