Hanwang « Sichuan Quake Relief (SQR)

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Interview with the “I Bought a Shelter” team

Monday, June 9th, 2008

I Bought A Shelter have designed a customized emergency relief shelter that can be used for a range of shelter needs. The shelter is freely available for use by any organization seeking spacious and adaptable shelter for the Sichuan earthquake relief effort. Two of the team are in Chengdu, working with Sichuan Quake Relief to put up prototypes of their tents, and then source materials from local suppliers in preparation for larger orders as funding allows.

Tents situation

The tent is an inexpensive and environmentally responsible local “kit” made out of split bamboo poles and a low-tech durable plastic that can be constructed on-site into spacious temporary shelters to house six to twelve people for up to one year. The shelters have many benefits over conventional tents being cheaper, more spacious and better ventilated.

Very accommodating

Luke Cardew and Sam Keam were in a positive mood, one sporting a rather fetching wickerwork crash/safety helmet, and both showing a combination of tan and tiredness bestowed by putting up tents in mountainous regions, and then sitting in the open back of 3-tonne trucks as they bounce along the Sichuan track and road network.

When the earthquake struck on May 12th, Luke was travelling through France. A few days later, Sam texted him, saying, “China needs tents,” and the two were very soon together in Shanghai getting the prototype sorted. They have been in Chengdu for a week now, establishing contacts, assessing sites and sourcing materials for their project. The team had spent Sunday putting up their two first in situ tents in Baiguo Village, near Hanwang. From speaking to SQR volunteers and members of other NGOs present, the prototypes had been a success. The first tent took a few hours to assemble, and the second had been put up much more quickly.

SQR blog spoke to Luke and Sam at the Chengdu Bookworm on the evening of Monday 9th June 2008.

SQR: What have you been up to today?
I Bought A Shelter: Today we have been sourcing materials, including tarpaulin sheets and bamboo poles. We’ve been trying to get the right suppliers in place so that when we’re able to get a bulk order for a large number of shelters we can act quickly and get them over here. We’re aiming for an order of between 300 and 500 tents at the moment, based on funding we’ve got. There are some issues with purchasing tarpaulin here, as regional supplies of tarpaulin seem to have been snapped up, for obvious reasons. We might have to go back to our Shanghai supplier. We’re still working on the bamboo supplies, but bamboo shouldn’t be a problem.
SQR: You’ve mentioned that locally-available materials are a key part of the design.
IBaS: Bamboo is key as it’s a locally-sourced material, organic, low environmental impact and a fast-growing species.
SQR: What was the reaction to the two tents you put up on Sunday?
IBaS: We had been visiting the sites for the two days beforehand, so the local officials knew we were coming. Yesterday was fascinating. People have given a great response. Local people already know how to work with the materials, but they were very receptive to the design. They could see the value in it. The whole design was based on the way they build greenhouses here in China. There’s a clever difference to it. You build it in exactly the same way, except that as you build these tents, you pass one of the roof-supporting bamboo poles over another so that the roof structure is overlapping, making it much sturdier than the usual way these structures are assembled. As soon as we demonstrated this “overlap” step, there was literally this “whoo” moment (a sort of gasp of “oooh, that’s clever, isn’t it?”/”penny-drop” amazement – Ed.).
SQR: How has cooperation with Sichuan Quake Relief been?
IBaS: The people at Sichuan Quake Relief have been extraordinarily helpful. There’s a brilliant network of people. They’ve helped us so much. In particular they’ve been brilliant for logistics, with finding transport and volunteers, and helping us visit sites to assess where we might be able to work.
SQR: Luke, as an industrial designer, any thoughts on your design, now that you’ve seen the tent assembled in Sichuan?
IBaS: So far we are happy with the design. The tents are big and cheap and strong enough for the temporary short- to medium-term accommodation they are to provide. The ventilation needs to be slightly refined, but we are working on that.
SQR: How long will you be working on this project?
IBaS: If the project here gets too big, it’s an open source design, and the hope is for an NGO to manage the distribution of these tents. For more details about the tent design, visit our website or download a PDF of the shelter specifications sheet.

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Tags:Baiguocun, bamboo, design, Donation, French, Hanwang, iboughtashelter.com, London, NGO, shelter, tarpaulin, volunteer
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Interview with Lee M.

Sunday, June 8th, 2008

On Sunday 8th June ’08 SQR chatted to Lee, who has been volunteering for SQR and in charge of many of the trips out into the earthquake zone, organising and sourcing materials, arranging transport, liaising with local communities and buying beer for the volunteers. SQR strolled into the Bookworm just as Lee and other volunteers had returned from …

Lee: We went to Baiguo Village near Hanwang. Just before you go into Hanwang, you turn left and you’re pretty much there. It’s looking better there than before. Its buildings are rubble of course. We went with iboughtashelter.com, who have their own design of temporary tents.
SQR: How did they get in touch with Sichuan Quake Relief?
Lee: They contacted us after reading about us on the web. Baiguo is in an area north west of Mianzhu and Hanwang that we have delivered aid to previously, and each time we have spoken to the people who live there, which is a major part of the reason to go on trips out there, to build up meaningful links with local communities. They asked for our advice and this is one of the areas we suggested.
SQR: How did you choose that area?
Lee: There is a real need for these tents almost everywhere. The tent is a really decent construction. Getting lots of them put up quickly and properly is just about practice. We took some trucks, a jeep, all in all 20 people, including Mike, Lucy, Lydia, Angel, me, Sam and Luke and others. We use one-tonne trucks. They are small, easy to get through, and we have a good relationship with the drivers.
SQR: You’ve been going out there for three weeks now. Do you now have a fairly standard procedure for approaching the various sites and setting down deliveries?
Lee: It has changed over the few weeks we’ve been going. There are police checkpoints in many places, at every major turning and every at major entry and exit point into an area. The officers who dealt with us today were from Gansu, and so are all outsiders. They stop foreigners to check what we are up to. When I chat to them and show them my passport, and a letter showing that we are helping people in the area. If you greet them with a decent attitude, they are fine. We let them know we are heading up to the village(s).
SQR: What do you tell people when they ask you what it’s like?
Lee: The area is a lot better than it used to be. Three weeks ago this area had the smell of death, an air of desperation, and everyone wanted food and shelter. That kept going for a couple of weeks. Now that the frequency of the major shocks has lessened, people are actually looking past that and facing up to reality, which is a terrible thing as well, but it makes them get on with life. Their loved ones have gone, dead, their children are dead, their houses have gone, and their livelihood has gone as well.
SQR: What were those tents for today?
Lee: Accommodation. The farmers there have food and water, but really need shelter. They are working on their farms, getting on with life. Almost immediately after the earthquake, people started to work on their land again. We also took up a load of toys and games at the beginning of June. The kids absolutely adored that. Water and food is getting through. The government is giving each person rice and other basic foodstuffs and water.
SQR: In the first three weeks after the quake, Sichuan Quake Relief concentrated on delivering emergency relief, water, and different types of food to give a small amount of dietary variety for some. What are the priorities now?
Lee: Now we’re looking long term and in particular at providing shelters at this period of time, so it’s a good thing the guys from iboughtashelter.com are here. You can get twelve people in one of the tents. Using tarps is always going to mean that heat is a problem. Any tent made of that material is like a small greenhouse, but they are working on the ventilation issue, and it will be sorted.
SQR: What was the reaction of the villagers to the new tents?
Lee: They loved the tents, they all helped. The tents are great and the response has been absolutely marvellous. They have a thousand people to accommodate there, and so we’ll visit again.
SQR: Any particular moments you remember from today’s trip?
Lee: Permits are very important and the police spoke to us four times, and were very positive, pleasant and professional and even mentioned a village in Gansu that we might visit to help. After putting up the tents, as we were leaving, they all waved to us, and the police came and saluted us. The police specifically drove up to us to thank us and salute us and were almost teary-eyed. It was pretty moving. They were senior officers and they were saluting us.
SQR: What are the plans for the near future?
Lee: Three hundred or more tents will be sent from Shanghai. They are specifically designed for this emergency. SQR’s role is to recommend places to take them, and get in touch with the village leaders. There are thousands of people to accommodate, so there’s plenty to do.
SQR: Any signs of normal life returning?
Lee: There are some. Kids are smiling. People’s income there is from farming, so people are working and there is work to do. People are smiling, sitting around, happily joking and laughing. Obviously they are friendly because we are helping them. Obviously the atmosphere is still so sad, but people are facing reality.