Tippy taps in Kampala's K-zones
Have you ever heard about a tippy tap?
Tippy taps are a safe solution for hand washing, as they do not require hands to touch anywhere when washing them. Regular water tanks requires to touch the tap handle to open and close, which acts as a contact surface. At the same time, tippy taps are a low tech solution and cheap to set up, using local materials. This makes them a smart way to stay safe during the COVID-19 outbreak in places where access to water sources are limited. Below you can see some different examples of how tippy taps can be designed, depending on the surroundings and materials available.
Tippy taps can be build in different designs - here is an illustration and guide by Stine, Dreamtown’s urban designer, showing one example.
Dreamtown supports the Kampala based organisation Network for Active Citizens to build "Tippy Taps" as hand washing facilities at household level and in public places in three informal settlements in Kampala - Kinawataka, Kyebando, Katwe - to avoid crowding around the few water points that are available in public places. Part of this intervention is also to raise public awareness in the communities on how to reduce risk of infection by providing information on COVID-19, using public service announcements and infographics.
Dreamtown works with Network for Active Citizens on the Ghetto Go Green project, which is about engaging young people in Kampala’s ghetto communities to take actions, making their communities more resilient towards effects of climate change, and increase food resilience. In the project, young people are skilled to do urban farming using innovative and cost effective methods - such as use of plastic wastes, vertical gardening systems, rooftop farming, etc. As part of the project, Network for Active Citizens are developing green spaces and urban gardens in three communities in Kampala. Even though the building of the tippy taps is motivated by the COVID-19 outbreak, the innovation will be useful in the green public spaces long after the virus is over. You can learn much more about the project by following #GhettoGoGreen on social media.
A version of the tippy tap built in Kinawataka, Kampala.
Over 50% of Kampala’s population live in urban informal settlements, characterized by unhealthy living conditions, over-crowding, and a weak urban public health setup, creating ideal conditions for disease transmission. The implications of a COVID-19 outbreak in informal settlements can be disastrous for the urban poor. In the absence of affordable and quality public healthcare, they run the risk of disease and impoverishment.
Across our partnerships in Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe, we are trying to tackle COVID-19 through online media campaigns, awareness information at community level - and by supporting simple solutions for sanitations, such as the tippy taps. If you want to learn more about how life looks in Uganda during COVID-19, follow Dreamtown on Instagram and Facebook where we share updates in our stories. You can also follow Network for Active Citizens on Facebook and on Twitter.
Illustration by Stine Kronsted Pedersen (Dreamtown)
Photos by Network for Active Citizens
Text by Ofoyrwoth Gerry (Network for Active Citizens) and Nina Ottosen (Dreamtown)
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