It’s been about one year since the Shelters for All $300 House design competition. (Earthbag building was the most popular building method.) Let’s look at the progress made since then. Two videos below show their work in Haiti and India.
poverty
New Boondoggle Government Housing Program
From CNS News: This week, the Obama administration released a “bold new vision for addressing the nation’s health and economic burdens caused by preventable hazards associated with the home.” The project has a name: “Advancing Healthy Housing: A Strategy for Action.”
Where the Haiti Relief Money Did and Did Not Go
A lot of our time and effort goes toward helping relief efforts in Haiti and other countries in need, so excuse me if this sounds like a rant. The following article truly disgusted me. The article breaks down how only a tiny amount out of several billion dollars in donations ever made it to help Haitians. This is appalling and shameful, and shouldn’t be allowed to happen. There needs to be a giant uproar over this to correct the situation, otherwise donors may not help in future crises. The good news is I believe there’s a fairly simple solution that could prevent this from happening again. I’ve outlined my “power to the people” proposal below after an excerpt from the article.
Practical Action
“Practical Action works alongside communities to find practical solutions to the poverty they face. We see technology as a vital contributor to people’s livelihoods. Our definition of technology includes physical infrastructure, machinery and equipment, knowledge and skills and the capacity to organise and use all of these.
$300 Earthbag House Update
My housing designs are now posted for ‘The $300 House Open Design Challenge’. I’ve submitted two proposals so far: $300 Earthbag House – What the World Needs Now, and the Stone Dome – $300 Geopolymer Earthbag Dome. There are lots of new drawings and details included. Please, please take a look, leave comments and rate … Read more
$300 Earthbag House Video
Here are some more details about my $300 Earthbag House for ‘The $300 House Open Design Challenge.’ I look forward to your comments.