Francis Kéré’s 2017 project for The Serpentine Gallery, was inspired by the tree that serves as a central meeting point for life in his home town of Gando in Burkina Fasso, and designed as a responsive Pavilion that seeks to connect its visitors to nature – and each other. In villages such as Gando, women play a vital role in society, taking care of the house and children, and working in the fields. At the same time, most women are strongly dependent on their husbands, and literacy among women is much lower than for men. To escape the vicious circle of poverty and lack of education, the women of Gando established the “Songtaaba” project. Through the Songtaaba cooperative, women learn to work and manage an independent economy as well as operating a microfinance system, which gives them the possibility to take out loans to start small business initiatives. In order to provide a meeting place for the women´s cooperative, The Francis Kere foundation are working to build an innovative structure which will act as the hub for the women of the co-operative. The purpose of the project is for the women´s quality of life to improve while they gain financial independence, as well as promoting women´s empowerment. For more information please visit: www.kerefoundation.com/songtaaba