Past editions

Preview of themes of EcoMaterials 2005

2005-08-29T21:06:51+00:00

An introduction to the illustrious panels that will launch each day of the upcoming EcoMaterials conference forms the basis of the accompanying report. All continents are represented by the participants, who include academic luminaries, as well as people of wide experience and provocative ideas from government and civil society organizations. The specific commissions each day reflect a potpourri of presentations, well-addressed to the particular theme of the day, whether New Developments, Connecting Science with the Grassroots, or Policies.

The constructor and the apprentices

2005-08-29T21:25:17+00:00

Nicaraguan builder, Martin Gutierrez, participates in programs of apprentice education with two vocational education institutions as well as housing programs of SofoNic. He cannot hide his enthusiasm of contributing to the development of the young people in his country. Over the years he has included electricians, plumbers, welders and masons will now integrate three students who are about to graduate as construction foremen, but require a practical experience. He also has incorporated recently graduated engineers as construction supervisors. The young people are exposed to a wide variety of situations from housing settlements to apartment buildings to individual upmarket dwellings.

School for young restorers

2005-08-29T21:26:33+00:00

“Challenge of a utopia, an integral strategy to save old Havana” is the title of a book about the restoration of Havana. An innovative school for young restorers plays an important role in this strategy. It prepares young people for the ongoing restoration activities in Old Havana, which is a UN patrimony of humanity. During their two-year apprenticeship they learn the theoretical and practical issues of restoration and also how to work and use different materials and tools that are not used nowadays. They learn the arts of masonry, carpentry, painting, glass craftsmanship, stone masonry, mural and gypsum painting for the restoration of the old damaged buildings.

Pedals for Progress - Sustainable Partnerships

2005-08-29T21:28:05+00:00

Pedals for Progress has recently concentrated its activities on sustainable partnerships. These are organizations are able to cover the shipping costs from the U.S.A. to country of destination, the most critical factor in creating a sustainable self financing partnership. It currently considers seven partnerships as “sustainable”, five in Central America, one in the Caribbean and one in Africa. CESTA in El Salvador is the organization that has received most bicycles over the years. PfP is hopeful that other partner organizations, including several that did not receive bikes during the current year, will enter onto the team of sustainable partnerships.

Minga: communitary work

2005-08-29T23:29:10+00:00

In Ñuca Huasi (“Our Home” in Quichua) in the foothills of the Volcano Chimborazo in Ecuador, the community continues the tradition of “mingas”. This tradition of community work goes back to pre-colombian époques and is based upon voluntary work, the expectation of which is solidarity and reciprocity. In modern times as such qualities are being lost, it is most refreshing to see that this voluntary work remains in many Latin American communities where cooperation, solidarity and reciprocity are still present.

EcoMaterials and Hurricans

2005-08-29T23:30:54+00:00

An interdisciplinary expert team in Santa Clara recently looked at house construction from the perspective of resistance of the materials to hurricanes. Information from a sample of houses built with EcoMaterials and an equal number built with other materials was gathered after hurricane Ivan passed through the area in 2004. The final conclusions are awaited with great interest and will be published on this website. Meanwhile, the group was able to view the preliminary data, as well as maps of risk areas and their intensity.

An engineer on the construction site

2005-08-29T23:32:04+00:00

Six months of intensive activity in various aspects of construction with SofoNic, has enriched the formal education of Yosvany Díaz Cárdenas of CIDEM. A program of cooperation between the two institutions provides opportunities to connect science with practice, as well as international experience. Yosvany returns to Cuba with a backback full of unforgettable experiences. He emphasized the importance of reducing the differences between the engineer and the mason. Each has something to contribute to their work together. The masons and apprentices in Nicaragua will never forget seeing Yosvany covered with mud during the rains, the same as themselves.