Boatbuilders For HumanityFebruary 21, 2010
“After reading this morning’s update mentioning Boatbuilders for Humanity I reached for my copy of Tiny Houses by Lester Walker. One of the chapters in this book describes efforts by the US Army after the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. They built 5610 tiny houses (in 4 sizes) to house approximately 20,000 refugees. These houses were built of decent materials; redwood and fir with cedar shake roofs, and a fair number survive and are still being lived in. These houses were designed by John McLare, and are typical small boxes on post foundations with proper peaked roofs. They look like houses; they are attractive homes that one can imagine being comfortable in. I believe this is crucial, who knows how long people will be living in these houses? They should be designed and built with a long term view, not as temporary shelter; the tent city is for that. I believe small wooden houses of this style can be prefab built, here, there, or someplace in between. Walls can be foam cored with recycled press-board skins, bolted at the corners, enameled steel roofs, floors of real wood in sections that break down for transport in containers. Please do not house people in ugly ghettoes of rusty steel containers or plastic boxes… these folks are humans.” Later, Tad added this: “Attached are first renders of the tiny houses for Haiti. I’ll work up some 2D Cad drawings from this. These are the smallest version of McLare’s shacks, outside dimensions are 10′ by 14′, roughly 140 square feet. I’ll work up the B size as well, 14′ by 18′ and about 252 square feet. I feel that this fellow http://hexayurt.com/hexayurt_country/ makes some reasonable economic arguments… but I also feel the yurt idea will not fly. This is because these things look cheap, (throw-away materials and techniques) ie not valuable. And they (to my mind) don’t look like a place anyone wants to live in. I believe McLare’s shacks are attractive and fit many folks concept of what a small house might look like. That’s a big hurdle in itself…getting whatever you offer accepted by the recipients. My inclination would be to first build these bare inside, only the roof will be insulated, the walls will be a few studs with siding, no liner. This will reduce costs, weight, man hours, etc. And it gives people some avenue of personalization. We could include Ikea type plat packed galley and maybe beds?”
(Please note that these are copyright Tad Roberts, used by permission only. Please contact him— This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it —for permission to use or build.) I found this fascinating piece on the internet, by Sam and Delores York, The Hispanolia Haiti Team, speaking about the average rural family in Haiti: The YardThe average family size is 7. It is common for the extended family to be living in the same yard area or close to each other. There can be parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandchildren living in the same yard. The yard is defined by a fence made of posts and some form of cross members or a hedge of living plants indicating the limit of the yard. This yard area is private, one must have permission to enter the area. The yard will have the house or houses of the family living there, a separate area in which to cook, an elevated storage building if possible, and a small garden. There may be an outhouse if a development organization has provided the majority of funds to build it, however most families do not have an outhouse. The houses in different areas are oriented differently and the building materials used are based on what is available. A basic house would have two large rooms, 8 feet by 10 feet, and possibly some smaller rooms, 4 feet by 8 or 10 feet. The size is based on the units of measure on the story pole (a measuring device used by carpenters through the ages) of the builder. The house would have a pole in the ground every 3 to 4 feet to support the roof and serve as a form for weaving split wood as the structure on which mud will be placed to form the walls. The roof will have a high middle with a slope to either side and be covered with flattened lower palm fronds from the Royal palms. The lower palm fronds are secured with poles of wood or bamboo laid perpendicular to the fronds and tied with vines. The floor of the house would be dirt. The structural supports would be small diameter trees (4 inches or less) squared and notched together and then pegged or nailed. There is a covered porch area at the front entrance and the area above this can be accessed from inside the house and used for storage. Improvements on this type house usually begin with split Royal palm board siding and a frond roof, palm board siding and a tin roof, and most advanced a palm board siding with tin roof and a concrete floor. The progression described follows the social status of the house type from poorest to the richest. This progression is not an indication of comfort of the house which is directly opposite of the social status rating. The area where the cooking is done is outside the structure of the house. It may be located under the elevated storage building. It usually has some type of siding like the upper palm fronds woven together or placed with the main stem vertical providing shade and privacy. The cooking is usually done with 3 rocks placed to hold a round bottom aluminum pot. Wood is the standard cooking fuel. The wood is fed into the fire through the 3 spaces available between the rocks. The elevated storage building holds the harvest, food, and can be a cool place to sleep during the hotter months. Palm board siding is used, lower palm fronds or tin is used for roofing, large posts support the building. The floor is usually palm board unless the person can afford wood boards. The height from floor to ceiling inside the building is about 4 feet. There is a small covered porch with a door into each of the rooms. There are metal inverted cones or disks on the support posts to keep pests out. A ladder is used to get into the building. There will be small animals in the yard such as dogs, cats, chickens, guineas, and sometimes pigs. There is usually a “pilon” which is a giant wooden mortar and pestle for cracking and pounding grain in preparation for eating. The garden inside the yard is the first to be planted and it contains most of the important crops that the family eats close to the house. The soil is usually fertile in this area because the household organic matter is thrown or swept into this garden. One must always alert the people in the yard before entering. This can be done by speaking to the family if they are outside or if they can not be seen, shouting “honor” and waiting for the response of “respect.” If no one is in the yard or there is no response then one is not allowed into the yard. If one enters the yard without following the customs the dog or dogs have a right to bite the trespasser and the trespasser is looked upon as a thief. The activities of the family take place in the yard. Visitors are received in the yard where they are directed to a shady spot to sit. This is where the processing of crops takes place. Crops are dried on the ground in the yard before being stored. The family sleeps on mats on the floor or on beds if they are available. A twin bed is considered to be for two persons and a full size bed is for three persons. The mats are made of dried banana stalks. String is used to weave the banana stalk pieces together. This makes a flexible mat that can be rolled up and stored. Clothes are hung wherever possible in the house. There may be pegs, strings, or nails on which to hang clothes. Boxes are used for storage; plastic is draped over clothes to keep them clean. There are no public utilities such as water, electricity, phone, sewage, or garbage service. These if available are found in towns. The rural towns may have some of these services. When services are available they are limited in range and time available. Water is not usually available in the yard area. It is hauled by women or children to the house from whatever source is available. Traditionally, Calabash gourds have been used to carry water. Plastic gallon jugs and 5 gallon buckets are used when available. Drinking water is poured into a clay or concrete jar until needed, although not everyone has this type of jar. The cleanest water available is used for drinking. Water that is not clean is used for washing dishes. Laundry is taken to the water source. The clothes are washed by scrubbing between one's hands or placed on a rock and pounded with a flat stick. Bushes and trees are used to dry clothes. Bathing is usually in a creek or river and is usually in the afternoon after the workday is done and before eating. Lye soap is purchased for laundry and bathing. Key limes are used in the water when washing dishes, because they are believed to disinfect the water and provide the cleanest dishes. Sand is used on stubborn burned-on food in cooking pots. The activities of the family revolve around the agricultural cycle. The production of food is the highest priority for the family. The success and well being of the family is directly related to their success in agricultural production. Agricultural production is impacted by the rainy seasons. There is no agricultural infrastructure to increase productivity or decrease the impact of drought, disease, and insects. Genetic diversity within the various crops is the greatest hedge against total loss. Since farmers work small amounts of land called gardens these are often spread out over a large area which is another hedge against total crop failure. Here is the link: http://www.ruralhaititeam.org/ruralhaiti/theyard.php ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ January 21, 2010 Since we announced this effort on January 18, we’ve received many intriguing ideas. A lot of people in our industry are hard at work right now trying to figure out solutions for the survivors in Haiti. The initial premise is the need for 200,000 housing units, with separate toilets and cisterns to collect rainwater.
So, what we need right away is an array of good designs. Nothing too elaborate. Also, we're looking at funding sources and ways to deal with the infrastructure. I'll keep you updated here. Thanks so much, to all of you. Carl. Please email me: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |
Many good people in the marine industry are taking up this challenge. Yacht designer Tad Roberts in the Pacific Northwest sent this image (among others), following by commentary:
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