Playrise Deploys Modular Playgrounds to Refugee Camps, Starting in Ethiopia

Playrise, a London-based nonprofit founded by photographer-turned-designer Alexander Meininger, produces flat-pack, timber-based playground kits that can be assembled quickly in disaster zones and refugee camps. The organization announced its first field deployment in the Aysaita refugee camp, Ethiopia, where the structures will be installed within the next month.

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Meininger’s interest in child play intensified after viewing footage of Ukrainian children displaced by war. He concluded that play is essential for psychological resilience and learning in unstable environments. Playrise therefore prioritizes affordability, rapid assembly, and adaptability, describing its approach as “Ikea-style” rather than permanent construction.

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• Alexander Meininger – Founder, lead designer.

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• OMMX – Architecture studio collaborating on structural design; director Hikaru Nissanke leads the engineering team.

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• Local refugee communities – Sudanese, Palestinian, Eritrean, and Ethiopian children and parents participated in co-design workshops.

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Aysaita, operational since 2007, shelters roughly 10,000 children under ten and previously lacked any playground facilities. Playrise staff conducted workshops with children and parents, and camp residents assisted in assembling the prototype structures, providing practical building experience.

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The kits consist of interchangeable wooden components, color-coded accessories (monkey bars, hammocks, basketball hoops, climbing ropes), and playground-specific hardware that prevents finger entrapment. Timber was chosen over metal to avoid overheating in desert climates, and the modules can be anchored on sand, concrete, or uneven terrain. All parts are replaceable with standard tools.

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Playrise’s website emphasizes that play “relieves stress, fosters nurturing relationships, and re-establishes conditions in which learning can occur.” By teaching construction skills, the program also aims to equip children with competencies useful for future home building. After Ethiopia, the organization plans to introduce kits in Cairo and the Wadi Karkar camp for Palestinian and Sudanese refugees.

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Playrise describes its modular system as a “menu” of interchangeable parts that aid international aid agencies in delivering child-focused infrastructure. OMMX director Hikaru Nissanke highlighted the dual goal of providing safe play spaces while avoiding a Western-centric design perspective. Meininger stressed the need for “affordable, quick, and easy to assemble” solutions, likening the approach to temporary furniture rather than permanent fixtures.

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The source material does not present any documented criticism or opposition to Playrise’s model.

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• “Just like when you’re renting, you don’t want bespoke furniture, you need something from Ikea, in refugee camps, there is no appetite for anything permanent,” — Alexander Meininger, Founder, Playrise

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• “We’re equipping them with the practical skills they will one day need in order to build and maintain their own homes,” — Hikaru Nissanke, Director, OMMX

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• “We didn’t want to go into this with a western perspective of what kids should do, or be patronizing,” — Hikaru Nissanke, Director, OMMX

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• “The simple modular kit comprises elements which allow for play for different ages, abilities, personalities, and settings. Some configurations focus on dynamic movement and popular games, others on more intangible forms of sensory play,” — Playrise website

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• “Play is not a luxury, or a nice-to-have … It is often in the playground that we forge the connections and peer relationships on which society is founded. The bonds that keep communities together are established on the swing and the slide,” — Playrise website

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Playrise will ship the first complete kits to Aysaita within weeks, followed by deployments to refugee camps in Cairo and Wadi Karkar later in the year. Ongoing monitoring will assess usage patterns and child-wellbeing outcomes to inform future design iterations.

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