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<font size=3>Hi all,<br>
</font>Just my two-cents worth from working in China. For developing a
sustainable, appropriate building approach in any new country, I think
you need to employ an investigative approach - lots of questions:<br>
What's the climate? <br>
Other environmental factors (earthquakes, hurricanes, etc)?<br>
What materials are available? (resource mapping)<br>
What skills do people already have? (resource mapping)<br>
What are/were people living in now? traditionally? What worked and didn't
work about those housing types?<br>
What's the family structure?<br>
What are the economic factors?<br>
What do people want? <br>
etc, etc, etc<br><br>
Strawbale construction may make sense or there may be some other
techniques that are better suited to Haiti (reinforced waddle and daub or
reinforced adobe?). Rural and urban locations will have different
solutions. Establishing relationships that empower people to look around
them for solutions is always a good place to begin.<br><br>
I do worry about the longevity of strawbale walls in a climate with so
little drying potential and so much wetting potential (rains and
hurricanes and poverty which often equals lack of ability to maintain
roofs). <br><br>
All my best to you all.<br><br>
Kelly<br><br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3 color="#008000">Kelly Lerner, Architect<br>
Certified Sustainable Building Advisor<br>
One World Design
Architecture<x-tab> </x-tab>509-838-8812<br>
<a href="http://www.one-world-design.com/" eudora="autourl">
www.one-world-design.com<br>
</a><a href="http://www.naturalremodeling.com/" eudora="autourl">
www.naturalremodeling.com<br><br>
</a>Have you read <b><i>Natural Remodeling for the Not-So-Green
House</i></b>? Available in bookstores throughout the universe.<br><br>
<br><br>
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