[GSBN] Bales for Haiti

Sat Feb 20 19:13:39 UTC 2010

I do not think that the use of acrylic cement binds one to a particular
style, and the important element that acrylic cement has to offer is the
total water-proofing of a cement surface in a tropical climate. I built
straw bale structures in Texas, and even after incorporating the best advice
in the world, I was still faced with the migration of water into a straw
bale wall. Therefore after many discussions with people skilled in acrylic
cement, I think this might be an answer to a very big concern.

I believe that there are two important considerations for Haiti: 1) building
designs that match architectural traditions, and 2) using a biomass that is
readily available at this time of the year, whether this be rice straw or
rice hulls. I do not undertsand the logic of shipping bales to Haiti from
the USA. But if asked to help in this, I respect so much the people who make
this request that it is impossible to refuse their request.

A straw bale purist might view straw bale construction as necessarily
load-bearing. But I do not think it is important to be a purist, since so
many other elements in a particular circumstance have to be taken into
consideration. The moment someone lets go of a purist approach and abandons
the load-bearing option, then the biomass that goes into a wall could be in
the form of bales or sacks, or it could be loose. However if rice hulls are
readily available, then one should consider the loose option. And if one
lives in a tropical climate where moisture and heat are a problem, then one
should keep in mind that rice hulls are far more water-resistant than straw
and have a superior insulating value.

Thanks.
Paul Olivier

On Sat, Feb 20, 2010 at 10:07 PM, Derek Roff <derek at unm.edu> wrote:

> Thanks to everyone for your suggestions and concerns.  We have been in
> dozens of hours of discussions, and exchanged hundreds of email messages,
> discussing options and looking at possibilities.  BWB has been working with
> the PAKSBAB folks since 2006, and they do incredibly good work.  It might be
> surprising to some on this list how few things anyone working on any
> international project gets to simply "decide", and do as would seem best in
> other situations.
>
> I share the misgivings that several people have expressed about moisture
> and straw in Haiti.  On the other hand, the temperature and humidity in the
> Port au Prince area are both less than summers in Houston, and in many parts
> of Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.  I don't
> remember resounding indictments of list members proposing to build with
> strawbale in some of those locations. We keep strawbale high on the list of
> options, because of its relative earthquake safety.
>
> It's tough to figure out how to build in a place that has earthquakes and
> hurricanes, lacks timber and an earthquake-resistant building tradition.  No
> material has all the right properties.  Thatched bamboo structures probably
> come the closest, and they would work if people were willing to live in
> them, and replace them every few years.  I don't think this approach will
> have much appeal.  It is an ironic truth that while people are hesitant to
> accept a new building style, they are often even more hesitant to accept a
> traditional and appropriate technology, when it seems old-fashioned, vulgar,
> and is associated with poor people or country folk.
>
> I haven't read the newest guidelines on building more earthquake-resistant
> structures out of earthen materials.  I'm sure it contains very important
> information.  But I have been to several presentations on traditional and
> modern earthen structures and earthquakes, and I've read many articles.  Up
> to now, the safety record of earthen structures has been poor when it comes
> to earthquakes the size of the one in Haiti, and larger.  I've read Nader
> Khalili's assertions about earthbags and earthquakes, his "testing", and I
> don't have faith in the combination of earthbags and earthquakes.  Perhaps
> future testing will prove him right, but for me, building in an earthquake
> zone with earthbags right now is accepting big unknowns.  I don't see
> working with that level of uncertainty as doing a service to Haiti. Building
> more intelligently and safely with other earthen materials requires
> knowledge that few of us currently possess.  I am eager to learn, but not to
> put everything on hold while I learn.
>
> The issue of cultural sensitivity and popular acceptance of a design is
> always in the front of our minds as members of BWB consider intercultural
> projects.  But in a situation like the Haiti disaster, contradictions are
> immediately obvious.  Much of what we think people will accept is unsafe,
> and what is safe will require some changes in lifestyle, which people might
> not accept.  It's pretty easy to conclude that there is no good answer, and
> then to cede the field to those who are less culturally sensitive and less
> aware of the risks. We choose not to do that.  Kelly's questions are very
> important, as are David's warnings of the risks of unintended consequences
> from any actions.  Yet in a disaster situation, I also consider the risks
> associated with inaction, and with leaving everything up to institutions
> like the World Bank.
>
> The hope for the project that started this thread, is to get one strawbale
> building built before the April rains begin.  That project will teach us a
> great deal about the viability of strawbale building in Haiti.  There will
> be more things to learn and adjustments to make in the coming months and
> years.  Maybe it will work, maybe it will lead to better ideas, maybe it
> will be a dead end. We are going to give it a try.  To try something without
> a lot of study first has its problems, as others have mentioned.  Yet
> learning by doing is often the most efficient way, and is sometimes the only
> way to answer certain questions.  Thankfully, we are not required to make
> policy for the entire country's disaster relief program.  We are supporting
> and collaborating on a few small experiments.  We hope that some of them
> will lead to useful techniques and information that can be implemented on a
> broader scale.
>
> I have studied the hyperbolic acrylic-cement thin-shelled roof designs that
> David refers to, and I think they offer great potential. They don't fit the
> aesthetic tradition of anywhere, and face a number of the same cultural
> sensitivity and acceptance questions that we have been discussing.
>  Nonetheless, I think they are worthy of consideration and experimentation.
>
> Best wishes,
> Derelict
>
>
> Derek Roff
> Language Learning Center
> Ortega Hall 129, MSC03-2100
> University of New Mexico
> Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
> 505/277-7368, fax 505/277-3885
> Internet: derek at unm.edu
>
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