ABSTRACT
Although it is often labeled ‘traditional’ architecture, the vernacular Samburu house is neither timeless nor a calcified model of stability. These dwellings do indeed embody the customs of their builders, yet they simultaneously reflect and adjust to the ever-changing conditions of the arid savannah landscape of northern Kenya. Put simply, as nomadic-pastoralists, the Samburu have always been on the move. Historically they practiced transhumance in seasonal cycles, moving their homes and livestock in search of fertile pastures. Over the last several generations, the Samburu have gradually formed more permanent, sedentary settlements, yet climate change will almost certainly lead to displacement and a migration crisis in the future. Sophisticated from a design perspective, the Samburu house offers an important window into how builders—in the case of Samburu, women—in Kenya have long adapted to environmental change. In the present day, natural materials harvested from the surrounding landscape are growing increasingly scarce, and thus industrially produced materials like cardboard, corrugated metals and especially plastics are rapidly becoming construction components of choice. However, the point to take from this is that Samburu builders have always demonstrated not only resilience but also innovation their approaches to construction, and this nimbleness has much to teach us.
