Taking into account that narration helps defining the distribution of spaces, times and forms of activity and that stories are used to construct diverse realities, it felt necessary to undertake a narrative quest in order to get a broader understanding of the water situation in Lubunga. Therefore, a handful of personal interviews were conducted with some of Lubunga’s inhabitants. The interviews dealt with their personal relationships with water and their place of residence. The interest of conducting these interviews was to engage the inhabitants on an emotional and individual level with their stories. The collected answers shed light on topics such as feelings of belonging, local government structures, family networks, and, of course, the current water situation. In this regard, we got a common answer when asking for the best solution for water in Lubunga. We repeatedly heard “the restoration of the water distribution center in Lubunga [the Regideso]” mentioned. This distribution water center was built during colonial times and supported only a portion of the population. Furthermore, this infrastructure has not received proper maintenance due to political, social, and economic unrest. Practically speaking, it wouldn’t be enough to just restore the Regideso in order to provide water to the whole of Lubunga’s population. However, this structure is still narrated as a space of hope. It is suggested that in order to establish a more organic and socially-based structure for a water solution in Lubunga, there needs to be a narrative shift.
These are the basic theoretical premises upon which the narrative approach is based, most of them originated upon the reading of The Politics of Aesthetics: The Distribution of the Sensible (2004) written by French philosopher Jacques Rancière:
Space is practiced in narrative ways.
Urban spaces are marked by memories. Some can be considered scars in the spatial and social tissue.
The configurations of spaces are intrinsically related to political and social configurations.
These configurations are part of the distribution of the sensible, politics of the aesthetic.
Every demarcation in space is political.
Artistic spatial actions could deal with the dismantlement of inoperative distributions of the sensible.
A new narrative of space creates new social and political configurations.
