Amu Fakhri Yangu - Heritage Community Resilience through Public Space Activation - is a collaborative project between National Museum of Kenya - Lamu Museums Sites & Monuments, Lamu Heritage Site Community Organization (LAHESCO) and AAmatters. The project centers its activities on the Mkunguni Town Square - a central public space in Lamu Old Town. Through a series of hands-on community workshops focusing on the themes of heritage, public participation and open spaces it seeks to promote and explore the role of heritage in shaping place identity and improving quality of life. 

In Lamu the project will be launched under the name Amu Fakhri Yangu: Kawanda la Ustawi which translates into Lamu My Love: A Ground of Prosperity reflecting the potential embedded in heritage & public spaces allowing communities to grow and improve their wellbeing. 

For a period of two weeks the town square will serve as a ground for engagement, discussions and small scale interventions involving Lamu’s inhabitants of different ages and genders. Simultaneously, the team will also conduct a historical & cultural research on the Mkunguni Town Square which will result in an exhibition documenting the various layers of the open space and its social, cultural and historical importance. The project will also result in a manual on activation of public spaces in World Heritage Sites & and a presentation and discussion of outcomes in the Netherlands. 

The project is funded by the Stimuleringsfonds. 

Images courtesy of LAHESCO.