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Projects
Haiti: Building school, community, and economic
opportunities in Rural Haiti
In the village of Deslandes in the
Artibonite Valley of Haiti, ITyC is working with a
local grassroots organization in the construction of
an 855 square meter CEB school facility. More than
school construction, the project is designed to
improve educational and economic opportunities for
the people of Deslandes and neighboring villages
while strengthening ties between young people and
their community in the long-run.
Once completed, the new Centre d’Intervention
Jeunesse School facility will provide a permanent,
healthful, and safe learning environment for more
than 900 children in rural Haiti from 8 villages --
children who would not otherwise have such
opportunities. The project will also serve as a
model for the use of appropriate technologies and as
a catalyst for “green” economic development in rural
Haiti. A living roof, solar energy, composting
toilets, and water harvesting systems are planned.
Buildings will be learning laboratories for students
of the school and community members. ITyC will assist
community groups in business planning of CEB related
enterprises such as a block making factory and CEB
construction consulting services.
The project is a collaborative effort between ITyC,
the Centre d’Intervention Jeunesse, an organization
dedicated to educating and integrating youth in
sustainable community development, and Partners in
Progress, a Pennsylvania-based organization with the
mission to promote and support sustainable community
development in rural Haiti (visit
http://www.piphaiti.org/).
* Promote CEB and other appropriate building
technologies
* Create local income generating opportunities
* Build organizing capacity of communities
ITyC is providing CEB training and construction
design and management services for the project.
Phase I -- planning and training is
complete and Phase II is now underway. The
foundation for the first building is finished and
crews are presently making CEB blocks for the wall
and roof systems. We expect the first building to be
completed by April of 2010.
“The work of CEDESA for more than 40 years
has been to create social organizations that enable
communities to resolve their problems and to
mutually support each other in the search for
alternatives. We value the common good, collective
work, mutual assistance, interchange, respect,
solidarity and responsibility. But above all, we
have promoted a horizontal relationship among social
subjects for the engendering of structural change
arising from the roots of the community in the earth.”
original text by Luz Maria Rivera Perez, Teresa
Martínez Delgado and Graciela Martínez Delgado
translation and adaptation from Spanish by Holly
Yasui
CEDESA has implemented a campaign called “El Arte de
Vivir en el Campo, La Vivienda Campesina Sustentable
en el Desarrollo Comunitario”. English: “The Art of
Living in the Countryside, The Sustainable Campesino
Household in Community Development” The objective of
this campaign is to create productive and ecological
homes to provide a base for campesino self
sufficiency. Instituto Tierra y Cal is offering a
series of workshops on CEB construction for CEDESA
and their constituency as well as building a model
house at CEDESAs installation in Dolores Hidalgo.
Instituto Tierra y Cal is also working in several
communities in the manufacture of their own CEBs
using a Auram hand press developed at the Auroville
Earth Institute. Earthen housing along with water
catchment and storage in ferro-cement cisterns, gray
water recycling, compost toilets, Lorena stoves,
drip irrigation and tunnel greenhouses are the eco-techniques
currently being promoted in this campaign.
Francisco Villa Community Center
San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico
Instituto Tierra y Cal is collaborating on this
beautiful project with the Rhode Island School of
Design, Zumar Contigo, a state governmental agency
working with marginalized communities, the mayor's
office of San Miguel, and Casita Linda, an NGO
building homes for marginalized families.
The community center will be built entirely of CEBs.
Construction has begun in January.
Casita Linda: Building Hope One House At A Time
San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico
Casita Linda, a non-profit organization founded in
2001 that builds adobe and CEB homes for families
who are among the poorest of the poor in San Miguel
and the surrounding area. Casita Linda’s mission is
to create a dignified, safe and empowering
environment that will provide a foundation of hope
for families living in extreme poverty.
In 2009 and early 2010, Instituto Tierra y Cal
provided Compressed Earth Blocks, training and
consultation to Casita Linda.
Chiapas Building Project
Chiapas, Mexico
See
www.projectneighbors.org
Crow Nation, Montana
The Crow Nation in Southeastern Montana has begun
producing CEBs and will commence home construction
on the reservation next spring. They are planning
hundreds of homes built with local labor and have
purchased excellent machinery. Jim spent two weeks
on site in November to assist in soil selection, mix
ratios, and factory configuration.