Friday, June 25, 2010

Construction in Haiti

One of the very big differences between Haiti and the US is that in Haiti everything is paid for at the time of purchase... including houses. What this means in practical terms is that people must save money...buy land...save money...buy cement...save money...buy rebar...save money...hire workers (or do it yourself) etc. There are no mortgages here! But then again, once it is purchased, it is yours. A house is really an investment for people, it is something they actually own. People will put their life savings into their home, slowly building, adding on for additional family members, making it sturdier. This is why the earth quake has been so devastating for so many people... not only did they lose family members... they lost the only real thing of value that they owned and there is no insurance or FEMA for replacement. They must start completely over.

To build in Haiti, generally, you start completely from scratch. You buy a piece of land and have sand delivered to it (or do it yourself). You buy bags of cement, Each bag can make about 32- 35 good quality bricks, although some people make more which is one of the reasons why so many buildings crumbled in PAP. The sand is mixed with some cement and water and shoveled onto itself over and over to get the right consistency. Once it is correct, it is put in a form, patted down, smoothed over and carried to an open area. It is then dumped out and left for at least three days. The blocks are periodically "sprayed" with water and as they dry and the cement cures, they become hard. It is slow, difficult work!

After blocks are made you are ready to begin building. A good house will have a foundation which is dug in at least 3 feet into the ground and built up with rock and cement. The floor is poured and spread by hand and leveled. Then the courses of block are ready to begin. The blocks are tied together with rebar "columns" which are filled with concrete. You will see houses in MANY stages of completion in Haiti! People live in them as they are and when they have additional funds, they buy more cement! Some of the masons do beautiful work with arches and columns etc. but most are pretty basic. After the house has walls, you can begin a second floor using rebar as support or you can just tie in a roof. Since the earthquake, it seems like many people are opting for wood (or stick) rafters and Metal roofs. Less weight. Quite honestly, after seeing the pancaked houses in PAP, I think it is an excellent idea.

Hanania and her husband are building a nice home fairly close to where we will be living. It will house the three of them and 6 others. I would estimate it's square footage at about 1000. They need to move in the end of this month, but it will not have a well for water, or bathroom yet (they are building a latrine). It is just cement blocks at this point. Hopefully, it will have the roof (they are waiting on some funds to purchase some sheeting)! This is how it works in Haiti though, you do what you have to do to get by!

It has been interesting to me to talk to various people regarding the "build as you go" housing as opposed to the "mortgage" concept we use in the US. Everyone I talked to said they preferred the Haitian way...where they owned the house and land outright and did not have to worry about making payments or having it taken away. Maybe they are on to something!

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