The Yellow Submarine

Project Description:
This project comprises a grassroots collaboration between Peace Corps volunteers and the community they serve to construct a new 6-room schoolhouse for the village of Tongo, Mali. The design of the new building pushes the boundaries of typical Malian architecture to develop a low-cost, sustainable, and replicable solution incorporating compressed earth bricks, local materials, and rainwater harvesting. The project also goes beyond the build environment to engage the community in the process of design and construction. This is the first work of its kind in the region and is expected to serve as an exemplar for what is possible.

Tongo is a small village located 50 kilometers southeast of Segou in Mali, West Africa. The population is less than a thousand inhabitants, made up primarily of the Bambara ethnic group. There is no electricity or running water in the area and most families survive on a small income from subsistence farming of millet, corn, and peanuts. The existing school on Tongo consists of two small classrooms made of sticks and leaves. Since there are only two rooms, first and second grade students attend in the morning while third and forth grade students attend in the afternoon. There is no fifth of sixth grade class, making it nearly impossible for students to complete the full first cycle and continue on with their education. The construction of this schoolhouse will give students in Tongo and surrounding villages, for the first time, the opportunity to move on to second cycle, high school, and university.
The design of the building was developed collaboratively by a young architect serving as a Peace Corps volunteer and members of the community. It consists of two blocks of three classrooms, separated by a tree-shaded courtyard. The roof of each block is raised to allow for cross-ventilation and sloped to harvest rainwater which is then collected in a large cistern. The collected water will be used for irrigation in the students' garden during the dry season. The building has been nicknamed the "yellow submarine" due to the round, porthole windows flanking the back side. The gutters and rainwater harvesting tank, all painted yellow, further the submarine comparison. The use of rainwater harvesting and compressed earth bricks are new to this region and the project also incorporates training programs to make these technologies more accessible.
The scope of this project includes six classrooms, six latrines, rainwater collection tanks, and a directional office. The project was funded by many small donations from family and friends as well as the financial and technical assistance of BuildOn.