Alight

RSP teams with Alight to help displaced communities find connection, purpose and home.

The refugee crisis in Somalia is among the most challenging and intractable mass human displacement situations in the history of the world. The ravages of civil war, political strife and an unprecedented multi-year drought have only exacerbated what is a rapidly unfolding human tragedy on an epic scale. Huge swaths of the country’s population have already fled their homes and homeland as arable land has literally dried up, and the long-term impact of climate change has decimated the region’s agrarian economy. As of July 2023, the UNHCR estimates that more than 3.8 million people are displaced in Somalia, 3 million of which are internally displaced persons—people who have been forced to leave their permanent homes but have not crossed an international border. Somaliland is a territory within Somalia that is not internationally recognized. Although it has its own political system, government institutions and currency, it suffers from the same challenges as the rest of the region.

Over the past few years, Alight, a Minneapolis-based humanitarian organization, has played an active role in providing shelter, clean water and health services to more than 4 million displaced people in more than 20 countries. While the progress made is admirable and rewarding, and the organization has made an extraordinary difference, it is challenging work that comes down to a dedicated, driven group of individuals.

RSP has worked with Alight for many years and, in our most recent partnership, we teamed up on a visit to Digaale, a community located outside the main city of Hargesia in Somaliland. Digaale was established in 2013 and is now home to nearly 8,000 displaced persons—well above the settlement’s original capacity of 5,000. While the trip focused on exploring alternative ways of providing durable, sustainable shelter, improving access to (and storage of) clean water, and strengthening sanitary conditions, that was only part of the challenge.

With support from the Mayor of Hargeisa, RSP led a series of hands-on, co-creation work sessions with Digaale residents, surfacing a list of priorities and cultural prerequisites. One of the biggest issues facing the population is a collective loss of dignity, and we quickly realized this was the driving factor. In the impermanence of their situation, multiple generations—parents, grandparents, marrying-age young adults, adolescents, children and babies—go through all their vulnerable stages of life in a single room. There is no privacy or respite. Parents cannot be intimate, newly married couples may not find time apart, and adolescents cannot find privacy.

The extreme and worsening climate emerged as another significant issue—a fragile environment only growing more so because of climate change and record drought—but the availability of materials also comes into play. Solutions must accommodate a somewhat complex ownership structure (each resident holds an “ownership certificate” to their parcel), as well as a number of sensitive cultural concerns.

RSP’s design alternatives propose a “kit of parts” of low-maintenance, functional elements that can be combined and adjusted as needs evolve. Standard one- and two-level solutions were developed to show flexibility and scalability, while a limited array of configurations sets out a clear separation of uses—sleeping, cooking, living—and a semi-detached composting latrine. A standard 9m x 10m yard and a drought-resistant hedge create separation and privacy between neighbors, as well as soften parcel edges.

RSP explored multiple roof forms to assess flexibility, efficiency and ease of implementation: flat for additional usable area, sloped for rainwater harvesting, louvered for shade and passive ventilation, and detached for convective heat loss.

Our most valuable takeaway from the experience is the people we met. The residents of Digaale and the association with Alight touched us on a very personal level. The trip gave us the opportunity to travel across the world to sit on common ground and talk eye-to-eye with the people at the center of our work with Alight. It was a trip of connection, purpose and joy.

We wouldn’t have missed it for the world.