Education Center Kpalimé

[Completion 08-2017 / Vocational education center / 295m² / Kpalimé, Togo]

As the project leader for this multi-year development assistance project, I organized the construction, obtained financial support from an Austrian governmental agency, and contributed to design planning, detail planning, and tendering for this education center. This demanding project offered me a chance to design a commercial building in tropical climate, and taught me some of the skills necessary to coordinate a heterogenous team across two continents in three languages with extremely low funding.

The vocational education center offers sewing and batik training positions for 20 young women (ages 14 to 24) in Kpalimé. The building was conceptualized and planned by me and other members of Engineers Without Borders Austria (EWBA). The construction was carried out by two local Togolese construction companies for EUR 37.000 under supervision of EWBA.

At its 5-year anniversary in 2022, 35 women have completed their 3-year training in the education center. The graduates are working as independent seamstresses in Togo, earning their own money, and shaping their own destinies. The education center has a boutique in the capital Lomé, and plans to establish a web shop to sell clothes internationally. Since 2017, a second training hall, and a 2-room building that houses 6 students have been added to the education center.

Learn more about the project on the website of EWBA (German).