The Gulit Project  is a research and development initiative focusing on food preservation strategies in the markets of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Looking at both physical and social infrastructures to help reduce food waste, the project is structured by layering community participatory design with local craftsmanship to implement clay-based food storage units that support urban vendors across the city. These multi-scaled containers, designed following clay’s unique cooling properties will allow vendors to store left-over items, protect produce, as well as create new economic opportunities in how produce is sold.

Addis Ababa is a city lined with markets (known as gulit in Amharic) in every neighbourhood. Each is unique in scale and physical layout, yet they all share the common characteristic as a place where the cultural, economic and social layers of the surrounding community merge into one. They are dynamic places, always changing and trying to adapt. In order to respond to this context, the project is structured to foster the ongoing exchange of information and participation between market vendors, citizens and local organizations.

IMPACT //

The goal of this initiative is to focus on two primary issues: first, the physical construction of food preservation/storage units that will help reduce food waste; and second on education where we will develop a city-wide network of vendors, designers, farmers and craftspeople to continue the dialogue on the importance of food preservation. By engaging these two issues simultaneously, the project will develop through a bottom-up process to create a city-wide infrastructure that will be able to adapt to each community’s unique context.

WHY CLAY //

Every community has a different urban environment and each market vendor has different cooling or drying needs for their produce. No one solution will support all cases and it is because of these differences that exist in the urban communities that this project focuses on using an easily accessible material, clay, and merging a contemporary approach to modular construction techniques that can easily be modified as needed.

From the beginning of human settlements, clay has played a central role in architecture, industrial production, and agriculture. It has been used for centuries to cool water, to carry seeds, to protect the people from weather and  to preserve food. The Gulit Project will focus on the inherent properties of this material to develop a contemporary approach that will maximize its strengths in water retention, biodegradation and thermal insulation to create “active surfaces” that will be able to cool and retain food for longer periods of time.

CITY OF ADDIS ABABA //

// COLLABORATING MARKETS

Agoza  //  Gerji //  Kotebe //  Akaki

INFORMATION FLYER // – DOWNLOAD PDF HERE