Partnerships enable development of Bamboo Laminated Housing Materials…

HFHI- Nepal strives to be innovators in cost effective housing provision with one of the strategies using locally available materials wherever possible.

As part of our ongoing development, HFH-Canada has signed a Contribution Agreement with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in order to help HFHI-Nepal to carry out its bamboo housing project Bamboo Enterprise for Habitat in southeast Nepal. The grant was signed on 23rd November 2007 and provides for CIDA to financially assist HFHI-Nepal through HFHI- Canada. With additional funding support from HFH-Canada and in partnership with Sahara-Nepal, HFHI-Nepal has subsequently initiated a new project to build Bamboo Enterprise for Habitat. The project is being developed as a micro financing enterprise which also aims to develop bamboo as a cost affective, environmental friendly and durable tool for housing.

Bamboo for weaving mats

The project was initially conceived by HFHI Nepal and was assisted by the Canadian Architects’ Legacy Fund. Further support is committed by the Canadian Architects’ legacy Fund to implement the program through the architectural design of the factory and the financial support to house more families in Nepal with more than thousand numbers of women will be benefited.
The enterprise will involve the weaving of hundreds of bamboo mats that will then be delivered to the factory to be built north of Chandragardi. Employing about 25 people per shift the factory will laminate the mats into corrugated roof panels using resin to stick them together. The process requires a large hot press together with other equipment which is currently being manufactured in Calcutta, India. The project aims to help the community generate more income through these micro financial institutions with their own participation. Through micro financing institutions, the project also aims to empower and activate women in its processes. This will develop the community and also help in poverty alleviation. Delivery of the factory equipment is expected in April 2008 and all being well, we can look forward to the start up of operations in July 2008.

The support from CIDA, HFHI Canada, and the Canadian Architects Legacy Fund and the partnership with Sahara-Nepal has given HFHI- Nepal a chance to take a big leap forward and pursue great innovation. HFHI- Nepal is extremely thankful for this assistance to all and looks forward to working together on moving these projects forward.

“As Project Manager I have been very encouraged by the team work that is evolving to create what will be a unique not-for-profit enterprise to put much superior roofs over the heads of people who have such a need for better housing.” Peter Russell - Volunteer Engineer from Canada

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Once again Lincoln School joined Habitat to assist families in Kavre, Nepal…

HFHI Nepal, in its efforts to build better habitat successfully, carried out its Volunteer program with Lincoln School for the second time. It was a five day program held October 8-12, 2007 at Patalekhet VDC, Kavre District. Twenty five students, five teachers, the Habitat team and the local community participated in this endeavor. Four houses were built and everyone worked in groups. The students were from the tenth grade and the program was a part of their annual Explore Nepal program. The program was not only successful in its efforts to build better habitat and serve deprived families but it also gave a broader perspective to the young minds. It helped them understand better the essence of selflessness and the joy one gets by helping others. Therefore, it was motivational and was an added encouragement for them to help society more.

The participants were mostly students but the presence and active involvement of teachers, leaders of the community and HFHI-Nepal staff made students more enthusiastic and motivated to contribute their valuable time to the community.

The team stayed at Mirabel Lodge in Dhulikhel which was half an hour away from the work site. The team was formally welcomed by the local community. The selected site is a hilly area full of ups and down but this did not deter the team of international students from working with a spirit of enthusiasm.

The added value to the program was the uniqueness of the schedule which was prearranged with R&R activates, like a visit to a religious place, arranged outdoor game as well as a cultural program. Therefore, the schedule of the program did not only consist of monotonous construction work but the above recreational activities now and then set to make them fresh and to have more interaction with the local community.

volunteers enjoying passing mud, carrying stones

The daily work consisted of different kinds of construction like digging foundation, carrying/passing stones, mixed/passing mud, carrying timber, carrying bucket of water etc. Some volunteers also got the new experience of building walls.

On the second day, the team visited Namo Buddha as a part of recreation after their work. This gave them an opportunity to visit one of the biggest stupas of Nepal and this as another opportunity to know about the other faiths.

On the third day, the students of Lincoln played a football match with the local students of Patalekhet. This was a fun experience for everyone.

On the fourth day, the locals of the village presented a cultural show for the volunteers’ team. This taught the students yet another aspect of the cultural life of Nepalese.

On the fifth day, the volunteers were given certificates as a token of appreciation. This was a motivational factor for the team to work harder and better. The participants felt proud of themselves because their work was extensively admired.
The team also visited all the houses of the home partners’ families. The community gave a farewell and thanked the team for their efforts for contributing their valuable time, energy to affect a change and helping them by building houses. Similarly, the students paid their respect to the community who had shown their love, care and support to them while admiring their work. The opportunity for the students to learn of the village lifestyle of Nepal was most valuable. Moreover, both the local and student teams shared their feelings and it was an emotional moment to observe.

From Daniel, a student at the Lincoln school, “It was a lot of fun working with and getting to know the local community. It was fun to play football with the local school”

Namgyal Lama from Lincoln says, "I think it was an excellent experience outdoors and I think I would love to live here after my retirement and someday I would love to build my own house and put my print in it"

Sita Lama a Home partner added, “It was really a wonderful experience for me working with international people who I had never met in my life and I am feeling proud that these 14-15 years old, very young students built home for me. So I have to preserve my house as they have contributed their sweat in this house”.

Additionally, the common feeling was, "It was great; we had lots of fun, learned new things, gained new experience and helped the people. we really liked digging."

group picture after farewell

Not only the volunteers, the home partners also had a very wonderful experience. Four houses were built for the community. This process had the effect of getting all members of the families to work together. On the other hand, they got a chance to work as a team with people from a different part of the world. The volunteers too explored a different aspect of Nepali people and lifestyle. Such programs indeed develop the society. It was also heart touching to see the volunteers tolerate the hardships of the work with the aim of helping the society. Notwithstanding a previous injury, one of the teachers’ from the school still volunteered to help; it did not stop him working even though he was in pain. After all, the pursuit of humanity drives our emotions on one way or the other and we work for it. Students of the Lincoln school were also very generous and donated an amount of US $1,000.00 as a local contribution to HFHI-Nepal in addition to the construction tools to the home partners.

Therefore, this program initiated by HFHI-Nepal was a wonderful experience for many. Firstly, it developed the community with their active participation. Secondly, it helped young minds learn about the Nepali culture. It also encouraged them to help more and serve more. For Habitat, it was, above all, a worthy achievement and encouragement. It was a matter of pride for the community as well to work interculturally in their local environment.

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HFHI-Nepal Honor with Clarence Jordan Award

It feels good when one’s efforts are admired. We feel encouraged to work more extensively and enthusiastically. Similarly HFHI-Nepal got its recognition for its constant effort to build better habitats. This took place in The Asia Pacific Housing Forum 2007 in Singapore. Many counties participated and Nepal made a distinct mark at the forum. Country Representative Mr. Aruna Paul and Senior Advisor, Mr. Barry Mackey participated in the program on behalf of HFHI-Nepal.


Award won in Singapore and re-celebrated in Nepal

Nepal won the 2007 Claren Jordan Award for innovation in housing and human settlement opportunities. It was awarded with an amount of US$ 20,000. Nepal was chosen as the winner among six nominated countries for its contribution in developing cost effective, durable and environmentally sustainable methods of building houses with locally available materials. Habitat has worked hard to prove the point that bamboo is an effective material with which to build houses; a fact that is not widely accepted in the local areas. It proved that bamboos are cheap, locally available, cost effective and durable enough to withstand earthquakes.

Habitat for Humanity International Nepal is grateful to the Canadian Architects’ Legacy Fund that has been helping to promote the technology by creating a fund amounting to US$25,000. The Canadian International Development Agency through the efforts of our sister organization Habitat for Humanity International-Canada is assisting us in setting up a Bamboo Corrugated Roofing Sheets Plant in the Eastern Nepal, Jhapa. Home partners have contributed to this effort largely by sharing the traditional wisdom and expertise of weaving bamboo.

Furthermore, Nepal, at the same Forum, was rewarded as the runner-up in the 2007 Koinonia Award for innovation in mobilizing financial capital Such awards are precious motivators for the HFHI Nepal team to come up with better ideas and approach in new places.
We are thankful to Samjhuata Nepal, Samuhik Hatemelo Seva and the other partners for working closely with us to introducing Housing Micro Finance in Nepal.

No doubt, the recognition received through the Clarence Jordan Award and the Koinonia Award will be a further enhancement to be more creative and innovative to reach more families to make housing affordable to the poor and thus enhancing their life experience.

The award money will be used as a leverage fund to assist 236 more families affected by floods and to facilitate cost effective construction technology to the other partners, both for permanent shelter at a less cost and for transitional shelter for those affected by disaster as the first response.
The cost of construction for permanent shelter for a 330 square foot home ranges from NRs. 39,000 to 63,000 (US$ 615 to 990) and for transitional shelter from NRs.12, 000 to 18,000 (US$ 190 to 280).

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A new initiative of Bamboo Housing by HFHI-Nepal

Habitat’s constant effort to help the community taught the organization a new technique of Bamboo Housing to grasp and enhance. Bamboo housing was introduced in Nepal in 2005. HFHI, Nepal realized the local application of bamboo into housing in a cost effective manner from the community itself. This motivated Habitat to further promote the technology and help people build decent habitats. For this purpose, Habitat initiated the program of bamboo housing. .Canadian Architects’ Legacy Fund also volunteered in the program and learnt a lot about the technology. The house is built by weaving six bamboo strips plastered with cement or clay for the walls of a house. Six bamboo pillars support the roof and the walls providing added resistance. Some of the houses of Habitat’s aim to build 20,000 houses by 2012 using low cost techniques will use this bamboo housing technique.

Working after being trained by HFHI-Nepal

Bamboo housing technique was adopted not only because bamboo houses look nice or because they are warm and cozy. It has various technical benefits as well. Bamboo is indigenously available in the southern part of Nepal. When raw materials are easily available, it requires less trouble to assemble and thus makes it more affordable and portable to apply bamboos into housing. Apart from having a private house strong enough to resist earthquakes or strong winds and storms, a bamboo house owner will be helping the environment as well. Bamboos are known to be eco friendly as they are helpful in
reducing the green house effect. No doubt, this new program will be beneficial from a wide range of prospects. Bamboo housing, therefore, is being promoted for the following attributes; affordability, ease of assembly, portability, durability and cultural acceptance. This has been experienced by some of the house owners as well who share their story about how their lives have taken a new turn.
Nar Kumari Limbu is one such benefic of this housing program. She is a 22 year old woman from Satishdham- 7, Jhapa. She lives with her husband, Rabin Limbu, a mason, and three daughters. The new house built from the combination of efforts by Sahara Nepal, Habitat for Humanity and the community’s effort enhanced by the Juntara Village Bank has given her brighter days and fresher hopes. The house was built a year ago. She shares her story about the past and the present:-
“Our family has had a very painful past. Due to political conflicts, we were moved out from our native Taplejung village. We had no land or a house of our own so we had to live with our cousins in Jhapa. Too many people in the same house was very difficult to adjust. The kitchen was also in the same room so the smoke coming out had started to degrade our health. My husband was a mason and we depended on his earning for our living but it just wasn’t enough. He went to a gulf country to earn more and during those times I had to struggle hard to raise my three daughters. I also started working as a wage earner in farming. Finally, my husband returned and we were able to buy a piece of land. We also collected some bamboo, sand and timber but building a house was way out of thought. We then heard of the housing Program initiated by Habitat for Humanity along with our Juntara Village Bank. I managed to collect 18000 from my savings and Habitat helped me assemble an additional 18000. With that money and the materials available, we were finally able to build up a new house. It has been a year and we finally have a comfortable life.”

Habitat house of Nara Kumari Limbu

“Having been displaced form our native house, this magnificent house is far beyond a dream come true. It is beautiful and comfortable and many people who drop by are full of admiration. Not only am I more encouraged to keep it clean but it had also motivated me to help the community build better housed of this sort. The kitchen and the rooms are separate so it is more hygienic as well. The underground water system is equally convenient. Moreover, I am more aware of the advantages of bamboo housing. It has improved our health conditions as it brings more warmth. Moreover, its strength makes us feel more safe and secured. We are not scared of any strong winds or heavy rainfall. Habitat has also made us aware that it is eco friendly. This makes me feel happy to have realized that I have helping the environment as well.”
Not only has our habitation, the overall living standard has bettered considerably. I have taken training from Group Level Orientation and Village Level Orientation. This has enabled me to work efficiently in a group and I am also aware of eco friendly housing techniques. I am the member of the community’s co-operative and I attend weekly meetings as well. I am also the member of the saving group formed by Sahara and Family Selection and Construction monitored by Habitat and Sahara. Previously, my husband was a local mason and I was into farming. Due to poor economic condition, we were living in a hand to mouth situation. Now I have trained myself in making candles and I earn more by selling them. My husband is again in the gulf countries. Better earning has encouraged saving and we are now able to educated our children better. This house has certainly enhanced our pride and dignity.”
Nar Kumari shared her joys and Habitat was really joyful to hear about her success. It was also a great pride for Habitat when media recognized Habitat’s noble task. An article regarding the bamboo housing program was published on Dec 1, 2006 in the national daily, “Purbanchal Rastra Dainik”. This very article showed how bamboo housing has given rise to a new mode of shelter to Bhumika Rai and also the future prospects of the program. The article is also posted in the blog.
Another article regarding the same program was also published in the Nepali paper, “Samaya” on December 14, 2006. The article also discussed about similar roles of bamboo and also the viewpoint of many social workers. Habitat’s new method of building better houses climbed up one more step through this new program of bamboo housing initiated by Habitat, Nepal. It’s through the support from everyone around the world that we will be able to build better living.

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Shelter to the Poor

Published in the Eastern Daily “Purbanchal Rastriya Dainik” December 01, 2006




Translated Version:
Life seems to have taken a brighter turn and her happiness is beyond limits for Bhumika Rai who is out of words for the security she received from her new house. The Habitat for Humanity International along with the villagers and volunteers helped her build this entirely new bamboo house.
40 years old Bhumika living with her husband Hukum and two children feels her life has changes completely. Having lived a low income oriented poverty stricken life all these years she is extremely excited for having a decent and safe place to live in built entirely with bamboo from roof to floor.
The house made for Bhumika is the first house built entirely with bamboo. Bamboo is certainly an efficient material for building houses. It is strong and durable up to 30 years and also resistant to seismic waves and high winds. This also helps in controlling global warming. Thus, this new strategy of bamboo housing will prove to be very beneficial.
Although the materials for building the house this time was provided by India, Nepal has planned to develop in this regard as well. The total investment will add up to 5 crores and each house will cost about NRs. 63000. Aruna Paul, The Country Representative of Habitat shows great assurance in this regard.
This is not only felt by Bhumika but thousands of other people who now have shelter and warmth in their houses. Kamala Gajmer is speechless as she had never thought about getting a chance to live in such a comfortable house assisted to be built by Habitat. Not only in Ilam, Habitat has also worked in Kavre, Morang and other districts and has given home to the homeless. Habitat has been working with Samjahuta Nepal and Juntara Samudayik Bikas Kendra of Ilam along with the proud home owners to build a better habitat in the district. The proud home owners deserve a good pat on the back for their sweat and determination. There is no question about the assistance given by Habitat. Yet it serves to maintain the independence of the home owners by following a micro credit system where they pay loans at very low interests.
The Program Manager of HFHI Asia Pacific, Kayal Scott expressed joy as he saw people with an improved living standard. The Country Representative of UNHCR, Abraham, expressed how building around 1500 houses and providing safety 6000 people is an achievement that needs some serious praise. He also spoke about how better living standards help in maintaining peace. Mahendra Giri of Sahara Nepal spoke of Habitat’s future plans. With the belief that every human being needs a decent place to life in, it has planned to build 1800 more houses which will play an important role in alleviating poverty.
Somnath Sureli of Journalists Association, Nepal expressed that Bamboo housing has great prospects and it must be seen that bamboo housing is thoroughly looked upon and developed. William Marsan, Shankhar Pradhanaga, Pankaj Bikram Nemang, Devi Kattel , Charles Pandey, Sandesh Parajuli of Samjhauta Nepal also expressed similar views and suggestions. The programme was managed by Amrit B.k. and Lila Thapa was honoured as the Chief Guest.

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Heartfelt thanks to Mr. Asia Chang

Asia - last day with HFHI- Nepal appreciating souvenir

Asia who used his travel time to help HFHI Nepal and spent 14 days working with the staff of HFHI Nepal to develop a much needed a “blog”.

Asia…Thank you very much for your volunteering with us from 18 June to 05 July 2007.

We appreciate for your support and assistance in developing a "blog" for HFHI-Nepal, which provides a dynamic view of the organization. This will enable HFHI Nepal to post the information on day-to-day or month-to-month activities on the projects and their successes. This is one of the best ways of on line publication of HFHI-Nepal news.

We hope your hard work on developing a “blog” will make a big difference in fulfilling the needs of the less fortunate people in the community by making a gate way to bring up lots of volunteers to Nepal.

Asia-explaining about a "blog" to HFHI-Nepal staff

On behalf of HFHI, we extend our gratitude for all your work and support. We are also grateful with your contribution in marketing our Programs. We hope you enjoyed working with us and looking forward to seeing you again!

Last but not least, we would use this opportunity to salute Asia for his volunteer efforts to assist us.

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Story of a Homeowner

Situation in Old House
Bhagawati Hamal’s story is very similar to many other families in the Kavre area of Nepal. At age 48, her family income comes from tomato farming on her 7 ropani (~3,600 sq. meters) piece of land. She had a small one-story shack of a house with a hay roof before Habitat for Humanity (HFH) helped finance a new house. She lived in this old house with nine members of her family, cattle, and the kitchen all in the same room. She describes her story:

Bhagawati Hamal in front of a wall of her house.

Living in the old house, we had to be constantly mindful of windstorms, fires, wild animals, floods, and landslides. At the old house there was even a tiger attack killing a goat. We cried to seek help from our neighbors, but that simply irritated them. So, our life has been very difficult for us. We were always afraid of leaving a long way for work because our old house was unsafe threatened by wind, fire, rain and theft.

In the rainy season, the water used to leak from the roof. We remember days when we couldn't even sleep entire nights during a storm for fear of the house falling down due to the heavy rainfall. When rainwater leaked from the roof, we used pots to collect water to prevent the floor or bed from getting wet. If the rain was very heavy, we even had to cover ourselves with mats and sacks to keep ourselves dry.

We had no access to information and communication when we lived at the old house. It was very difficult for the children to study in this environment. My children were really pushing to build a new house. But I was crying in the corner because we did not have enough money.

Bhagawati Hamal’s old house (left) and new house (right)

After the New House was Built
My first words are to say, “Thanks to Habitat.” Habitat provided the loan, which resulted in abounding joy in my family. Our new house provides my family with dignity. It indicates this is good environment to do work and produces new goods to earn money for a better life. Of course, it is a fact that we still have to pay the mortgage. But the system makes it easy for us to pay. I feel as if I had gotten this house for free. That is why we felt the Habitat housing program is great for us. In the past, I have taken money from villagers, women groups, and relatives. They had charged 24% interest when the money is returned.

We also have electricity. Information and communication is a human right and after building the new house we have access to information and communication. Now days, we listen the radio and we are going to buy a television soon.

Bhagawati Hamal talking with Habitat-Nepal staff member Bal Devi Pokhrel.

We succeeded in building a new house and we are pleased with the Habitat support. Now, we don't have to be afraid of windstorms, fires, rains, and floods. In the present situation we feel safe from all types of problems. There is also a good environment for the children to study. We actually feel that we have dignity now and that we have built a better relationship with the rest of society with our new house.

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Welcome!

Welcome to the Habitat for Humanity International, Nepal blog. This is the first post about the exciting activities and opportunities here at the HFHI-Nepal office. The purpose of this blog is for our organization to better educate the rest of the world about the housing needs of Nepal. Our organization is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing and homelessness worldwide and to make affordable shelter a matter of conscience and action.

On this blog we hope to share with you:

• Nepal's housing needs
  
• the methods and technologies we are employing to build houses here
• our micro-financing methods to create sustainable communities
• the accomplishments of our organization
• and the future plans of our organization in Nepal

We look forward to hearing your comments and feel free to email us with any questions.

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