haiti home

Here is a picture of the cement plant in Gonaives, Siman Lakay

In an article published (August 2012 issue) in the Global Cement Magazine, it was said that Haiti is blessed with natural limestone, essential to produce good quality cement. However, so far Haiti was deprived of its natural advantage because there was no proper infrastructure or any investor to fund and realize such advantage. There is good news. With 'Siman Lakay', a $300 million project, Haiti can produce a good part of its requirements (4.5 million tons per year) and generate enough employment (about 2,200) of diversified skills. 'Siman Lakay' is a new cement plant, has a production capacity of 2 million tons per annum, going to be built in the "La Pierre" locality of Gonaives. The project has come into existence after more than one year's hard work and technical studies by Mr. Bestgen Jérôme, the Honorary Consul of Haiti in Belgium, and it could never have been possible without the support of foreign and Haitian investors.

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Here is a picture representing the American Dream

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Here is a picture where creativity is used to help those in need. Grain bins from Iowa used to make homes in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake

Iowa-based company, Global Compassion Network, has been doing work in Haiti for the past three years to restore many of those displaced by the 2010 earthquake, back into homes. These dwelling residencies are made from grain bins -- round metal bins, which have been recycled to form what the group calls 'safe homes.' The project takes place in the village called Hope, and so far, some 220 people have benefitted from the 60 homes already erected. The project is done with help from the Sukup Manufacturing company.

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Weighty concrete ceiling and floor slabs were made for hurricane weather. During an earthquake, the construction of most low-rise buildings meant the walls were dislodged and discharged. The confined masonry system should have worked well under those conditions, but, the frames built in Haiti were mostly inadequately designed and were not integrated enough with beams and columns that were reinforced. As a result, the walls do not have the in-plane load bearing capabilities necessary to withstands strong tremors.

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With Haiti being without its own building code, the cue for most builders usually comes from Europe or the U.S. While the Caribbean has its own code, CUBiC, (Caribbean Uniform Building Code), few Haitian engineers employ the standards. Further to that, most buildings were not even built based on designs by an engineer. Permits must be sought for builds, but plan checks and construction inspections are rare and, as such, many buildings are not up to code, making them susceptible to collapse and degradation, especially since they are not diligently maintained.

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A typical house in Haiti starts with a foundation about a meter in depth. For homes and buildings built on an incline, the foundation can rise to as much as 2 meters above the ground. Concrete masonry units, not fired clay bricks, as were prevalent in the 19th century, are used for walls. The unreinforced units are given frame by concrete columns which are reinforced lightly. Slab roofs and floors are common, with one layer of reinforcement for a 4 to 6 inch thickness. These structures are usually single-storied, but are also as tall as two or three stories.

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This is supposed to solve the housing problem in Haiti. Village Lumane Casimir in Morne-à-Cabris is self sufficient with its own utilities.

many people complained about the size of each home build which is appears to be small. The government argument is that the government is only looking to provide the basic for these people. Ith home is equiped with a kitchen, bathroom. the area has its own water system

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Here is a picture of home breaking into pieces during Hurricane Sandy that affected the Caribbean an Haiti in particular. Washed-out roads, rotting crops, flooded roads and raging rivers flowing with mud, that how we could describe the situation

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