Edition #14, July 2005
Deswos visits projects in Riobamba
Winfried Cléver, DESWOS representative for Africa and Latin America, recently visited the Nuca Huasi Project in Riobamba, Ecuador. As well as building and repairing houses, the project educates young masonry apprentices in a two year program. During his visit to three villages he encountered people working on their houses and was able to experience a minga, an ancient system of community voluntary work, where the people were making adobes for their houses.
EcoHabitat competition
Toward
the end of 2004, the EcoSouth Network opened a competition about the
EcoHabitat:”Projects executed and/or architectonic designs with
EcoMaterials. Forty-six works were presented and the jury had to plan
additional sessions to decided upon the ten finalists. The response was
much greater than the organizers could have imagined. Not only the
great number of proposals, but also the quality of the work was
outstanding. Noteworthy is that all the presentations were in Spanish,
even if they were from outside Latin America.
How to register for EcoMaterials 2005
The
third edition of the EcoMaterials Conference will take place in Santa
Clara from November 14-17, an event that has prompted many questions
from visitors to the website. The Frequently Asked Questions are
highlighted in an article that treats themes such as how to registrar,
costs of the event, accommodation, local activities. As well, it treats
tour packages and combination of EcoMaterials 2005 with the earth
construction seminar.
Technology transfer to Mexico
During
a technology transfer in Mexico, Sergio Betancourt demonstrated
possible appropriate solutions for the production of construction
materials and elements for popular housing in the state of Michoacán.
Feasibility analysis about availability of local materials, theoretical
and practical capacitation of project personnel and workers, setting up
an integrated pilot production unit, and construction of a scale model
at the local fair grounds, were some of the highlights of the mission.
respuesta a una mayor cantidad de solicitudes de las familias de
menores ingresos.
Waste to Houses Project receives Best Practice Certificate
The CIDEM team that directed “Waste to Houses” displays the Best
Practice Certificate from UN Habitat/City of Dubai. The project
combines production of construction materials made from waste product
with repair of hurricane affected houses, and is supported by
Werkhof Darmstadt e.v. in Germany with co-financing from the Euopean
Union. (link No. 11 Recycling Waste). It is worth mentioning that CIDEM
hosts the III EcoMaterials Conference to take place in Santa Clara in
November 2005.
