Haiti Needs an Overhaul, and Americans Can Serve as Guides
Efforts to prepare for natural disaster in the Caribbean in Haiti, in particular, have been under way for several years. Disaster reduction conferences have resulted in action plans. Model building codes for seismic and wind engineering have been updated and disseminated. But in Haiti, the combined “disasters” of historic poverty and political instability clearly undermined all the good intentions of the reformers, led by the Association of Caribbean States.
Tragedies such as the one in Haiti have played out time and again across the planet. But this one is different in the eyes of Americans: It is on our doorstep.
The United Nations has its work cut out for it in terms of rebuilding Haiti. The ACS has its work cut out to speed up its disaster-reduction efforts in the region.
The engineering and construction community can play an important role by mobilizing to help both. Engineers are already on the scene doing damage assessment and more, and they are needed over the long term.
The job is a big one, for the region in general, and for Haiti, in particular. It’s not just that Haiti needs a seismic code and a wind code. Haiti needs a complete overhaul that stretches far beyond its poor construction. Haiti needs leaders who can reinvent the country to support economic growth. Only then can Haiti provide jobs for people who for too long have been without food, shelter and basic services we take for granted.
What Haiti needs is a visionary who can guide the process. Any volunteers?
Who does a small contractor (electrical) contact to volunteer their assistance?
How do you rebuild a nation that has no core industry..no back bone to survive? Tough task ahead of them. After the lives are saved and the basic aid is provided in Haiti, I think first...
- Garment industry?
- Small crafts industry?
- Manufacturing?
I don't know the answer...and I agree on rebuilding..but lets do it smart. Lets train the people for construction. Lets create industries that would allow these people to make a fair income and live a basic life. Lets not be short sighted....slower smart development will benefit the people the most long into the future.
I am a 20 yr. retired career firefighter.I would like to work with those in emergency management to improve the system in Haiti. Who would I contact? Sidney (johnson2578@bellsouth.net)
If the united nations is running the show, things will actually get worse rather than better...may God help them.
I have been working on a vision since the quake. Here is an overview of one section of it, focused on housing.<br/><br/>Mud and sand (clearly abundant in some of the photos in other blo...
Mud and sand (clearly abundant in some of the photos in other blogs in this section) can be mixed with long straw (or thin reeds) to make adobe, but instead of bricks, which are hazardous in earthquake country, use it to make cob. The rubble can be used to make foundations. The instructions are in The Hand-Sculpted House, which also shows how to make the most of limited space. This book is available from the authors on their website, http://www.cobcottage.com/. They told me a great story about a cob house in New Zealand that stood undamaged through two earthquakes that leveled the brick homes around them. The basic structural trick is that the long straw is poked into the previous course before it hardens, so it undulates between layers, tying them together with its tensile strength (the mix is around 5% straw), so when the whole hardens, it is a single adobe brick in the shape of a building. Check the 9 + story apartment buildings in South Yemen, built in the Middle Ages of cob. They also have ventilation systems that use convection to keep them cool in scorching heat.
Kenaf and bamboo (of all sizes) can be grown for building materials. Kenaf grows a 3 to 4 meter tall fibrous core in a season, ideal for making the columns and skin in Bosch Captive Columns , U.S. Patent 3,501,880, which can be used for columns, beams, rafters & joists, as well as drive shafts. (The column buckling length of the load bearing columns is effectively zero, so they can be loaded to their crush strength.) The outer part of the kenaf stalk is short fibers, that can be used for paper, containers, and much else - possibly the core sections of Captive Columns. Bamboo clumps can stabilize small earthen berms to stop water from running down hill, and allow it to soak in deep -- basic Permaculture knowledge. Then you cut them for roofs for the cob buildings, and more grow rapidly in their place. Permaculture designers know how to keep water from getting away by holding it in the ground and managing it. They also know how to make people self-sufficient in abundant, nutritious food, quickly.
Also, talk to the founder of Kyoto-energy.com about his house designs using polyethylene, for hot climates. Very efficient, and cheap.
More from me (including contacts with world-class designers) at marklroest@gmail.com, if you are interested.
We can provide top notch Civil Engineering Service.<br/><br/>We have been to Haiti in the past month, and we can communicate in French which is the local language.<br/><br/>Visit our we...
We have been to Haiti in the past month, and we can communicate in French which is the local language.
Visit our website for more information: www.civil-engineer.us
WE ARE VOLUNTEERING ....<br/><br/>Here is our plan to rebuild Haiti and to provide economic development:<br/><a href="http://www.theconcretemd.com/The_Haiti_Prescription.htm" rel='nofol...
Here is our plan to rebuild Haiti and to provide economic development:
http://www.theconcretemd.com/The_Haiti_Prescription.htm
