duayee vocational school preliminary research
DESCRIPTION
DUAYEE VOCATIONAL SCHOOL PRELIMINARY RESEARCH TOWARDS BUILDING A MODEL SUSTAINABLE VILLAGE | Sustainable Village Model Preliminary Research | Ecosa Institute | Summer 2010 Model Sustainable Village Project Description Ecosa has been asked by Peter Gbelia, the Executive Director of the Empowerment Society, to create a master plan for a sustainable intervention in the village of Duayee in Liberia, Africa. This plan is intended to develop a model approach to sustaining the culture, environment, and economy of the Liberian people. The village we will be working with is Duayee located near the Yah river. The goal is to create Local Economic Development (LED) by designing a system where more food is produced (improved agro-techniques, seeds, irrigation, fertilizers, fish farm, swamp rice), the surplus can be sold at market creating economic growth, and revenue invested back into human capital and community infrastructure. This is a challenging project in as much as it is based in a non-western culture and needs to respond to needs that are very different to US expectations. Prior to the start of this design, each participant was required to read the report and proposal provided by the Empowerment Project and the Millennium Development Report. The goal of this project was to research alternative development patterns, materials, social and economic systems to create an integrated design that includes all elements of sustainability from materials to permaculture, energy to food supplies. ECOSA is proposing a vocational school as the best way to illustrate, educate about, and build a truly sustainable village. Through the vocational school, Duayee will be able to educate its population and create a skilled work force by allowing every project in the village to be a learning experience that will expand upon the village's knowledge and skill sets. Download the final Duayee Vocational School Proposal, and download the preliminary Research Presentation on Liberia. For more info check out the project at the ECOSA Institute here: http://www.ecosainstitute.org/projects/model-sustainable-village.html or copy & paste this URL to catch a glimpse of the final project: http://www.ecosainstitute.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=71&Itemid=TRANSCRIPT
Duayee, LiberiaSustainable Village Project
Ecosa Summer 2010
Overview •A Look at DuayeeoHistoryoCultural info--Needs and wants
•Ecologyoclimate, rainfall, soil types
•EconomicsoFoodoMicro-financing oEcotourismoEnergy
•SocietyoBuilt environmentoEducationoPublic Health
• Conclusion
Charles Taylor
Gbehyi chiefdom•Mano/Gio ethnic•Mande Fu language•Christian/ indigenous religions•3,200 people in Duayee--
headquarters•weaving, basket-making, pottery,
historically did metalwork
UN Millenium Development Goals
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger2. Achieve universal primary education3. Promote gender equality and empower women4. Reduce child mortality 5. Improve maternal health6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases7. Ensure environmental sustainability8. Develop a global partnership for development
Liberian Ecology
ClimateTropical--hot and humid (lies within the tropic of cancer)•In winter: dry with
hot days and cool to cold at night
•Harmattan winds: dust-laden winds from the Sahara blow from December to March
•In Summer: wet, cloudy with frequent heavy showers
Nimba County: avg temp 70-80 degrees F
Nimba County: avg precip 50-95 inches/yr
EcosystemThree main ecosystems in Liberia•The Coastal beltoMangrove swampsoshallow lagoonsoTidal creeks
•PlateausoBroadleaf evergreen
Forests oGrasslands
•Mountainous areaoBroadleaf evergreen
and deciduous forestsoGrasslands
Nimba County: Brush, grassland, cultivated crops and treecrops AND Broadleaf deciduous and evergreen forest
Topography and Watershed
The Yah River is a tributary to St. John River
Food SystemsResearch and Precedents
Current Food Situation in Liberia:•high levels of food
insecurity and child malnutrition
•Upland soils degraded•Subsistence farmers
unable to produce enough rice - import
•Staple crops: Rice and cassava
•Small number of live stock
Current Agricultural Practices in Liberia:
•Subsistence farming•Deforestation – has
increased by 17% since the end of the 1990’s.
•Slash and Burn cultivation has increased
•Agribusiness
Crop Production and Exports
Main Staple Crops:
• Cassava (313,000 tons)
•Rice (210,000 tons)
•Bananas (90,000 tons)
•Plantains (35,000 tons)
•Yam and sweet potatoes
• Cash crops:
•Cocoa
•Sugar cane
•Coffee (3,000 tons)
•Rubber (35,000 tons)
•Palm Oil (42,000 tons)
Current Initiatives:• intercrop jatropha • introduce bee keeping,
goat nursery, sheep, and "can rat" nursery
•aquaponics •design landscape for
edible plants and trees •Co-op of farmers
contained within the SVI network
•construct dry grain storage and food drying systems
•Sustainable Village Service Center
Suggestions for Improvement of Food System
•Develop alternatives to slash and
burn such as Food Forest Gardening
and other organic methods that help
build soil.
• Implement Integrated Pest
Management
•Develop local economy where profits
are going to the growers, not foreign
corporations
• Incorporate goats and chickens into
food system
•Train farmers in seed saving and provide
access to tools
Precedent: Growers' Cooperative CONACADO:•Democratically run cooperative
organization in the Dominican Republic•Helps small-scale cocoa producers. •Founded in 1988•Links 10,001 small scale producers
through 8 regional departments - called Bloques (blocks) that serve 182 base associations.
Mission:• Improve the income and living
conditions of cocoa producers and their families
•Supporting a sustainable approach to property management
•Strengthening business and organizational practices
•Strengthening community development.
Precedent: Nyumbani Village, Kenya
• Eco-village: 1000 orphans/100 elders • Half-acre family "shamba" gardens• 50-acre intercropping community farm• animal husbandry
From Green to EvergreenProblem: There is mass famine in 3rd world nations. How to produce enough food to feed the hungry?
1940s-1960s-- Green Revolution: Increased productivity WITHOUT regard to ecological/social harm pesticides, irrigation, synthetic fertilizer, and MONOCULTURE of improved-performance seed
1960s- Present day--Evergreen Revolution: Increased productivity WITH regard to ecological/social harm restoration of ecosystems through water harvesting, composting, sustainable land practices ie. agroforesty, and POLYCULTURE of genetically-modified seed
Is technology the answer to Liberia's food problem? If so, to what degree?
EconomicsPartnerships, Micro-finance, Tourism
and Energy Infrastructure
Global Partnerships
•Mittel and Firestone•Distributed over 40,000 tools and 20 metric tons of rice seed
to 333,000 farmers in 2006. •Employment increased.
Microfinance
•Micro Loans
•Community Savings
Accounts
Village Earth: Consortium for
Sustainable-Village Based
Development•“Appropriate
Technology” Library
and Sourcebook
Las Gaviotas, Colombia
•30 year old
sustainable village
•Small scale
renewable technology
•Reforested area
despite acidic soils.
•Consistent Peace
Costa Rica – Sustainable
Tourism•Certification for
Sustainable Tourism
•Ecotourism oRainforest Alliance
oRainforest tours
•Volunteerism oAttracting hands that
can help and boost
economy while there.
Tropical Sustainable BuildingsConcepts, Materials, and Precedents
Current Housing
“There is a need to develop housing estates” - Nimba County Development Agenda
The 1998–2000 National Reconstuction Program placed housing issues as a priority for
government consideration.
"This is a library we were supposed to build, but didn't"
Current Housing Infrastructure Issues as Defined by the Nimba
County Development Agenda for 2008-2010
Tropical Sustainable Building Design Concepts
Ventilation
Shading
Orientation
Insulation:
•Lightweight and low heat-
storing materials (i.e. wood,
bamboo, grass, palm
•Keep attic heat out – using
vents
Roofs:
•Currently have a lot of
metal roofs – good for
rain catchment.
•Thatched roofs –
readily available
material, breathes,
good for humid
climates.
Natural Lighting
Vegetation
Precedent: The Soe Ker Tie House in Thailand•Non-Profit group
TYIN focuses on
developing
humanitarian
architecture
•Buildings for an
Orphanage
•Worked closely with
locals
•Used local bamboo
•Used traditional Thai
building techniques
•Each hut collects
rainwater, has
natural ventilation,
and safely handles
sewage.
Precedent: Rainwater Harvesting in the Philippines•Rainwater harvesting initiated in 1989
•About 500 rainwater storage tanks were constructed in the Capiz Province
•Locals trained during process
"Rainwater harvesting could end much of Africa’s water shortage" - UN Report
Dwellings
Building
Materials
The area is rich with
building materials, but
the village is depleted.
The rain forest is the
closest and best
source for traditional
building materials.
Using locally grown,
sustainable building
materials will help to
prevent rain forest
loss.
Bamboo•Bamboo is a sustainable
building product.
•In the time it takes to grow and harvest commonly farmed
timber, bamboo can be harvested seventeen times.
•Bamboo has twice the compressive strength of
concrete and the same tension strength as steel
•Bamboo planting included in a larger integrated system could act as a living machine in water purification and also serve as an
effective wind break
Clay
•Clay is abundant in the
region.
•Clay has been
used for
centuries as a
building
material
•Clay
construction is
easy
•Clay can have
many uses and
aplications
Earth Bags•Earth Bag
construction
uses on site
materials.
•Earth bag
building is easy.
•Earth bag
constructions is
extremely strong
and durable.
Constraints
•Educated
workers
•Skilled workers.
•Funding for small
business.
Education
Current Educational SystemsTufeia FoundationTeach Self Defense, provide scholarships, afterschool programs, community college, internet service, community peace clubs, trauma interventions and young women specific advancement programsDuayee SchoolYouth Development Committee built schoolVery little support, no books or official curriculum
Culture Around Education•Challenges facing education
oK-12 costs about $75 USD per year
oTeachers poorly paid and trained
oSex for Grades
oWest African Examination Board criteria rarely met for
graduation
oLack of Materials
Reviving Curiosity
•Liberian based books through community
publishing
•African Books Collective
•Oral Traditions
•Not basing education on tests and grades
•Reintegrating Nature into curriculum
•Getting the community involved in the
education process
Rainforest as a Classroom
•Field Labs maintain an
area for researchers to
study the rainforest and
learn from its ecology.
•Students get opportunity
to learn from Rainforest.
Center for Appropriate Rural Technology (CART)
Community-driven project that functions as a life skills center in the heart of Sicambeni Village, South Africa
SKILLS TAUGHT:•Raised aerated
beds•Brick machine•Dams
•Biodigester•Thatching•Indoor gardens•Sustainable
Houses
Opportunities to Build Capital
•Training the Natural Resource
Management Team
•Teacher Training
•Medical Training
Public Health
Current Personal Hygene
Health Care
•Existing ClinicoServes surrounding
villages as well
Improving Sanitation
Solar Water Distiller
Grey Water Systems
Waste
The magority of the waste in the area consists of human and animal waste, bio mass, and houshold rubbish.
Bio mass and human and animal waste contain methane that can be harvested as a form of natural gass.
Methane digesters are an efficient and effective method of harvesting methane from waste and bio mass. After methane has been harvested, the remaining material can be composted and used to ammend soil.
With apropriate facilities, bio mass can also be burned to create electricity and can be processed into bio fuels.
Other types of waste can be recycled or reused in alternative building products and crafts.
Giving consideration to the delicate history of conflict in the region, sustainable practices in all areas of the community have great potential to create a resilience that will expand the pride of village members and the peace and stability between surrounding villages.