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EnigmaNZ · 08-24-2006, 05:37 PM

I should think it would be more practible to send basic building materials the people are used to, timber, ply, corrigated iron etc, and enable them to build their own habitat, using the money that would employ builders in the west to build your cabanas to pay these people instead for a year, at a dollar a day, you could pay for a lot of labour with little money. They have a job to feed their family, and rebuild their community. Habitat for humanity third world style. Using corrigated iron and lengths of timber I built a hut when I was about 12 about 10 x 10 x 7 with seating that could be slept on, table etc, that was better than some of the shanty houses I have seen. Make it simple and cheap. In fact the next time a building is being pulled down for redevelopment, that scrap could be someones building material. Raiding scrap yards for old corrigated iron etc could probably have all those affected in the third world with a basic shanty town type home in days to weeks that they could build themselves while waiting for permanent structures.

I am reminded of an aid story from years ago of a US aid group that went into a third world village and put in all sorts of first world wonders then left, everything was great until things began to break down, as they do, then no one could afford to fix, and no one knew how to anyway, so over time the village reverted back to what it knew, and the western wonders rusted away.

That $1,000,000 instead of building 500 cabanas, could be used the following way, use half to obtain and ship over second hand timber and corrigated iron etc, and half to pay 10,000 people for a month to put up basic housing structures using what we consider scrap.

Here's another example, we would probably send over generators and pumps for the people using high speed compact electronic ignited, hi pressure injection, etc diesels, when the ideal would be something we used in the interwars years. Something the village blacksmith could strip down and rebuilt with what he has to hand.

http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_gas.html

Sorry Lars, not directed at you but at some of the western aid groups, particulary government funded ones.

08-24-2006, 05:37 PM	#8
EnigmaNZ Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: New Zealand Posts: 33	I should think it would be more practible to send basic building materials the people are used to, timber, ply, corrigated iron etc, and enable them to build their own habitat, using the money that would employ builders in the west to build your cabanas to pay these people instead for a year, at a dollar a day, you could pay for a lot of labour with little money. They have a job to feed their family, and rebuild their community. Habitat for humanity third world style. Using corrigated iron and lengths of timber I built a hut when I was about 12 about 10 x 10 x 7 with seating that could be slept on, table etc, that was better than some of the shanty houses I have seen. Make it simple and cheap. In fact the next time a building is being pulled down for redevelopment, that scrap could be someones building material. Raiding scrap yards for old corrigated iron etc could probably have all those affected in the third world with a basic shanty town type home in days to weeks that they could build themselves while waiting for permanent structures. I am reminded of an aid story from years ago of a US aid group that went into a third world village and put in all sorts of first world wonders then left, everything was great until things began to break down, as they do, then no one could afford to fix, and no one knew how to anyway, so over time the village reverted back to what it knew, and the western wonders rusted away. That $1,000,000 instead of building 500 cabanas, could be used the following way, use half to obtain and ship over second hand timber and corrigated iron etc, and half to pay 10,000 people for a month to put up basic housing structures using what we consider scrap. Here's another example, we would probably send over generators and pumps for the people using high speed compact electronic ignited, hi pressure injection, etc diesels, when the ideal would be something we used in the interwars years. Something the village blacksmith could strip down and rebuilt with what he has to hand. http://www.otherpower.com/otherpower_gas.html Sorry Lars, not directed at you but at some of the western aid groups, particulary government funded ones. Last edited by EnigmaNZ : 08-24-2006 at 06:03 PM.