The showcase, titled NEIGHBOURHOOD 4.0 Off-the-Wall Technology Showcase, was organised by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and its partners as part of the process of drafting a Roadmap for Science Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Human Settlements.
The event provided a platform for entrepreneurs, students, innovators, and emerging and established industries to showcase ideas and technologies which could improve houses and neighbourhoods of the future.
Ojo-Aromokudu’s poster presentation highlighted alternative building materials used by informal settlement dwellers in a settlement in KwaZulu-Natal. It was supported by the drone aerial photo of the Havelock informal settlement take by UKZN lecturer Mr Viloshin Govender.
‘During the two minutes pitching session, I presented the idea that the urban recycled materials used by informal settlement dwellers provide a basis for productive use of urban waste as alternative building materials,’ said Ojo-Aromokudu.
‘The materials include packaging timber from the neighbouring factories and construction waste materials. Other materials used included umhlabathi (mud) and stones which form part of the indigenous building technologies in rural areas,’ she explained.
The presentation represented a section of the findings from Ojo-Aromokudu’s PhD research which were supported by National Research Foundation, the University Capacity Development Programme (UCDP) and the ongoing research project with ISULabantu (https://www.isulabantu.org/).
