Shaken but not Stirred,Viva Nepal
Donation protected
ABOUT US
Our team is formed of professionals from various fields, all united by the same aspiration: helping others!
We are all volunteers commited to help restore seriously damaged communities that require especialized asistance.
The methods we use are economically and ecologically sustainable (90% on-site earth), easy to learn and above all, guarantee that their homes will not collapse with a subsequent earthquake. By involving and educating the community we assure the continuity of the restoration progress once we leave.
We have three principles in what we do:
Teach how to fish, rather than giving the fish
Listen to community needs to encounter real solutions, rather than imposing unrealistic solutions
Encourage community engagement, reduce envirometal impact and therefore maximize resources
Our Team
JUAN PABLO DE LA PARRA
Architectural Engieenier at UNEA University, Mexico.
Master in Bioconstruction at Institut für Baubiologie, Germany.
PADI Certified Rescue Diver (First Aids).
Earthbag Building Certification. (Superadobe by Cal-earth Institute)
Juan Pablo has been part of various social construction projects. He teaches bioconstruction courses in Mexico and prommotes ecological aproches to the construccion industry. Carried by his philantropic ideology he constantly volunteers in various parts of the world always with the intention of heping. Loves outdoors, mathematics, and nature geometry.
"I love to use my skills and knowledge to help others"
EDUARDO DE LA PARRA
University Law studies at UAQ, Mexico.
Proffesional degree studies in International Law and Human Rights at UAM and Universidad de Salamanca, Spain.
First Aids Certification
Affiliate to UNICEF
Eduardo has studies in international law and human rights. He cooperates altruistly with domestic and international NGO's. He is a passionate teacher, and loves sharing knowledge with others.
"A life dedicated to serve others is a meaningful life".
DEVENDRA BABU
University Business studies at UK.
Qualified trained as a builder at UK
Owner and founder of Mango Tree Resort in Lamjung district in Nepal
Devendra builded his own resort experimenting with natural building techniques using local material such as adobe, bamboo, stone, timber, thatch etc all with the help from his family and local workforce. Since he arrived to his natal country, Nepal, he has always aim for the community development towards sutainable ways of living by doing various activities such as permaculture demonstration site running courses.
"My passion is what I do, and what I do I do it for others"
ALEJANDRA ECHEVARRIA
University Marqueting Degree at ITESM, Mexico.
International Certification as Yoga Instuctor
Advising and Educational Orientation Diploma
Coaching adn Effective comunication Diploma
Ale has developed in Restorative Yoga to offer workshop as service to the community, to aid people with physical injuries, deficiencies and other types of body sickness. She possesses skills to listen, to understand, to deal and to favor the communication between persons, as well as to strengthen workgroups generating bows of friendship and effective communication and teamwork.
"It is gratifying to give service to the others across my different skills to improve the physical, mental, emotional health of others"
Current Situation...
So far the help provided in Nepal has been giving food supplies, medical support and temporary refuge on the affected areas. There is still many work to be done to restore the damaged cities and villages.
Tents provided by many of the Non-profit Organizations supporting Nepal natural disaster are just temporary resources to give quick aid in the affected communities but they don’t give the necessary long term, structured and healthy conditions, such as warm, dry and secure solid shelters.
"The students whose schools have been affected in Sindhupalchock have been unable to attend a safe structure for class, let alone to play with their friends for the past one month since the earthquake."
-GlobalMedic published on 25 May 2015-
Nepal is to be considered a very poor country in this world and it is located in an area notoriously known for the high seismic activity and floods.
The 2015 earthquake has put an unbelievable strain on the Nepal population since part of the capital and surrounding areas need to be rebuilt. The task proved to be extremely hard and at the beginning when basic need are being provided, today hundreds of thousands persons are still living in tents.
"Resham Shrestha, who lost his wife and infant son, told Al Jazeera that people in his village of Sanga Chowk were fearing further earthquakes.
"I would love to get my life back. But the repeated tremors have affected the mental state of everyone in the village. It's not just me with my loss. It's difficult to think of a plan to rebuild" he said."
Al Jazeera – Mon, May 25, 2015
The lack of resources, whether funds, material or knowledge, combined with the amount of damaged buildings and debris make the rebuilding effort difficult and long.
The dramatic events of 2015 and the characteristics of Nepal require a new sustainable approach towards the rebuilding of the country. In this scenario the Earthbag construction method can prove more efficient than any other solution.
A smart Solution...
The system was first introduced by architect Nader Khalili as a concept for building habitats on the moon and it was presented to NASA during the 1984 first symposium on lunar dwellings. During the subsequent years the Superadobe technology gained popularity and in 1991 started an intense research and prototype construction activity at the Cal-Earth institute in California.
Even though the original goal of the project was to provide a way of building houses using the few resources available to astronauts, the positive impact that such approach could have had in some earth’s contexts was clear from the beginning.
Thousands of years old principles and nowadays engineering concepts are applied to create a simplified building method which needs nothing more than bags and barbed wire. The former are filled with on-site earth and arranged in layers while the latter is placed in between them and acts as reinforcement.
This approach allows the construction of the most common architectural forms, from arches to domes, and proves extremely successful when it comes to create curved shapes. This is paramount since it helps to save material by eliminating the need of conventional roofing.
Moreover curved structures better transfer stresses along the surface of the building resulting in a higher degree of resistance to earthquake, in fact the failure of an element does not hamper the whole structure. Excessive loads are also easily transferred to the ground where they can spread evenly.
Sandbags are made of degradable synthetic material so that in a temporary context the building can easily returns to earth. Nevertheless Superadobe structures can be transformed in permanent houses by using simple, widely-available materials like lime, cement or asphalt. Sandbags provide protection from flood and the aerodynamic shape resist hurricanes, while the earth with which the bags are filled makes the houses fireproof. The inside offers comfortably living spaces both in terms of design and insulation.
All the member of a family can contribute building a Superadobe house since the process is simple and does not require any additional tool but hands.
These features make the Superadobe building design an affordable, sustainable and reliable solution for Nepal as for many other countries subject to similar natural disaster as well. It is also an important step towards a more conscious approach to architecture that takes into account the locally available resources and the surrounding environment.
More details about Rebuilding Nepal Project...
This project will give long-term safe shelters with healthy living conditions to many Nepalese families and also will give Nepal people hope and a new sustainable and economic approach to rebuild their homes.
We have a complete planned schedule and budget to be started the 14th of September 2015, after the monsoon season. Until that date our goal is to raise $60,000 dlls as a kick start of this rebuilding process that includes:
Building of solid shelters that will be transformed into decent homes
Clearing of collapsed buildings
Rebuilding of Schools accommodations that guarantee a safety anti-seismic structure.
Food Supplies
Medical aid
Please contribute to this marvelous act of kindness while we have the opportunity to help others. You can help by praying, donating or/and volunteering. Thank you for your support!
Our team is formed of professionals from various fields, all united by the same aspiration: helping others!
We are all volunteers commited to help restore seriously damaged communities that require especialized asistance.
The methods we use are economically and ecologically sustainable (90% on-site earth), easy to learn and above all, guarantee that their homes will not collapse with a subsequent earthquake. By involving and educating the community we assure the continuity of the restoration progress once we leave.
We have three principles in what we do:
Teach how to fish, rather than giving the fish
Listen to community needs to encounter real solutions, rather than imposing unrealistic solutions
Encourage community engagement, reduce envirometal impact and therefore maximize resources
Our Team
JUAN PABLO DE LA PARRA
Architectural Engieenier at UNEA University, Mexico.
Master in Bioconstruction at Institut für Baubiologie, Germany.
PADI Certified Rescue Diver (First Aids).
Earthbag Building Certification. (Superadobe by Cal-earth Institute)
Juan Pablo has been part of various social construction projects. He teaches bioconstruction courses in Mexico and prommotes ecological aproches to the construccion industry. Carried by his philantropic ideology he constantly volunteers in various parts of the world always with the intention of heping. Loves outdoors, mathematics, and nature geometry.
"I love to use my skills and knowledge to help others"
EDUARDO DE LA PARRA
University Law studies at UAQ, Mexico.
Proffesional degree studies in International Law and Human Rights at UAM and Universidad de Salamanca, Spain.
First Aids Certification
Affiliate to UNICEF
Eduardo has studies in international law and human rights. He cooperates altruistly with domestic and international NGO's. He is a passionate teacher, and loves sharing knowledge with others.
"A life dedicated to serve others is a meaningful life".
DEVENDRA BABU
University Business studies at UK.
Qualified trained as a builder at UK
Owner and founder of Mango Tree Resort in Lamjung district in Nepal
Devendra builded his own resort experimenting with natural building techniques using local material such as adobe, bamboo, stone, timber, thatch etc all with the help from his family and local workforce. Since he arrived to his natal country, Nepal, he has always aim for the community development towards sutainable ways of living by doing various activities such as permaculture demonstration site running courses.
"My passion is what I do, and what I do I do it for others"
ALEJANDRA ECHEVARRIA
University Marqueting Degree at ITESM, Mexico.
International Certification as Yoga Instuctor
Advising and Educational Orientation Diploma
Coaching adn Effective comunication Diploma
Ale has developed in Restorative Yoga to offer workshop as service to the community, to aid people with physical injuries, deficiencies and other types of body sickness. She possesses skills to listen, to understand, to deal and to favor the communication between persons, as well as to strengthen workgroups generating bows of friendship and effective communication and teamwork.
"It is gratifying to give service to the others across my different skills to improve the physical, mental, emotional health of others"
Current Situation...
So far the help provided in Nepal has been giving food supplies, medical support and temporary refuge on the affected areas. There is still many work to be done to restore the damaged cities and villages.
Tents provided by many of the Non-profit Organizations supporting Nepal natural disaster are just temporary resources to give quick aid in the affected communities but they don’t give the necessary long term, structured and healthy conditions, such as warm, dry and secure solid shelters.
"The students whose schools have been affected in Sindhupalchock have been unable to attend a safe structure for class, let alone to play with their friends for the past one month since the earthquake."
-GlobalMedic published on 25 May 2015-
Nepal is to be considered a very poor country in this world and it is located in an area notoriously known for the high seismic activity and floods.
The 2015 earthquake has put an unbelievable strain on the Nepal population since part of the capital and surrounding areas need to be rebuilt. The task proved to be extremely hard and at the beginning when basic need are being provided, today hundreds of thousands persons are still living in tents.
"Resham Shrestha, who lost his wife and infant son, told Al Jazeera that people in his village of Sanga Chowk were fearing further earthquakes.
"I would love to get my life back. But the repeated tremors have affected the mental state of everyone in the village. It's not just me with my loss. It's difficult to think of a plan to rebuild" he said."
Al Jazeera – Mon, May 25, 2015
The lack of resources, whether funds, material or knowledge, combined with the amount of damaged buildings and debris make the rebuilding effort difficult and long.
The dramatic events of 2015 and the characteristics of Nepal require a new sustainable approach towards the rebuilding of the country. In this scenario the Earthbag construction method can prove more efficient than any other solution.
A smart Solution...
The system was first introduced by architect Nader Khalili as a concept for building habitats on the moon and it was presented to NASA during the 1984 first symposium on lunar dwellings. During the subsequent years the Superadobe technology gained popularity and in 1991 started an intense research and prototype construction activity at the Cal-Earth institute in California.
Even though the original goal of the project was to provide a way of building houses using the few resources available to astronauts, the positive impact that such approach could have had in some earth’s contexts was clear from the beginning.
Thousands of years old principles and nowadays engineering concepts are applied to create a simplified building method which needs nothing more than bags and barbed wire. The former are filled with on-site earth and arranged in layers while the latter is placed in between them and acts as reinforcement.
This approach allows the construction of the most common architectural forms, from arches to domes, and proves extremely successful when it comes to create curved shapes. This is paramount since it helps to save material by eliminating the need of conventional roofing.
Moreover curved structures better transfer stresses along the surface of the building resulting in a higher degree of resistance to earthquake, in fact the failure of an element does not hamper the whole structure. Excessive loads are also easily transferred to the ground where they can spread evenly.
Sandbags are made of degradable synthetic material so that in a temporary context the building can easily returns to earth. Nevertheless Superadobe structures can be transformed in permanent houses by using simple, widely-available materials like lime, cement or asphalt. Sandbags provide protection from flood and the aerodynamic shape resist hurricanes, while the earth with which the bags are filled makes the houses fireproof. The inside offers comfortably living spaces both in terms of design and insulation.
All the member of a family can contribute building a Superadobe house since the process is simple and does not require any additional tool but hands.
These features make the Superadobe building design an affordable, sustainable and reliable solution for Nepal as for many other countries subject to similar natural disaster as well. It is also an important step towards a more conscious approach to architecture that takes into account the locally available resources and the surrounding environment.
More details about Rebuilding Nepal Project...
This project will give long-term safe shelters with healthy living conditions to many Nepalese families and also will give Nepal people hope and a new sustainable and economic approach to rebuild their homes.
We have a complete planned schedule and budget to be started the 14th of September 2015, after the monsoon season. Until that date our goal is to raise $60,000 dlls as a kick start of this rebuilding process that includes:
Building of solid shelters that will be transformed into decent homes
Clearing of collapsed buildings
Rebuilding of Schools accommodations that guarantee a safety anti-seismic structure.
Food Supplies
Medical aid
Please contribute to this marvelous act of kindness while we have the opportunity to help others. You can help by praying, donating or/and volunteering. Thank you for your support!
Organizer
Ian Stibbe
Organizer
Nelson, BC
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