News - September 2003
Followup and quality evaluation in Salvador
In August Nicaraguan EcoSouth expert Marcelino Castro provided followup training to the women´s group Las Melidas in El Salvador and carried out the evaluations of their workshops for the EcoSouth MCR Certificate of Quality. Marcelino is one of the most experienced MCR experts and because of his multi-language talents has carried out assignments as far a field as Tajikistan, Namibia and Zimbabwe, as well as countries neighboring Nicaragua.
Plaster analysis in Guatemala
One of the students involved in the joint Ecuador-Guatemala plaster investigations will focus upon the mineralogical composition of all the more than seventy samples tested in Guatemala, This is a result of the analysis of the broad field research from November until April in both countries. They will now concentrate upon deepening the analysis on a selected group of samples and expose them to weathering conditions, while performing different tests.
Participative design for urbanization
The first step of a new housing project in Diriamba involves the future owners in a process called participative design. They meet with the SofoNic team and discuss ways to use the available land and in work groups tackle the distribution of the rooms. The design team works these out and comes up with an urban design and several house types for the next meeting. Tough choices must be made. However, by involving the people directly things work out and the team comes away ideas to go on to the next step.
