Domes For Haiti
Project
Description
Domes for
Haiti
is a grass roots disaster relief project that addresses the immediate
need for hurricane and earthquake resistant transitional shelter in Haiti. We
are committed to sending as many pre-fabricated portable geodesic dome shelters
as possible to Haiti in time for Hurricane season. The domes are 17’ in
diameter and 9’ high in the center. They are anchored into the ground using
rebar and cement. Each dome can house from 10 to 20 kids. We are making the
frames from 1” EMT conduit pipe struts bolted together in 35 overlapping
joints. The dome covers will be fabricated using recycled vinyl fabric from
billboards or seconds from manufacturers. When properly anchored, this two
frequency geodesic dome design has been known to withstand up to 150mph winds.
It can be assembled in two hours with two people using simple adjustable
wrenches. While these domes are designed to be transitional shelters, with a
little adaptation they could become semi-permanent homes.
Our focus is to procure as many
in kind donations as possible from manufacturers and suppliers in the USA so
that the majority of the funds raised for this project can go to hire Haitian
workers at a livable wage to prep sites and assemble the domes. We are working
to empower the Haitian people to rebuild their own communities by bringing the
tools they need to do the work and the housing they need to shelter their
children. We are looking for donations of tools (
listed below) which AFYA Foundation will be sending along with our
dome kits to Port Au Prince where Grassroots United will be providing basic
logistical and ground support for our two person team. We are currently
networking with like-minded experienced aid workers to locate and scout out a
site to build a model community based on sustainable living practices such as
composting latrines, solar power, water catchmit systems and an agricultural
base.
