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Earthquake resistant housing in Peru Building in partnership

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Page 1: Building in partnership - Practical Actioncdn1.practicalaction.org/a/l/4e119622-4178-48f6-b833-7ca60ae4f5bb.pdf · improved quincha project as a realistic opportunity to rebuild a

EEaarrtthhqquuaakkee rreessiissttaanntt hhoouussiinngg iinn PPeerruu

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E C U A D O RC O L O M B I A

B R A S I LSan Martin

Alto Mayo

San Martin

P E R U

Lima

BO

LI

VI

A

PACIFIC O

CEAN

Alto Mayo Region

Moyobamba

Soritor

Rioja

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IntroductionThe fundamental need for shelter canbe easily recognised: people musthave protection from the elements,somewhere to grow as a family, aplace to work from and a home tocall their own. In many countriespeople do not have the resources tobuy houses built by professionals butrely on their own labour, using localmaterials to build their homesgradually. People make improvementsand extend their houses as familyrequirements change and resourcespermit. This booklet tells the story ofhow Intermediate Technology workedwith local communities in Peru toreconstruct their homes in theaftermath of a major earthquake.

Disaster strikesOn the evening of 29 May 1990 AltoMayo (see map) was struck by anearthquake measuring 6 on the

Richter scale. The effects were felt inan area covering more than 8000square kilometres, damage wassustained by 8000 houses with nearly3000 irreparably damaged. Thesefigures only begin to suggest themagnitude of loss felt by localcommunities. In the district capitals ofHabana and Soritor, eight out of tenhouses were destroyed.

Rebuilding communitiesIntermediate Technology is anorganisation focused on achievinglong-term, sustainable developmentand does not undertake disaster relief.However, IT Peru was well placed toassist in the reconstruction efforts;staff who worked in the area werewell known by local people. Inpartnership with local organisations ITPeru had established workingrelationships and friendships thatenabled them to quickly become

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The impact of the earthquake on a tapial house in Soritor

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María Asencia Salva SedamanoMaría seen with her daughters Kary, Rosa and Zoryisabel, rebuilt her house onthe outskirts of Moyobamba in a neighbourhood called Huacucho. She is thehead of household and now runs her own laundry business; the first in town.

The process of reconstruction was not an easy one for Maria but she feels shelearnt a great deal from her involvement in her community’s affairs. Despiteconsiderable pressure from her husband to rebuild their house in bricks and

concrete, Maria saw theimproved quincha project as arealistic opportunity to rebuilda roof over her family’s heads.She sold her sewing machine toobtain the necessary capital topurchase building materials.

María was chosen by hercommunity to represent theirviews in project discussions andnegotiations. Alongside a malerepresentative she was tobecome involved in a series ofactivities which, she says,developed her skills in dealingwith people and built her self-confidence.

The Huacucho NeighbourhoodReconstruction Committee thatMaría represented became anagricultural cooperative. Maríaworked with other men andwomen to generate income byraising small livestock, sellingagricultural produce andhome-made food in the localmarket place. For a period shewas also president of the

Mothers’ Club. Once María felt she had played those particular roles incommunity leadership for long enough she went into business for herself. Herconsiderable skills are also put to use as governor at the local school attendedby her three daughters.

When you visit María at her new home there is ample evidence that she feelsshe is in charge of her life, generating sufficient income to support her family.There are also clear signs that María is still using improved quincha to makefurther improvements to her family house.

María rebuilt the family home usingimproved quincha

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involved in preparing a reconstructionplan.

Relief intervention was the remit ofCáritas Peru, a church organisationsupported by an international networkof organisations concerned withhumanitarian work. Given thedisruption to daily lives caused by theearthquake, IT Peru recognised theopportunity to create long-termbenefit and was careful to considerhow people could participate inrebuilding homes. Reconstruction hadto continue at a pace that peoplecould afford and at the same timemeet people’s need for economicsurvival alongside their need forshelter. IT Peru had to be certain thatactivities proceeded in accordancewith local people’s priorities andwould not be dominated by externalpressures and agendas.

IT Peru’s intervention in thereconstruction began in the town ofSoritor (see map). This settlement waschosen as the starting point for tworeasons: the extent of damage

sustained in the town was relativelyhigh as was the level of communityorganisation. Social structures existedthat enabled IT to consult with thelocal community despite the disruptiveimpact of the earthquake. Aftercommunity meetings IT engineers andsocial scientists developed areconstruction plan for the Alto Mayoregion which was then presented tothe local authorities.

Getting startedThe community based organisationFEDIP (el Frente de Defensa de losIntereses del Pueblo de Soritor) hadevolved in the preceding years, duringtimes of economic hardship, tonegotiate prices and represent theinterests of local producers: theirorganisational skills and knowledgeproved to be critical in achievingproject success. Soritor is divided intosix neighbourhoods; each of thesehad an existing neighbourhoodcommittee that organised collective

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Community meeting in Soritor

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meetings to discuss reconstructionefforts. FEDIP’s experience of fightingfor the interests of small-scaleagricultural producers meant theywere well aware of the realities oflocal life with a strong committeestructure, they were able to seek theviews of, and represent, people atdistrict, provincial and departmentallevels.

With financial support from theBritish Embassy and the OverseasDevelopment Administration (now theDepartment for InternationalDevelopment) backed up withtechnical documentation fromuniversity researchers and photo-graphic evidence of houses built inHuacucho, Duval Zambrano andHermelando Aliaga, of IT Peru, setabout consultation exercises with the5000 inhabitants of Soritor.

Planning in partnershipDuring the initial six months after theearthquake, efforts focused onrecording people’s ideas, aspirationsand concerns in order that these couldbe included in the Alto MayoReconstruction and Development Plan.Of equal, or perhaps greatersignificance was the process ofdrawing people together to share theiropinions. This process enabled IT Peruand their project partners to developpractical working relationships andorganisational structures to forge linkswith the wider local population. Thereconstruction plan was not seen as aquick-fix solution to the very apparenthousing problems but as anopportunity to link post-disaster effortsdirectly into long-term developmentactivities.

BeneficiariesWith such a large and immediate needfor rebuilding it was crucial for ITPeru to be confident that the peoplewho would benefit from the projectwere those who needed it most. ITPeru relied heavily on FEDIP andCáritas to ensure that selection ofproject beneficiaries was undertakenin an objective manner and was seento be fair. Initially the feeling locallywas that everyone was a victim of theearthquake and that everyone shouldtherefore benefit equally fromincoming aid. However, it soonbecame apparent that some peoplehad more resources at their disposalthan others.

IT Peru staff did not decide whothe project beneficiaries would be,though staff were often intermediariesin complex negotiations with variousparties. Neighbourhood committeemembers were consulted first, andwere asked to write down a list of.30-35 heads of households. Thepeople on that list were subsequentlyclassified by IT’s Community LiaisonOfficer into four categories:

A. rich farmer e.g. 5 or more hectaresof rice-growing land.

B. employee e.g. teacher.

C. poor farmer e.g. less than 2hectares.

D. poorest e.g. landless, widow.

This list of people was then passed tothe local order of nuns who madefinal adjustments and decided who thebeneficiaries should be.

One immediate problem IT had totackle was the widely held belief thatexternal interveners like IT Peru and

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Cáritas would provide all the materialsrequired; 1990 was an election yearand politicians seeking election mighthave encouraged people to believethat new houses would be freelyavailable. A high level of expectationexisted – in some people’s minds thatIntermediate Technology’s role was asa housing provider: they should buildthe houses for people and hand overkeys upon completion!. IT stronglybelieves that it is more useful to helppeople to help themselves and toassist in building technologicalcapacity in order that people benefitin the long term, after IT’s project isover.

Building choicesDuring early discussions it was notclear which building technologieswould be chosen. It could be arguedthat earthquake resistance was theonly criterion governing the technicalchoices to be made. However, IT

believes that sustainable developmentdepends upon a good deal more thanpredetermined technical solutions.

Using drawings, manuals, photo-graphs and videos from pilot housingprojects in other regions of Peru,project staff were able to demonstratebuilding technologies. A series ofmeetings resulted in an increasinglevel of understanding betweenproject partners of their respectiveroles and the nature of support thatwas being offered; as well as linkingneeds and priorities to design andtechnology.

The technologies used to buildhouses cannot be viewed in isolationfrom their social or economic context.Although IT staff could see benefits inworking with improved, localtechnologies, they were also awarethat people tend to prefer ‘materialesnobles’ (noble materials), such as firedbrick and reinforced concrete. Thesemodern technologies are of higher

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Men and women of Soritor led by J L Mego in a participatory design workshop

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status, greater durability and longer-term financial value. However,affordable, earthquake-resistantbuilding technologies were required forrebuilding; many of the rammed earth‘tapial’ houses failed in the earthquakebut ‘quincha’ (a type of wattle anddaub) had shown its inherentearthquake resistance. The need foraffordable, locally available, safe shelterwon the argument: IT project engineersand local men and women decided that‘improved quincha’ was a preferableand practicable technology choice.

Origins of quincha and technology developmentQuincha technology has been used inparts of Peru for many centuries.Traditionally, a quincha house wouldhave a round pole frame which wasset directly into the ground, infilledwith smaller wooden poles andinterwoven to form a matrix which isthen plastered with one or morelayers of earth. Since 1535, theSpanish colonisers employed quinchafor building domes on top of massiveearthen church walls. The 1746

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Olympia GuerraOlympia Guerra became knownin her neighbourhood as ‘LaMaestra’ – The Craftswoman.She lived as a single woman inthe village of Jepelacio andworked in a neighbourhoodbuilding team with four otherwomen and four men. She feltthat operating in a small groupwas beneficial as everyone hadto do their share of the work.Olympia was taught by a skilledcraftsman who was employed byIT Peru to assist in thereconstruction project. Withnewly developed skills Olympialearnt how to build a concretebase for her own house and thenwent on to help others do thesame.

IT Peru were keen to employOlympia as an extension agentbut the strongly held belief that building is a man’s job, coupled with peerpressure, is said to have made this impossible. Instead she participated in theteam’s own workload and played an active role in the reconstruction of her ownand other neighbours’ houses during a programme of activities lasting morethan six months.

Olympia Guerra working at home

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earthquake, which had a devastatingimpact upon the city of Lima,triggered much wider use of quincha.After that earthquake, the governorsof Peru decreed that any constructionabove ground floor level should bebuilt of quincha. One can still findolder houses in Lima with earth wallsat ground floor level and a quinchastructure above.

In the Alto Mayo region a largeproportion of the population haveimmigrated from the mountainousregion of Cajamarca where massiveearthen architecture predominates.The collective memory of thesepeople did not include experience ofearthquakes and their technologychoices reflected their earthquake-freehome lands.

An earthquake in 1970 producedrenewed interest in earthquake-resistantbuilding technologies. During the 1980sresearchers at the Catholic University,the National Engineering University andthe National Institute of Housing ofPeru, supported by the United StatesAgency for International Development,investigated ways of improving upontraditional building materials andhousing systems: they focused inparticular on quincha technology.

The results of investigating quinchatechnology in a universityenvironment were new designs withincreased earthquake resistance.Research highlighted methods ofimproving durability and creatingstandardised construction units.Housing units were designed toinclude uniform measurements of1.2m between structural columnswhich were made of square timbersections (200mm × 200mm).

IT engineers drew on this academicresearch when presenting theimproved technology to the men andwomen of Soritor. Technical detailswere soon adapted once IT projectengineers and technicians startedwork in Alto Mayo. For example,timber poles replaced the squarecolumns as they are more readilyavailable and do not requiremachinery or labour to process themfrom their raw state.

Improved quincha has thefollowing characteristics over andabove traditional quincha (Figure 1):

� concrete foundations to givegreater stability.

� wooden columns treated with taror pitch to protect against humidity,concreted into the ground withnails embedded in the wood at thebase to give extra anchorage.

� use of concrete wall bases toprevent humidity affecting thewood and the canes in the walls.

� careful jointing between columnsand beams to improve structuralintegrity.

� canes woven in a vertical fashionto provide greater stability.

� lightweight metal sheet roofing toreduce potential danger tooccupants from falling tiles.

� nailing of roofing material to roof-beams; tying of beams and columnswith roof wires to guard againststrong winds and earth movements.

� roof eaves of sufficient width toensure protection of walls againstheavy rains.

Improved quincha has manyadvantages in addition to earthquake

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C1 C2 C2 C1 C2 C2 C1

C2

C1C2C2C1C2C2C1

C2

D1

D1

4000mm 4000mm

4000

mm

Detail ‘A’

Column

Detail ‘B’

1st Coat

2nd Coat

Variable Variable

Beam/Wall Plate ∅100mm

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nails

∅100mm

∅100mm

∅50mm

∅100mm

Recess

∅50mm

Concrete wall base

Bituminouspaint orrecycled oil

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Figure 1: Alto Mayo ReconstructionPlans, Soritor

Improved Quincha TechnologyDesigner: Duval Zambrano

Drawn by: J. Cuizano

Specifications

Concrete pad and strip foundations:

Mix – 1:10 (cement:aggregate)

+30% large stones

Concrete wall base:

Mix – 1:8 (cement:aggregate)

+25% medium stones

Wood is structural quality poles

Render

1st coat – mud:straw

Mix – 100kg:50kg

2nd coat – cement:lime:sand or sieved soil

Mix – 1:1:5

or cement:gypsum:sand

Mix – 1:5:5

*ratios are by volume

Detail A

Detail B

Beam ∅100mm

2300

mm

Bamboowoven infill

Concretewall base

Floor level100mm

150mm

300mm

Typical crosssection D1 – D1

Anchorage ofcolumn C1 tofootings

Anchorage ofcolumn C2 tofootings

400mm

150mm

300m

m

600m

m

300m

m

Floor level

Floor level

∅100mm

∅100mm

400mm 400mmColumn detail

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resistance. Easy access to materialsand low cost were of primary concernto IT Peru and to local men andwomen. The local availability oftimber poles, bamboo and earthmeans that improved quincha is moresuited to a self-help buildingprogramme than many alternatives.

People’s participationAfter the initial project phase IT Peruplanned to demonstrate improvedquincha in a real project (seeing issometimes believing). A communitybuilding was erected in central Soritor.It took six months to build thisstructure, which resulted in thistechnology being nicknamed ‘delayedquincha’ rather than ‘improvedquincha’.

However, the slow approach wasdeliberate. It takes time to fullyinvolve a diverse and numerous groupof people in a construction project. Ateam of ten to fifteen men and

women from different neighbour-hoods were involved in theconstruction process every week. Thisled to greater awareness and anincreased understanding of how thetechnology was used: many peoplelearnt the details of construction andthe skills required to successfullycomplete an improved quinchabuilding. In addition to manual labourthe community also provided the bulkof materials which were sourcedlocally.

Practical experience of workingwith this technology during thedemonstration meant that IT staff andmembers of the community were ableto ‘learn by doing’. This resulted innew thinking and some changes: forexample, the first coat of plaster putonto the woven infill panels wasfound to crack, so rather than allowcracks to develop naturally, the firstlayer of plaster was deeply scored toallow for the shrinkage upon drying

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Careful jointing between columns and beams improves structural integrity

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and to provide a better grip for thesecond coat of plaster.

In the Alto Mayo region self-helpconstruction remains the predominantmethod of building houses. Individualhousehold members help each otherto construct their homes and also helpother households in the samecommunity. If structures are forcommunal use then every householdin the community assists in thebuilding process. This has recentlybecome less common as more peoplehave formal jobs and are unable todevote their own time. Oftencraftsmen will be employed on acasual basis to complete specialisttasks and oversee the buildingprocess. IT’s ways of working had toreflect traditional approaches whilsttaking into account the constraints ofmodern life.

Building the community centreintroduced the improved quincha

technology to those directly involvedin the construction process as well asto the many observers who stoppedby to watch the work progress. Theopportunity to collaborate in apractical task also created under-standing between project staff, localpeople, organisations and authorities.

Designing a new homeFollowing the demonstration phase aseries of activities concentrated ondesigning houses with people. Figure2 illustrates the implementationprocess. It shows how men andwomen were consulted and howhouse plans were developed. Byworking with men and women insmall groups, architectural andbuilding professionals used colourcoded wooden blocks to modeldesign options and produced plansfor a core housing unit. It was

The community building in Soritor during construction

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Figure 2: Work methodology Identification Evaluation

First contacts Characteristics ofland

Typology of plots

Characteristics ofbeneficiaries

Availability ofresources

Aggregates

Promotion

Training and dissemination

Housing design

Construction system

Exhibition of photographs

Models and slides

Construction stages1. Marking out and foundations2. Structure – columns and verticals3. Roofing4. Earth application5. Plastering

1. Agreements: IT/Cáritas – beneficiaries2. Provision of materials – institutional

– beneficiaries3. Start of work on site4. Construction

A. Architectural criteriaB. 1. Marking out and

foundations2. Structure – columns and

verticals3. Roofing4. Earth application5. Plastering – theory

Transport

Socio-economics

Des

ign

wo

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Tech

nic

al s

up

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Co

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un

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pro

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Promotion

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José Louis MegoAs the projects focus moved from one neighbourhood to another and then tonew towns and villages, IT had to develop new relations and adapt their waysof working to the changing political climate and different social organisations.IT’s Social Promoter, José Louis Mego, was a critical success factor in ensuring acontinuous, effective working relationship with people wherever thereconstruction work was undertaken.

José Louis took time to live in the communities where he worked, learning theircustoms and dialect, as well as their skills and knowledge. He came to appreciatethe exact nature of the constraints people faced in meeting the challenge ofrebuilding their homes and lives. When the evidence of ongoing friendships isclear to see, it is not surprising that José Louis believes the most significantfactor in engaging people in project activities is ‘to learn their way of life andget to know, respect and be welcomed into the homes of people’.

José Louis’s academic training and experience as a sanitation technician mean heis well qualified to advise people on health issues. His efforts to enhancepeople’s understanding of the projects aims and broader health matters, byregularly hosting a local radio programme, not only served to keep peopleinformed but also, by ensuring his programmes were entertaining, engagedpeople in the project.

Working in a community liaison role is not always easy. José Louis often felt asthough he were everyone’s ‘handkerchief’ (shoulder to cry on!). He needed tobe both creative and flexible to respond to and cope with the diversity of needsand circumstances of the numerous individuals concerned.

‘Mi casa es su casa’: Zoryisabel Hidalgo Salva making José Louis feel at home

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essential that the design remainedsufficiently flexible so as to beadaptable to specific familyrequirements, to incomes, to materialsavailable, to land features and to anyunexpected factors which may arise.

By modelling their ideas peoplecould create their preferred house inminiature. Their design was drawn upby an architect and then adjustedonce more with input from householdmembers. These activities wereundertaken within specificneighbourhoods and served to planthe subsequent work, identifymaterials required and engage peoplein the whole reconstruction process.

Building work started oncematerials had been gathered andtransported to all the group members’plots. Groups of 20–25 people formedconstruction teams; they worked inturns on each other’s plots until allthe houses were completed. Thiswork usually proceeded at weekends

thus allowing for familyresponsibilities, agricultural work andpeople’s jobs during the week. Whenpeople were available, work wouldalso proceed during week days.

At the beginning of the project itwas assumed that people couldprovide materials such as aggregate,sand, timber and bamboo in additionto any salvaged materials from theirdamaged dwelling. If an individualmember of the group had insufficientresources to contribute others wouldoften assist. When individuals had noagricultural land from which toharvest bamboo or timber they wouldhave to transport materials fromdistant forests. Transport was often aproblem for people; in some cases thelocal authorities or other donorprojects would lend their vehicles fortransportation of sand from the localriver bed. IT and Cáritas providedsufficient additional materials to thepeople in most need (galvanised iron

Improved quincha building in Jepelacio

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Julio HerreraLiving in Soritor, the eldest sonof a female headed household,Julio carried a lot of theresponsibility for rebuildingtheir house after theearthquake of 1990. With hismother, Clatilde Murrieta delAguila, and his brothers, Juliowas one of the first tocomplete the construction ofan improved quincha houseprior to the second earthquakein 1991.

His aptitude for plastering andlearning other building skillswas first appreciated by hisneighbours, several of whompaid him to help with buildingtheir homes. Subsequently, ITPeru employed him as atechnician and extensionworker, assisting others byworking as a supervisor.

He spent six months workingwith people in Moyobamba, Havana and Rioja: the income this employmentgenerated and the contacts he made during his time as an extension workerproved to be an asset. When his contract with IT Peru came to an end he hadsaved enough money to start his own business. First he became involved in theretail of electrical goods; later he set up his own restaurant in Soritor where heuses his entrepreneurial skills to a profitable end.

Asked what he thought about improved quincha technology Julio said ‘peoplelearnt a lot: how to use vertical instead of horizontal lattices (wattle); how tomake thinner plaster (daub) and to make it straight and well finished’. The finalfinish of a building is important; it has a significant impact on the user’s sense ofsatisfaction. Questioned as to why he felt the technology has been adopted hereplied: ‘affordability’.

‘People lost a lot more than their houses as a result of the earthquake. It isimportant to realise what people’s priorities are, especially when you areselecting who to involve: if people are thinking about other things they will notbuild well’. Julio also highlighted the importance of the coordination roleplayed by the church: ‘people know and feel confident in the church andtherefore motivation and input are assured.’

José (right) socialising with restaurantowner Julio in the main square of Soritor

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sheeting, nails and cement) to build a30m2 housing unit.

Despite these efforts to explain andpromote this technology scepticismtowards improved quincha remained –it was after all an unknowntechnology that had little socialstanding (seeing is not alwayssufficient to be convinced of the valueof new technologies, especially whenresources are very limited). Asignificant factor in improving thepopularity and acceptance ofimproved quincha technology wasanother earthquake, in April 1991.

The total toll on local housingamounted to 17,000 damaged units.The first locally built examples ofimproved quincha demonstrated theirimproved resistance to the impact ofearthquakes and served to convincemany more people of the appropriatenature of this technology.

Project impactThe direct intervention inreconstruction activities by Inter-mediate Technology and Cáritasceased in March 1994 and had, bythat time, resulted in 558 improvedquincha houses being built in the AltoMayo province. There are also manythousands of improved quinchahouses which have been built by menand women, independently of theproject. The 1993 national censusestimated that quincha formed just 7%of the national housing stock butwithin the project area this figure roseto nearly 30%.

The accurate costing of self-buildhouses can be a little misleadingunless people are able to put a mon-etary value on their own involvement;

this is not often the case. However, acomparison cost of an improvedquincha house and a brick housegives an indication of the relativeprices of these two technologies. Theestimated cost of a finished building(30m2) of improved quincha includingdoors, windows, floor, ceiling,external plaster and painting (at 1996prices) is 3,313 soles or US$1,299. Theequivalent structure made of brickwould cost 13,772 soles or US$5,400 –the need to contract skilled labour is asignificant proportion of this cost.

In conclusion IT Peru was directly involved in thereconstruction of several hundredhouses but there are several thousandmore in the area which are made ofimproved quincha or a variation of it.Technology development continues.IT’s intervention is not the only forcedriving technology change. People’sneeds, knowledge and technicalcapacity, local resources, political andpersonal agendas are all factorspromoting change and technologicaldevelopment.

Innovations in quincha technologyare no exception; the ‘improvedquincha’ housing promoted by IT andpartners, can be seen widely in AltoMayo but it differs in design anddetailing, reflecting the materials, skillsand individual priorities of the ownersand builders.

In practical development projects itwould be easy to imagine that the endproduct is the main goal: the end resultneeds to be a comfortable, affordableand safe house. However, the way inwhich you work towards that practicalgoal can have an important impact on

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Artemio BardálezJosé Louis Mego, IT Peru’s Community Liaison Officer, befriended a localagricultural labourer named Artemio Bardález and now affectionately calls him‘godfather’ because of the hospitality and friendship he showed. Having rebuilt

his own family house using improvedquincha, Artemio is convinced of theworth of this technology: ‘myprevious house was built of ‘tapial’(rammed earth) and was heavy,fortunately at the time of theearthquake we were out in the streetbut now I can lie in my bed in peaceknowing my family is not in danger’.

Artemio continues to employ hisconstruction skills to build on aninformal basis for neighbours andfriends. Clodomira Herrere Tafúr wasevidently pleased with her new homebuilt by her neighbour with thefinancial support of her daughter.

It is possible to see some aspects ofthe technology which have changed.For example, the types of wood thatare used for columns reflect thediminished local supply of timber; theconcrete base has been omitted, mostprobably because of the cost ofcement. Technological changecontinues to reflect the specific needsof its users.

Artemio’s wife Sonya putting their youngest son to bed

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Clodomira with Artemio inside new home

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people’s lives. IT Peru’s staff andpartners showed the need and abilityfor patience, flexibility andperseverance: people and processes arecomplex. IT seeks to ensure control of

the agenda remains with the communityand to work in partnership, ensuringpeople understand the choices they aremaking and developing their long-termtechnological capacity.

Traditional or improved quincha?

IT/L

ucky

Low

e

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Written by Lucky Lowe, ITProduced in conjunction with IT’s Group Communications Unit

Design and typesetting: My Word!, RugbyPrinted by Neil Terry Printing, Rugby

©Intermediate Technology 1997Front cover photograph: IT/Chris MartinBack cover photograph: IT/Janet Boston

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IT’s work continues …

IT has 25 years of experience – working in the field of building and shelter. Itsapproach focuses on the following:

� Community shelter – helping poor and marginalized people to build adequate,affordable homes or to improve those they have.

� Building materials – promoting the production of appropriate buildingmaterials by small-scale enterprises.

� Skills – enhancing the skills of builders, and so improving the quality andsafety of buildings.

� The environment – developing and promoting energy-efficient andenvironmentally friendly technologies for producing building materials.

� Information – providing information on building materials and technologies tocommunities, NGOs, governments and international agencies.

� Influence – calling for changes to housing and construction policies so thatthey meet the needs of the poor more effectively.

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Intermediate Technology enables poor people inthe South to develop and use skills and

technologies which give them more control over their lives and which contribute to the

sustainable development of their communities.

If you would like to know moreabout our work, contact the

Information Officer at:

Intermediate Technology, Myson House, Railway Terrace, Rugby CV21 3HT.

Tel: (+44) 1788 560631 Fax: (+44) 1788 540270Email: [email protected]

URLs: http://www.oneworld.org/itdg http://www.itdg.org.pe

Intermediate Technology Group Limited.Patron HRH The Prince of Wales, KG, KT, GCB.

Company Reg. No. 871954, England. Reg. Charity No. 247257.