I finally had a chance to visit Haiti in the spring of 2012, almost 2-1/2 years after the devastating earthquake there in January of 2010.
I spent a week moving around and talking to people about housing and their lives since the quake. I came away with many impressions, most good and some not so.
I spent a week moving around and talking to people about housing and their lives since the quake. I came away with many impressions, most good and some not so.
Here’s what I learned:
Sand and gravel is readily available and any extra money is used to buy a sack of cement. This is usually mixed on the ground and the concrete is shaped into homemade blocks. When there are enough blocks some mortar is mixed and the blocks are stacked and set. Once in awhile, a few skinny rods of steel reinforcement are added but typically, too few and too far apart. The resultant construction is adequate, unless and until another earthquake happens. Many, if not most, of the deaths in the disaster were from these typical, under built, constructions falling.
These behaviors are ingrained in the culture deeply enough that the bad results have not changed anything. If you think about it, this is basically all they can do. If they attempt to build with say…wood for example, typically the construction takes too long because materials are imported and too expensive, and unfinished worksites are too much of a temptation for anyone who knows what to do with a 2x4 or sheet of plywood. Many are in desperate need for life’s basics, especially shelter for their children. So it’s back to concrete and a home can take years to build if the family is poor, and most are. I was told that a home can cost 30k or more simply because of the time it takes to complete it one bag of quicklime at a time.
I lived in an orphanage for a week and experienced firsthand how they live and how they build for the climate. What’s important to Haitians is first of all security, windproof construction and good ventilation, and pretty much in that order. What’s needed in Haiti is a new way to build given the scarce resources available and the climatic realities that exist. The idea that a house can take years to build is not working well for them and traditional construction methods have proven deadly.
- The Haitian people are the happiest and friendliest people I have encountered in my extensive travels
- The land is much greener than news pictures led me to believe. There is agriculture happening everywhere
- Everyone I saw or met was busy doing something useful. There is not much paid employment available and many people are ‘funemployed’ or working at something useful but not getting paid to do it.
- There is new construction everywhere and they have a unique way of building. Haitians build with whatever they have and the overriding tendency is to build as much as possible with what they have. Consequently, most construction is concrete block.
Sand and gravel is readily available and any extra money is used to buy a sack of cement. This is usually mixed on the ground and the concrete is shaped into homemade blocks. When there are enough blocks some mortar is mixed and the blocks are stacked and set. Once in awhile, a few skinny rods of steel reinforcement are added but typically, too few and too far apart. The resultant construction is adequate, unless and until another earthquake happens. Many, if not most, of the deaths in the disaster were from these typical, under built, constructions falling.
These behaviors are ingrained in the culture deeply enough that the bad results have not changed anything. If you think about it, this is basically all they can do. If they attempt to build with say…wood for example, typically the construction takes too long because materials are imported and too expensive, and unfinished worksites are too much of a temptation for anyone who knows what to do with a 2x4 or sheet of plywood. Many are in desperate need for life’s basics, especially shelter for their children. So it’s back to concrete and a home can take years to build if the family is poor, and most are. I was told that a home can cost 30k or more simply because of the time it takes to complete it one bag of quicklime at a time.
I lived in an orphanage for a week and experienced firsthand how they live and how they build for the climate. What’s important to Haitians is first of all security, windproof construction and good ventilation, and pretty much in that order. What’s needed in Haiti is a new way to build given the scarce resources available and the climatic realities that exist. The idea that a house can take years to build is not working well for them and traditional construction methods have proven deadly.
About Shelter In A Day
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Shelter In A Day is the brainchild of eco-friendly, furniture designer Frank Schooley. These emergency disaster relief shelters provide safe and secure, simple to construct, green housing for those displaced by natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes or floods.
The Shelters are a solidly constructed, termite, rust and rot resistant house, with lockable doors and windows. Homes are crafted from waterproof, recycled wood fiber material and can be easily erected anywhere, in one day.
The Shelters are a solidly constructed, termite, rust and rot resistant house, with lockable doors and windows. Homes are crafted from waterproof, recycled wood fiber material and can be easily erected anywhere, in one day.
Shelter In A Day is the brainchild of eco-friendly, furniture designer Frank Schooley. These emergency disaster relief shelters provide safe and secure, simple to construct, green housing for those displaced by natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes or floods.
The Shelters are a solidly constructed, termite, rust and rot resistant house, with lockable doors and windows. Homes are crafted from waterproof, recycled wood fiber material and can be easily erected anywhere, in one day.
The Shelters are a solidly constructed, termite, rust and rot resistant house, with lockable doors and windows. Homes are crafted from waterproof, recycled wood fiber material and can be easily erected anywhere, in one day.
