The main part of this study was conducted through interaction with seven cultural representatives living on the same corridor in Kibera. With an estimated population of between 300,000 and 1 million people, Kibera is the largest slum in Africa. Despite its prominence, Kibera is one of the direst slums in the world, with incredibly flimsy housing, and mounds of trash and sewage comprising a prominent part of its visual impact. We chose to work within this area, because we expected it to reveal the widest range of barriers. The people living here are subjected to a high number of contextual barriers, yet also encounter the same barriers during their trip as do most of the residents of the city.
The cultural representatives were first asked to answer two introductory questions about their morning rituals and the difficulties they face during travel to work. They were then given single-use cameras, and asked to photographically document their typical day. Following the collection of the cameras and photo processing, we returned to their homes to interview them again. They explained their photographs to us, and answered questions from a questionnaire that we developed to gather information about the specific activities and barriers during travel to and from work. The focus on this part of the research was to gain a complete overview of the barriers and rituals in the lives of these individua