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A 1.6-hectare site on Crab Island, one of Banjul's neighbourhoods, is home to one of the oldest junior schools in The Gambia, founded during the British colonial period. The buildings have lain empty and in a state of decay since 2012.
With the support of the city link, a number of initiatives were launched to revitalise the site, such as the creation of allotments, mainly used by women, the production of soap in collaboration with the Women Initiative Gambia (WIG) organisation, a bicycle repair workshop, beekeeper training, the production of interlocking blocks to be used for paving, and so on.
As part of the EU-funded Future Proof Banjul project, the former school site on Crab Island is being transformed into a multi-purpose knowledge centre, a hub of innovation, vocational training and creativity.
The classroom buildings on the site will be renovated. Solar power will be provided to make the site self-sufficient in electricity, with 60 kWp of solar panels and 60 kWh of lithium batteries supplying the site with power day and night.
The old school hall will be completely renovated and built with environmentally-friendly bricks made of compressed clay dried by the sun. This hall will become a multi-purpose concert hall that will be used for, among other things, ceremonies, school events and seminars.
The former classrooms will be available for civil-society organisations and innovative initiatives with a social purpose. This way, there will be space for various start-ups, such as a laundrette, the production of traditionally made soap and food processing, including the drying and packing of high-value plants such as moringa and baobab.
A radio station, a music recording studio and an IT multimedia lab with high-quality equipment are also under construction. The allotments will be revived once the renovations have been completed. There will also be composting systems and a nursery for trees and plants to further boost Banjul's greening pillar.