November 2011
1 post
SOFT SPOKEN SMILE
In my time working in Haiti as a part of Konbit Shelter, one of the nicest, hardest working and responsible people I met was Duckens Sanon. He was the soft-spoken bilingual mastermind behind a lot of Konbit Shelter’s success. We would often talk of trying to set up a larger version of Konbit Shelter in Haiti, run by and for Haitians, and Duckens was our pick to head this theoretical...
February 2011
1 post
Words Return
Moses, Craig, and myself left Haiti about a week and a half ago. The final week there was so frantic and felt so successful that when it was time to go catch our flights, none of us were ready. We were no longer needed essentially, but the dome had become our baby. It was hard to let go. We woke up early as usual on that final day, and drove to the dome to say our farewells.
Ducken had...
January 2011
12 posts
Love From Afar
Craig says “oui” in the most tired voice when I ask him wassup.
We went to Jacmel today and met with a guy who wants to do an eco resort out of earthbags. He asked us to stay for three more months. We said “No, thank you.”
The cistern is done, with a working pump and covered in concrete. Got a guy landscaping to cover the pipe. It’s sweet.
Jean Gardie keeps...
Nighttime Remembrances
All Things Concerned
The finish line is in sight. Craig Maldonado is not only a gifted architect, he is also an inspired site leader. He has kept the crew, Moses, and myself on track and ahead of schedule with cool rapport. We have completed the dome structure and removed the forms from the wind scoops. A leap in progress that has allowed Dyucken’s crew to get a ‘scratch coat’ of plaster on the...
Whittlin' Away
Schmiggeties
The end of day shmiggeties have made me weary, but that doesn’t mean that the during day shmiggeties weren’t awesome.
Franz finished building the awnings and the door frame. We installed the door frame at the end of the day today. It’s pretty. Awnings will be hung tomorrow.
Craig oversaw the installation of plaster inside and with the help of Gypson, Vixon, and others...
Life Goes On And Things Are Good
Cookie Monster barked all night last night, again. Moses adopted four kids. Tod left. Craig bought food and sheet metal and found a place where cement was 50 gourd cheaper. We also got paint, a broom, and hinges for windows.
Got toilet paper. Nobody has the shits.
The windows are in. The first coat of plaster is finished on the inside. Lakol is painting windows, and they look great.
Moses...
Rising
Opening The Doors!
The last two days saw the first real inauguration of the community center with workshops and events brought by Ayiti Resurrect and Ayiti Cherie Healing. Here is what Naima wrote about their work here:
“This week the community center and surrounding grounds were lit up by the faces of over 120 participants who took part in 2 days of expressive arts workshops, cultural activities and...
Pulley Our Own Weight
We have started using pulleys, at last! With a double pulley system we have cut our load in half. This freed up some extra hands that would otherwise be passing buckets on a ladder. Putting a loft inside the structure allowed us to make a sturdy platform for a support armature which in the past seemed a difficult option due to limited resources and the intention of using very little wood....
December 2010
6 posts
From Shelter To Center
Upon our return, the community center was a structure, by definition. It sheltered it’s interiors from rain, it allowed for blown breeze and shone sun to pass in and across. It’s earth walls kept the three rooms cool in the hot days and it’s sturdy doors allowed for safe storage of goods. Even the drainage pipe, soon to be rain harvest, was flowing when rains fell.
But the...
Design Details
We designed the house for Monique with her specific needs, as a mother of two young girls, in mind. Then interior diameter of the main space is 18.5 feet with a 9.25 ft radius and scalloped partial circles that extend to an 11.25 ft interior radius (see above photo of foundation layout). Also there is a conical back room that has a 5ft radius that will abut the main structure and stand at 8ft...
It Starts On A Good Foundation...
With the holidays at our heels and Haitian Independence Day (January 1st) around the corner, we are fully under way on building the first Konbit house, for Monique and her two daughters .
In case you don’t remember, konbit [pronounced kon-beet] means “working together,” or “shared labor” in Kreyol.
Several of our evenings were spent building forms for the new...
Support Konbit's Return
Our return to Bigones has been a fantastic one. We feel a great sense of connection and positivity with the people of Bigones. We are very excited to be completing the community center with touches of paint and other final elements, while also starting to build the first Konbit house in Bigones.
We have gotten this far with the generous support of all of our friends and family, so please...
Ceremony Of Sounds
Late on the eve of Christmas, our ramshackle group of six drove under the clear night sky from our house in Dufort to Bigones. Along the way, the normal experiences of roadside laughter, dogs sprinting in all directions, and the symphony of horns and yells were all gone. There was a calmness to the streets and paths that we had yet experienced.
As we turned from the paved highway to the dusty...
Back In Bigones!
Back in Haiti
When we left Bigones, blistered, broke, and delirious with exhaustion, we gave a million hugs and kisses and promised we would return. The months that followed saw us slowly recovering our minds, our health, and our finances, and wondering how on earth we would keep that promise. We knew we wanted to return in December, but had to admit to a deep uncertainty about whether we...
September 2010
1 post
Thank YOU!
Speaking with Fritz today, it seems all that is left is to finish the interior plastering, and give it a fresh coat of paint. Fritz, who has been our champion all along, is overseeing these last bits of the process. As we send him a million thank you’s for his continued involvement and support, we are reminded that there are quite a few important people without whom this never could have...
August 2010
17 posts
Final Farewells
We leave today. We’ll miss everyone so much! But the work will continue in our absence.
The pieces are really starting to come together. The outside is nearing completion and all of our patience in the plaster layers is paying off. Yesterday, several of our crew members revealed their talents as we began the application of the final smooth plaster coat. Also, the carved door is in...
The Sweetest Fruit in the Top of the Tree
As a dome progresses, each added layer brings the structure closer to completion. Also, every successive course corbels more intensely and actual building is being done at a higher altitude. As the dome attains a certain height, obstacles begin to present themselves.
Of foremost concern is the problem of getting the stabilized earth to the bag. It is possible to build scaffolding or a pulley...
Hearth
Building in the middle of the rainy season is a soggy affair. Even if the daily shower only lasts an hour, the rest of the day is still mud mud mud.
Hoping to finally dry out the inside of the structures after days of rain and plastering, we made a couple of campfires. Gypson and the guys wasted no time running to fetch diesel fuel and all manner of matter to throw on the fire.
As the...
Voyeur of a Set Stage - More Mud
Continuing with earth plastering inside and out of the entire building. The largest room, 20’ in diameter and now about 18’ high, requires much homemade scaffolding. As the wood formworks come out they are transformed into ladders of all sizes.
From those poised high up on those ladders comes the call “Boul! Boul!” yelling for anyone on the ground to toss up a...
New Life in Barriere Jeudi
Monique arrived at the site on hiring day saying that she had a two year old daughter and a baby on the way, so while she sure couldn’t do any heavy lifting, having a job right then would make a big difference.
We brought her on to the crew and she worked bravely these last few weeks, making sure everyone had plenty of drinking water while they worked and helping to serve lunch. This...
WatchTrimming the Fat.
Final Forms and Good 'ol Mud Slinging
Mud has been flying everywhere these past few days, as we fill all the corners and cracks in preparation for plastering.
WatchKids in Barriere Jeudi playing “The Bottle Game.” It’s played whenever, wherever. A flash mob of a game, which usually goes for about 10 minutes before everyone playing disperses, laughing and chasing each other. This video is taken right next to our build site.
Fenet (windows)
Franz has started hand planing and scoring the wooden window frames. It’s pretty amazing to witness the craft that goes into this. As the giant barrel windows go in, and the wooden window forms make their place within the still rough structure, i find myself thinking more and more about the possibility of making homes.
WatchHeadlamp Carpentry with a two-person saw (for when you don’t have electricity and need it done by morning).
—Tod
WatchWe received some feedback that we need more kids and videos on the blog. So here you go.
—Tod
Working Backwards From What You've Got.
Work on the windows began today. All of the structure’s upper windows will be 55 gallon drums modified to serve both as windows, and as permanent formwork. The tap tap repair shop just down the road has been an excellent ally in this undertaking.
Visitors Walk the Walls
Some fellow earthbag builders came for a visit to Konbit Shelter. Project manager Matt Gunn and structural engineer Bill Druc are bulding an orphanage and school in the Leogane region, using a design from Owen Geiger. They walked the walls for a close look at the triple dome structure. It was fun to share info, techniques and stories.
Afterwards the kids took a sack snooze while...
Keep On Keepin' On
With many late nights of headlamp-carpentry and baking days of earth-bagging, we are making progress. Today we broke the six-foot mark with all door and window forms in place. As the structures begin to take form, we are hoping to meet with the community this week to discuss it’s future possibilities.
July 2010
17 posts
Acra Bag Factory
Finding a bagging supplier in Haiti drastically changed our project. We went from needing to organize an entire shipping container to simply being able to fly down with nothing more than our checked luggage. This also made for a sooner start date, as getting anything out of customs in Haiti is rather unpredictable.
Initially, we went to the industrial supplier, Acra, in June. Our first visit...
WatchCommuting by dump truck with the volunteers from Hand’s On.
—Tod
WatchCallie explains our concept for the domes to the build crew in Barriere Jeudi.
—Tod
Konbit Shelter + Hands On
One of the most pressing issues in Haiti’s rebuilding efforts is rubble. It plagues the streets, mound after mound, at times occupying what would be a lane of traffic. It is estimated at over 20 million cubic meters of rubble, which (if you had somewhere to haul it) would take 1ooo trucks 1ooo days.
On our initial visit in June, we were taken aback at how overwhelming the task of rubble...
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WatchThus far our typical transportation, in the form of our daily commute, has been anything but typical. The route we traverse begins on the busy highway in front of the house where we are staying and soon turns on to a crowded, bumpy narrow city street that leads to a river which must be crossed several times before reaching the village where the building site is. Because of the frequent rains and...
WatchThe community of Barriere Jeudi is separated from the main road by a river. During the rainy season the river often swells with little notice. Part of our build crew found this out firsthand when the tap-tap they were riding in got trapped and partially submerged in the river forcing them to leap to safety. A backhoe was later brought in to assist.
—Tod
WatchSynchronized pick-ax-ing while digging out the build site.
—Tod