UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | The gaga house, also known as Casa de Gaga or Jajja’s house, is a project that liberates rural women through designing and constructing “self-built” houses in Uganda. Credit goes to the Students at Presbiteriana Mackenzie University in Brazil for this project.
They wanted to change the conventional process of building houses by involving women, the primary users of the space.
While women are delegated domestic activities, their homes are planned and built by men. Therefore the students asked the questions “What if we took the women’s chores into account to build more equal spaces? What if women were champions in creating their own homes?”
The idea is to have a participatory approach towards the building process and create a space where the women could exchange knowledge openly and challenge the conventional production chain.
Constructed in Kikajjo, a village in Central Uganda, the project thrives on the direct involvement of women.
This first house in Kikajjo involved the participation of a 76-year-old woman named Jajja Imaculate, who is a community leader. The methods derived and used during the building process were fieldwork, ethnographic and technical surveys, and prototyping through the practice of construction.
The dwelling considers the local resources and traditional building methods, as well as the needs and perspectives of the inhabitants; women.
The Process Took a few Key Measures into Account:
Women determined the dimensions and elements of the house. They designed all the elements to be under one roof, giving room for families to grow and create their own space.
Further, the construction process centered around workshops with local women, where the women were empowered with technical training as a tool to enable them to achieve their independence.
Together, the women conceived innovative solutions. For example, the home consists of a central kitchen that can be separated from the living spaces with movable panels. The roof was constructed with inverted trusses in such a way that facilitates the collection and storage of rainwater.
Why Women?
Women make up to 75% of the world’s poor, and are primarily held responsible for raising children and performing domestic activities. Yet despite household activities being delegated to women, traditionally it is men who design and dictate women’s houses/working spaces. It is only fitting that these spaces should be planned and built by women.
Further, women in rural areas are most affected by natural disasters caused by climate change, and their routine includes activities that mitigate the effects of global warming. 
Women should plan and take part in building their houses. Image Source: sundayvision
Hence, the idea is to consider women’s routines to build friendlier spaces for women. The gaga house or Jajja’s house is a prototype that has a possibility of expansion through replication around the world.
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