“Engineering Ministries International is a non-profit organization of Christian design professionals. We provide engineering and architectural design for Christian ministries in the developing world. This past September our team conducted a construction training workshop for earthbag building. We also provided training in a thin shell latex concrete roof system called the HyPar, due to its hyperbolic paraboloid shape. The roof is about 1 cm thick, strong enough to walk on, and lasts for decades.
The training was in northwest Thailand, near the Burma border. The ministry is the Free Burma Rangers, a small organization that provides medical support to minority people groups in Burma being attacked by the Burma Army. They want to build an earthbag medical facility in the jungle of Burma with surgical operating, lab, and X-ray to serve people there.”
From the Jungle School of Medicine project page:
“The hospital at Jungle School of Medicine serves as a referral center for 14 surrounding villages. Providing a space for a medical laboratory will facilitate both the immediate provision of healthcare for needy IDP patients as well as the training of medics in laboratory skills. Over the long term, the knowledge and skill in earthbag technology could provide a whole new dimension in housing solutions in this area.”
Ben Vander Plas
Civil/Env. Engineering Intern
eMi Engineering Ministries International
Jungle School of Medicine Project page
EarthbagBuilding.com project page about the Free Burma Ranger Clinic.