Building innovatively, changing lives: PERI formwork creates added value in Africa’s disadvantaged regions

In Kibera, a region in the south-west of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, usually six to seven family members live together in a tiny self-built corrugated iron hut – with no windows, no toilet and no electricity. There are hardly any public facilities that provide a change of scenery. Just like schools, hospitals and orphanages. A lack of jobs and barely affordable housing also create challenges for the residents. Yet Kibera is just one of many African neighbourhoods where living conditions are inadequate. For Oliver von Malm, founder of Start Somewhere, one thing was clear when he visited Kibera for the first time: something urgently needed to change here.

When Oliver approached us in 2017 to work together on a solution that would enable a simple, mortarless construction of houses, we didn't need any convincing. As an experienced formwork specialist with a wealth of expertise and always on the lookout for new, innovative solutions, we were immediately on board. Without wasting any time, our innovation team developed a special formwork in record time. They produced the so-called TwistBlocks, which are special hollow concrete blocks that can be produced by hand with our formwork and easily be inserted into each other like small building blocks. Without mortar or plaster, they ultimately form entire houses. The team was supported by our plastics partner Polytec and our colleagues from the special formwork construction department. "This laid the foundation stone – both for our TwistBlock Moulds and for the resulting TwistBlocks," says Jürgen Mayer, Business Development Manager and responsible project manager at PERI.

More jobs with our innovative formwork

The cleverly shaped bricks are fireproof and allow for flexible floor plans thanks to their plug-in system. This is particularly advantageous in disadvantaged regions, where space is usually limited. "They are also hollow on the inside and can therefore be produced in a resource-saving way," explains Jürgen, who has grown particularly fond of the project.

He joined the team in 2019 when the first formwork prototypes were being developed. "Among other things, I travelled to Kenya to see the conditions on site," says our expert. While our formwork is made of recycled plastic and is produced at the PERI branch in South Africa, the TwistBlocks are manufactured in small factories in Kenya and South Africa – right in the centre of the affected regions. "There are many poor areas in these two countries in particular, so we wanted to start here to give people a better life," says Jürgen. Local workers were then trained in the factories, where they now produce the TwistBlocks using the formwork. The new jobs also give the residents an unprecedented opportunity: with their wages, they will soon be able to afford their own house away from the slums for the whole family – with a toilet, electricity and windows.

Jürgen, who spends most of his time working at our branch in Africa, is often in the affected areas and is able to witness the positive developments by talking to the residents. "They are proud to have found such meaningful work and to be able to actively shape the environment in which they live. That doesn't just make them happy, it makes us happy, too."