After seeing that children in their kampung (village) did not have access to affordable early education; five motivated young individuals worked to start Nur Hikmat Prechool in October 2014. The preschool educates 30 children in Kampung Warung Lebak, outskirt of Tasikmalaya (2 hours from Bandung). For that, they rent small house by a busy regional road.The preschool operates humbly for two years; with lack of natural light and air, cramped space, and traffic pollutions.

The self-help group has grown and seen support from the community. A rice field was then bequeathed from a local family to the school. Visions of a new facility are prepared. Nur Hikmat, with support from ASF-ID, has started to work it out. Through participatory workshop and subsequent design phases, this Buildify project is then compiled.

As a joint community project, the Preschool facility will nurture the community and facilitator to grow together as a team. The community will be facilitated to see new alternatives in building with local materials. The Indonesian urban-rural communities are more with concrete other than natural materials that are locally sourced

The new alternatives are not only in building aesthetics but also in its construction and management. Mutual efforts from the architects and local builders will foster exchange of knowledge. Furthermore, the community; teachers, parents and students will have a sense of ownership as they become the active actor that manages decisions and resources.

The designed space also allow for communal use outside of Preschool activities. The existing facility has also been providing space for monthly community childcare.

The project has been a joint effort of Nur Hikmat Preschool, the community and ASF Indonesia. Teachers and parents worked together in assessing problems and potentials. Social and material resources have been mapped. Building materials can be obtained locally. Workforce will be sourced from the kampung. Parents can cooperatively support daily meals for the construction phase. ASF-ID will then support design and builds facilitation.

ASF-ID is an Indonesian chapter of Architecture Sans Frontières. ASF-ID has been operating for more than a year in Bandung and Jakarta area. Community architects team up with volunteers and university students to do architectural community works in urban and urban-rural context. One of the projects, Ciliwung Co-housing, has been published in AiD.