Present day Okere City a rural city located in the Lango sub-region , northern Uganda Earlier on
approximately a span of Four years appeared to be a bush far Distant from the next-door homestead, a
place never close to being ideal for human occupancy. Locally the notion was that it was aligned with
ghosts and other evil spirits as initial inhabitants. This goes ahead to offer a glimpse of the historical
aspect of the currently just about 500 acres that Okere City occupies , a healthy environment for young
children and older people to engage in various leisure activities of which learning is a key factor as it
facilitates growth socially and economically and also the sense of togetherness thus creating a strong
bondage amongst the community members .Furthermore , it is powered with solar power and watered
with underground water sourced from boreholes an eco-friendly gesture for a communal structural
establishment . The rural city consists of two major areas that is the lower end consisting of an adult
school, restaurant, grocery store, community hall, recreation center, clinic, village bank, and Shea butter
storage house whereas the upper side, are residences, guest houses, the primary school and farm
houses.
In a unique gesture, the means of construction of the majority of the buildings is by working with locally
sourced materials apart from residences built with bricks and other modern materials. This presents the
idea of embracing culture there by sustaining it through the establishment of the rural city thus proper
representation of the architectural history of the area.
In accordance with natural resources is that for every city there is a key resource to an extent that this
also contributes to the identity of a given community and its people. By the same token, during his 2019
TEDx talk held at the International University of East Africa, Okere city’s principal vision bearer Ojok
Okello narrates that it is the shea tree in reference to the key resource for Okere city. This tree produces
the shea nut from which shea butter, one of the most sought after cosmetic ingredients worldwide, is
made.
In unfolding the concept, Okere city is aimed at emerging as the first sustainable city in Africa. With the
basic fundamental institutions such as a school, bank, health centre and a market, these facilitate the
possible realization of the idea of a sustainable city in Africa.
approximately a span of Four years appeared to be a bush far Distant from the next-door homestead, a
place never close to being ideal for human occupancy. Locally the notion was that it was aligned with
ghosts and other evil spirits as initial inhabitants. This goes ahead to offer a glimpse of the historical
aspect of the currently just about 500 acres that Okere City occupies , a healthy environment for young
children and older people to engage in various leisure activities of which learning is a key factor as it
facilitates growth socially and economically and also the sense of togetherness thus creating a strong
bondage amongst the community members .Furthermore , it is powered with solar power and watered
with underground water sourced from boreholes an eco-friendly gesture for a communal structural
establishment . The rural city consists of two major areas that is the lower end consisting of an adult
school, restaurant, grocery store, community hall, recreation center, clinic, village bank, and Shea butter
storage house whereas the upper side, are residences, guest houses, the primary school and farm
houses.
In a unique gesture, the means of construction of the majority of the buildings is by working with locally
sourced materials apart from residences built with bricks and other modern materials. This presents the
idea of embracing culture there by sustaining it through the establishment of the rural city thus proper
representation of the architectural history of the area.
In accordance with natural resources is that for every city there is a key resource to an extent that this
also contributes to the identity of a given community and its people. By the same token, during his 2019
TEDx talk held at the International University of East Africa, Okere city’s principal vision bearer Ojok
Okello narrates that it is the shea tree in reference to the key resource for Okere city. This tree produces
the shea nut from which shea butter, one of the most sought after cosmetic ingredients worldwide, is
made.
In unfolding the concept, Okere city is aimed at emerging as the first sustainable city in Africa. With the
basic fundamental institutions such as a school, bank, health centre and a market, these facilitate the
possible realization of the idea of a sustainable city in Africa.
