Shortsighted El Rama Update June 2014 by BAMBÚ SOCIAL

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE // 31-05-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 //04 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

VIEW FROM THE BICU UNIVERSITY OF THE CONSTRUCTION SITE

CONS TR UCTING FULL F OR CE! El Rama, 15-06-2014 A quick update: -We have reached the highest point of the house -The roof construction is successfully being executed -The garden is evolving, and we have almost finished the walking paths -A trip to Managua was taken to find the perfect seeds for the garden -The scale for cutting bamboo has been enlarged: we now are able to cut 130 bamboo culms in 1 day -We are exploring the area around El Rama to find more bamboo, for future construction purposes -The garbage bins for the centre of El Rama are being developed: the municipality is very enthusiastic and we are perfecting a 2nd full scale prototype -We are busy preparing a presentation for the municipality and 192 local families. On the 29th of June we will show them our plan to develop new BAMBÚ SOCIAL housing! This update´s theme is ¨The Bamboo Journey¨, as we are focusing on the journey our specie of bamboo Gigantochloa undertakes - from the moment it is cut at the bamboo plantation, through prefabrication into construction materials, to the point where we use it for building purposes. As we have mentioned earlier, we are using two different species of bamboo for the construction of our model house: Dendrocalamus Asper and Gigantochloa Apus. These two species have different characteristics, therefore they are used for different aspects of our building. We want to give you a little more insight into the extensive Bambusa Gigantochloa production process taking place in and around El Rama, while introducing many of the wonderful people who are part of this journey. Read and enjoy!

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 04 // 31-05-2014 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

THE B AM B OO JOURN E Y

B AMBUS A GIGANT OCHL OA: FR OM CUTTING T O CONS TR UCTION 1 2 3

EL RECREO ATELIER B AMBU SOCIAL BICU SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

E L R E CR E O

B AMBOO @ EL RECREO

BAMBOO IS MARKED BEFORE CUT DOWN

There are over 1500 species of bamboo known to date. Bamboo is widely available in the tropical surroundings of El Rama, and a perfect building material as it is strong yet flexible. Bamboo grows rapidly, thus it can be cut and used for construction quite frequently. It is also highly effective in capturing carbon dioxide and its extensive root system supports the soil from tropical rains, preventing it from washing away. Nicaragua is home to many extensive rainforests, yet large parts of the forests have been cut down for commercial logging, cattle grazing and agricultural purposes. A vast majority of the land surrounding El Rama was deforested in the past few decades, leaving the land vulnerable to natural disasters. The cultivation of bamboo plantations helps maintain healthy soil while the protect surroundings of El Rama. El Recreo is a bamboo plantation 15 km away from El Rama. Home to the INTA, -Instituto Nicaragüense de Tecnología Agropecuaria - this is the place where our bamboo journey begins. Besides bamboo, a number of other resources are cultivated here such as cacao and rubber. As mentioned before, we cut two types of bamboo for construction. The Dendrocalamus Asper is known as the giant bamboo, and its weight and size (its diameter can reach up to 20 cm) make it difficult to work with it yet perfect for setting strong columns. The Gigantochloa is thinner, - with a diameter of 6 to 10 cm – therefore much easier to cut. We are almost finished with the bamboo cutting process: after cutting our last batch of Gigantochloa next week, we will have enough bamboo to finish the construction of our model house. A group of dedicated workers –usually two Shortsighted Architecture members together with five hired workers – rise and shine at 5 a.m. in order to walk the path towards the bamboo plantation and spend the early hours taking down Gigantochloa culms. At night and during dawn, the sugar level of the bamboo is at its lowest. This is preferable when cutting bamboo, because less sugar means less termites and other unwanted insects. Besides cutting, El Recreo is the place where we clean, treat and dry most of the bamboo.

THE EMPTY PILA ANDEL THE PILA04 // 31-05-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM THE MUNICIPALITY TRUCK SHORTSIGHTED RAMA FULL // UPDATE DENDROCALAMUS ASPER BAMBUSA GIGANTOCHLOA SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

THE BAMBUSA LADIES FROM EL RECREO TREATING GIGANTOCHLOA

W ORKING @ EL RECREO

FRANCISCO RAMON URBINA BARGAS

ERVIN RAMON ORTEGA MORIO

DON FRANSISCO, TRACTOR DRIVER

JAIME HERNANDEZ RUIZ

BRIAN AMADOR LAZO

¨ We weren´t used to working with bamboo, but we learned how to cut it and now know that you can do a lot with this building material ¨ JAIME HERNANDEZ RUIZ JADER JAVIER SIQUEIRA

CALIXTO ZELEDON, TRANSPORT

CALIXTO QUINTERO

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

SAUL FLORES URBINA, MOTORSAW MAN

FACT S & FIGURES

TEAM AT EL RECREO ON CUTTING EXPIDITION

-Bamboo is a primitive grass that was here 200 million years before humans walked the earth -The Gigantocholoa is a tropical to subtropical bamboo, growing in the warm humid tropics of Nicaragua but also in cold areas of northern Japan. -At intervals, sometimes as rarely as once every 120 years, some bamboos species flower at the same time all around the world and then mysteriously die. -We are almost finished with cutting! We will need one more cutting expedition to complete our model house -Bamboo meant for construction purposes has to be at least 3 -5 years old: its white spots give away the fact that the bamboo is of a suitable age -The bamboo has to be cut at least 30 cm from the ground, in a way that no water can stand still inside the culm and form a breeding place for insects and funguses that could potentially destroy the plant. -The diameter of the Gigantochloa reaches 5-10 cm, with about 2 cm of wall thickness at the bottom. -Its hollow stem gives it a lightweight strength, making it useful for building -In 1 day, we cut approximately 130 bamboo culms. A few weeks ago, we were only able to cut 60 in 1 day (which means we are getting more efficient!) -It is most efficient to cut a Gigantochloa culm with a motorsaw, but an ax or machete would also do the job -Termites love bamboo because it contains loads of sugar, this is way we have to treat it with borax & borac acid in order to keep the insects away -To make our borax & borac acid treatment: we make a fire, and heat water over the fire in an iron oil barrel. Then we put in one bag of borax as well as half a bag of borac acid and warm the mixture up while stirring. When ready, we divide the solution to create 5 percent mixture for the capilarity as well as the pila treatment. In general this means for every 100 litres of water we use 3-3.5 kg of borax and 1.5-2 kg of borac acid. These forms of treatment remove the sugar from the bamboo SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

EL RECREO PR OCESS

FINDING MARKED BAMBOO TO SAW

SAUL FLORES URBINA, MOTORSAW MAN

ORGANISING BY SIZE

CUTTING INTO SPECIFIC SIZES

1. SELECTING & CUTTING At first, we find a suitable spot in El Recreo´s bamboo plantation where there is sufficient bamboo to cut for that day. This can be anything from a short walk from the entrance of El Recreo, to an hour´s walk through the forest. When selecting bamboo, we try to find culms that aren´t too crooked, and don´t contain many insects. We also look at whether there are many white spots, as these indicate an older age and therefore a significant strength. The selected bamboo is marked with a marker, and cut using a motor saw after which it is pulled down. It is then cut into pieces of 3.20 & 7 meters. Cutting should be done in a slanted manner for capillary treatment, compare this to cutting flowers in a vase.

MAKING HOLES FOR PILA TREATMENT

THE PILA BATH

PUTTING WEIGHT TO AVOID FLOATING

CAPILLARY TREATMENT

3. TREATMENT: CAPILL AR Y & SOAKING We use two methods of treatment: capillary and soaking. Capillary treatment entails putting the 3.2 meter pieces vertically in a barrel with borax and boric acid solution within several hours after cutting. You have to put the bamboo in the solution within 24 hours of being cut, or the bamboo loses its suction power. On day 5, you turn the bamboo around, and on day 7 the bamboo is ready to be taken out. The soaking method entails laying the seven meter pieces in a pila (a container filled with borax and boric acid), putting bags and rocks on top of it to prevent it from floating, and taking the trunks out after a week. SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

EL RECREO PR OCESS

TRANSPORTING THE BAMBOO TO CLEANING SPACE

CLEANING THE CULMS

2. TRANS POR TING & CLEANING B AMBOO When all of the bamboo is pulled down and cut in the proper sizes, it is loaded on to a truck and transported to the area where the bamboo will be cleaned and treated. This is located next to the wood workshop in El Recreo, where a bamboo workspace was set up. The bamboo trunks are then cleaned, using pieces of used plastic which have a grainy structure and are therefore for scrubbing dirt off. It is important that the nodes are cleaned, because they provide the bamboo with its strength.

LETTING LIQUID DRIP OUT

DRYING THE BAMBOO

THE WALK FROM EL RECREO TO THE ROAD

4. DR YING & TRANSPOR T After treatment, the bamboo is lifted out of the barrel or pila, in order to let all the liquid drip out. It is best to dry bamboo for 1-2 months before using it for construction purposes. Though due to shortage of space, most of the bamboo is driven to the bodega for drying. As there is a bridge separating El Recreo from the main road, there is no other option but to carry across the bridge by two people, taking three to four trunks at a time. At the other side of the bridge, the bamboo is loaded onto a truck and driven to the center of El Rama. SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

AT E LI E R B A M B Ú S OC IA L 2

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

MAKING PEGS AT ATELIER BAMBÚ SOCIAL CUTTING BAMBOO IN EL RECREO

B AMBOO @ ATELIER B AMBÚ SOCIAL From El Recreo, the Gigantochloa is driven to the Bodega, a storage space of the municipality of El Rama where we are able to stock our bamboo. We created a rack (made of..bamboo!) on which the bamboo is left to dry, as there is no space at El Recreo to dry all the bamboo needed. It is very close to Atelier Bambú Social, about one block away. After drying at the Bodega, the bamboo is carried on our shoulders to Atelier Bambú Social where the prefabrication processes begin. Atelier Bambú Social is a versatile place. At night it is where we sleep, but during the day it turns into a workshop area where we experiment and create together with several local workmen. It is a bustling place, as people are constantly working to prefabricate the bamboo construction pieces before they are sent to the construction site. As it is in the centre of town, there are many passers-by that come and take a peak inside to see what is going on. The accessibility of Bambú Social makes it a great place for the people of El Rama to get acquainted with our project. The bamboo is loaded onto a scaffolding, to await its fait of being sliced and hammered into bits. We have perfected our prefabrication process, and the creation of three important bamboo construction materials out of the Gigantochloa bamboo is still going strong. First of all, thousands of pegs are being made, which are connection pieces that connect all the bamboo stems used for construction. These pegs are made of scrap pieces of bamboo, by cutting the scrap parts into pieces of 30 cm, and moulding them to the perfect size. Secondly, all Gigantochloa pieces are doubled up, to create beams. Two pieces of bamboo are securely connected with one other piece – using pegs to connect them - in order to act as one beam. Thirdly, we are still working on the bracings for the building, which provides stability to the construction. The pegs, beams and diagonals are all prefabricated at Atelier Bambú Social before they are transported to the construction site at the BICU.

THE EMPTY PILA AND THE FULL PILA

THE MUNICIPALITY TRUCK

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

THE LADIES FROM EL RECREO

W ORKING @ ATELIER B AMBÚ SOCIAL

DON NICOLAS

EZEQUIEL JESUS MAZANARI

¨ At first I had my doubts about the connections for the bracing, but now that I installed them I can feel that they are extremely strong¨ JUAN RAFAEL DAVILLA MARTIN FRANKLIN REYES GARCIA

JUAN RAFAEL DAVILLA MARTIN

THE DESIGN PROPOSAL DAVID GABRIEL PADILLA

YUSSELY INES ROSTRAN

HENRIE BETANCOURT COMPOST HOUSE

ALAN MIGUEL SALAZAR

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

ELIAS MANUEL ALVAREZ ARROLIGA

AT WORK IN ATELIER BAMBÚ SOCIAL

FACT S & FIGURE S -The walls of bamboo contain ¨natural fibreglass¨: strong fibres surrounded by a softer matrix. -Bamboo is flexible, making it ideal for earthquake-resistant housing projects (Nicaragua is prone to earthquakes) -Atelier Bambú Social is a building of the municipality of El Rama. The municipality offered us the free use of this building during our stay in El Rama -A team of 6-8 people work here each day to process the bamboo into pegs, beams and bracing elements -Pegs as connection pieces are a more sustainable alternative to the often used steel screw threads with nuts and bolts -To make one bamboo peg you need: 1 hammer, 1 machete and 1 steel mould with the right diameters -It takes approximately 5 minutes to make one bamboo peg -We need a couple of hundred more pegs to have enough for the completion of our house -Every friday, a bamboo craftsmanship course is hosted here, teaching local inhabitants of El Rama and El Recreo how to create furniture out of bamboo -At Atelier Bambú Social, Jezabel (Shortsighted Architecture member) & Don Samuel (Artesania course participant) are perfecting the design for the garbage bin project: these garbage bins will be set up in the whole of El Rama

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

B AMBÚ SOCIAL PR OCESS

LOADING THE TRUCK BEFORE DRIVING NEXT DESTINATION

DRYING RACK AT THE BODEGA

1. TRANSP OR TATION & S T ORAGE The Gigantochloa is loaded onto a truck, across the bridge from El Recreo. As some of the pieces of bamboo are 7 metres long, this can cause some difficulty for transport. We cut 130 bamboo stems into pieces of 7 & 3.2 metres, meaning we actually have approximately 230 pieces of bamboo to transport. The pieces are driven to the Bodega, a 20 minute drive during which we pray that the bamboo won´t fall of the truck. The Bodega is a storage space of the municipality of El Rama, where the bamboo is stored on our bamboo rack to dry. Next stop is Atelier Bambú Social.

CUTTING OF PEGS

3. CREATING PEGS Pegs are created using damaged or crooked Gigantochloa or Asper stems with a minimum wall thickness of 14 mm that aren´t suitable for the creation of beams. The lowest, thickest part of the bamboo is cut into pieces of 30 cm, and hammered through a mould to create a smooth, round peg. The moulds were developed to create pegs of exactly the same shape and size. The peg is then given a sharp point. These pegs are used to connect separate pieces of bamboo together, to create beams. After making thousands pegs in the past month, we think we have probably gotten the hang of it. SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

PILE OF PEGS

B AMBÚ SOCIAL PR OCESS

OUR ¨TOOL WALL¨AT THE ATELIER

SKETCHES FOR CONNECTION OF BEAMS

2. DESIGNING & CHOOSING OF PREFABRICATION ELEMENT S After researching our options we decided to incorporate the double-beam-diagonal-bamboo-pegs system, which basically means we create double beams of bamboo, connecting them with bamboo pegs. Another connection we chose to use for bracing pieces is a bamboo-wood combination. We were trying to find solution on how to damage the bamboo as little as possible, when Henky Borgstein came up with a idea of a wooden connection piece to connect diagonals to columns.

MAKING HOLES FOR CONNECTION

CONNECTION OF DOUBLE BEAM WITH PEGS

TENSILE BRACE

4. CREATING BEAMS & BRACING Two pieces of Gigantochloa are held tightly together with a wooden mould, after which holes are made through both stems. These holes have to be in exactly the same place, in order for the peg to fit through both bamboo stems and securely connect them. By adding bracing to our model house, more strength and stability is given to the construction. Two types of bracing are developed in order to fit into the columns diagonally: the compressive brace and the tensile brace. We created the tensile brace at the Atelier, combining two pieces of bamboo with one piece of wood. The compressive brace is created at the BICU, by slicing a piece off of the top a bamboo stem. SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

BI C U CONS TR U CT I ON S I T E 2

FASTENING BEAMS AT THE CONSTRUCTION SITE CUTTING BAMBOO IN EL RECREO

BICU CONS TR UCTION SITE The prefabricated Gigantochloa is transported to the construction site, where construction of our model house is on full force. The plot is situated in front of the BICU - Bluefields Indian & Caribbean University - a 5 minute truck ride (or tuktuk ride, as this is the way we usually get there) from Atelier BambĂş Social. The Gigantochloa arrives at the construction site as double beams, connected by pegs and almost ready to be used for construction. First, the beams are cut into the proper sizes depending on their purpose. Three weeks ago, we set up the columns using the Dendrocalamus Asper bamboo. We are now in the midst of constructing with our Gigantochloa: the 7 meter pieces are used for the roof construction, while the smaller beams are used for the walls, floors and framing of the house. At this point in time, the roof of the house is being executed. When constructing a house it is common to start with the floor and work your way up, yet we are working in an environment that asks for different measures to be taken. One thing that we took into account is the fact that bamboo retains its maximum quality when it is shielded from rain, (as well as earth and sunlight). As we are working in a tropical climate and rainy season has started, we therefore decided to construct the roof before working on the two floors as well as the completion of the walls. This way we will be able to shield the bamboo as best as possible. From the end of March until the beginning of June we hosted a Sustainable Construction Course at the BICU University, and the participating students helped us at the construction site as part of the course. Now that the course is over, many of the students have stayed working with us, in order for them to be able to keep on learning in a practical manner. From time to time, we also work with local experts to speed up the building process. Last but not least, Henky and Jan are two Dutchies who are part of our team, that work at the construction site each day. Henky is a citizen of El Rama, and Jan hopped on the plane a few weeks ago to come and give us an extra hand. These two men have worked in construction for many years, and have proved to be immensely valuable assets to the building team.

THE EMPTY PILA AND THE FULL PILA

THE MUNICIPALITY TRUCK

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

THE LADIES FROM EL RECREO

W ORKING @ THE BICU

ALFREDO QUIJANO

GIOVANY FLORES

OCTAVIO LATINOS

ENGEL VILLATA

CLEANING JOHANNA

JOSE ARMANDO RUIZ

JOSE ANTONIO

BIOFERTILIZER ANGEL THEODORO

¨LISTO!!¨ OCTAVIO LATINOS

JUAN RAFAEL ROSA MORENO

RAMON FLORES

JAVIER RODRIGUEZ

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

THE BEAMS BEING PASSED ALONG TO THE CONSTRUCTION

FACT S & FIGURES -The young shoots of the Gigantocholoa can be eaten as a vegetable -The Gigantochloa reaches up to approximately 16 metres: but the top 5 metres are not suitable for construction purposes -Our longest prefabricated Gigantochloa beam is a roof rafter and measures almost 6 meters. -The highest point of the house is 7.3 meters -There have been 0 serious accidents at the construction site -Around 10 people work here every day: 6 people work on the construction, while 4 work on the garden -We divide the group up into small separate groups, as we noticed that having too many people at the same place is distracting and uneffective -For the placement of one compressive brace you need: a measuring tape, a chisel, a pencil, one drill machine, one 1 inch drill, one 3/8 inch drill, a good saw, a machete, a hammer, two glue clamps, Gribbond N.3 (glue), 8 pegs -We have two experts from Holland: Henky and Jan who provide loads of information and knowledge -The construction of the gable roof is going strong!

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

BICU PR OCESS

ORGANISING THE BEAMS

CUTTING OFF EXCESS PART OF PEGS

1. GETTING THE BEAMS READY The Gigantochloa beams arrive at the construction site, and are organised by size. We cut the beams in several sizes here, depending on their purpose. The reason why we cut them here right before use, is because bamboo slightly changes in size the longer it is left to dry. The smaller sized Gigantochloa beams are used for the floors, walls, and framing, while the pieces of 7 meters are used for the roof. The parts of the pegs that stick out of the bamboo, are sawed off to make for smooth beams.

HOLE IN THE COLUMN FOR BRACING

INSERTING WOOD CONNECTION PIECE

ATTACHING BEAM TO WOOD PIECE

METAL BRACE FOR FIXATION

3. BRACING Local expert carpenter Juan Rafael helped us with the development of the bracing for our model house. He prefabricated specific sizes of wood pieces at Atelier Bambú Social, then came to the construction site to create holes in our columns of exactly the same size. The wood pieces were then inserted into the columns, after which two tensile braces (prepared at Atelier Bambú Social) were attached to two different columns, connecting in an Y- shaped manner. Glue and a metal brace strengthen as well as fixate the bracing. SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

BICU PR OCESS

MAKING A HOLE FOR CONNECTION

PEGS CONNECT THE BEAMS

FASTENING THE BEAMS TO THE COLUMNS

2. FAS TENING THE FIRS T FL OOR & FRAMING While we cut different sizes of beams for different construction purposes, all of the beams have the same overlap of 60 cm, in order for them to be fastened together. When attaching the beams to each other, holes are made through both sets of beams, whereafter pegs are inserted. The beams are fastened to the columns with pegs as well as treated rod, for an extra secure connection.

PLACING A TIE BEAM

SLANTED BEAM CONNECTION FOR ROOF

VIEW OF THE ROOF

4. FAS TENING THE SECOND FL OOR & R OOF Several of the prefabricated beams become tie beams: they are placed at the top of the colums, and keep the columns together. This is part of the frame and essential for creating a stable house. The longest tie beam measures almost 13 meters. For our house we are building a gable roof, meaning it will consist of two slanted parts. The beams of the left part of the roof are fastened at an angle of 33 degrees -the perfect angle for water to run off - and the beams of the right part of the roof at an angle of 43 degrees.

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

EV OL UT ION OF THE GARDEN

VIEW OF THE GARDEN

MAKING A MOSAIC WITH ROCKS

¨During the past two weeks we set the stones for the two pathways; to connect the house from the principal road as well as from the road going up to the BICU University. We dug trenches around the house to drain the water, which is especially important during rainy season. We are also working on the construction of hyperadobe walls, which will protect the garden from the rain.¨ DIANA, OUR GARDEN EXPERT DIGGING TRENCHES

COMPACTING THE EARTH

PATHWAY TO THE MAIN ROAD

PLANTS AS PART OF THE PATH

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

SETTING OF THE PATHWAY

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

EVENTS SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

BIRDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S EYE OF EL RAMA, BY HUGO THOMASSEN

THE CONTINUATION: SOCIAL HOUSING PR OJECT A bamboo neighbourhood is in the pipeline. The Frente National de Trabajadores, (FNT), the municipality of El Rama and the Ceprodel bank have joined forces to implement a new housing program for 192 Ramanese families (with an average of 3-5 people per family). The families are categorized in their financial capacities, with 21 of them earning less then 4000 Cord - $160,- a month. This group will get special support from the municipality to be able to obtain a lot and build a small house. Especially for this group, but also for other families that approximately earn the official minimum wage in Nicaragua (8000 Cord - $320,-) we have developed a bamboo house that is environmentally and socially more sustainable as well as affordable than existing alternatives. On the 29th of June we will present the design and cost calculation for all the families, the board of the FNT and the municipality of El Rama. If all goes well, we will start setting up this project together with the municipality, FNT, Magnolia and El Recreo, again including local bamboo experts and the students we have trained to build the houses. At the moment we are very busy finalizing the designs and preparing for this presentation, but in future updates we will be sure to keep you posted on the progressions of this project as well as showing you our design. All drawings as well as a project manual will be openly available under a Creative Commons license. As we would be needing bamboo on a much larger scale for this project, we have started looking for other plantations in the area around El Rama that could provide us with a sufficient, high-quality supply. Further along in this update, you are able to read about our search for new suitable bamboo.

SKETCH FOR SOCIALAND HOUSING PROJECT LAURENS MAX AT WORK

SKETCH FOR SOCIAL HOUSING PROJECT

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

START OF SMALL-SCALE MODEL HOUSE

BUSSES

SSA WITH THE BICU STUDENTS AT THE CONSTRUCTION SITE

SUS TAIN ABLE CONS TR UCTION COURSE IS FINISHED! THE PLAZA AND THE CHURCH

Building capacities and the exchange of knowledge are at the core of our project. Our aim is spread knowledge on the use of local renewable resources, and get the people of El Rama acquainted with sustainable building. In order to share knowledge & expertise, a partnership was set up with the BICU - Bluefields Indian & Caribbean - in Rama. A result of this partnership was the creation of the course “Curso de Construcción Sostenible” or Sustainable Construction Course, which provided theoretical classes to the participants while engaging them in practical work on our model house and garden. The course started March 24th, and ended June 2nd. What still follows is the final examination, whereafter successful students will be awarded with an official certificate. The classes were held at the BICU – right behind the plot where our model house is being built – and welcomed students as well as other people of the community of El Rama who were interested in learning about sustainable building. Theoretically, the important aspects of building with bamboo and water filtering were discussed as well as analysed in class. Some examples of the classes given were: Sustainable Building, Bamboo Material Construction, From Plantation Until Construction, and Water Filtering Techniques. Practically, the students helped us in the process of constructing our model house every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, being given the opportunity to apply what they had learned in class. The goal was to provide the students with knowledge about sustainable (bamboo) construction and water filtering, while helping them to learn about building techniques as well as improve their practical skills.

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

SUS TAIN ABLE CONS T R UCTION COURSE

SETTING A COLUMN

PULLING DOWN A GIGANTOCHLOA

LUNCH AT THE CONSTRUCTION SITE

LECTURE FROM JUAN

PUTTING UP THREADS

WORKING ON THE WATER TANK

TEAM PUTTING THE FOUNDATION

DIGGING FOR THE FOUNDATION

TRY-OUT WITH CEMENT

WALKING ALONG THE EL RECREO BRIDGE

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

CLEANING GIGANTOCHLOA

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

SAMPLES OF THE NEWLY FOUND BAMBOO

EXPEDITION: THE SEAR CH F OR NEW B AMBOO When we arrived in El Rama we had our mind set on working with a specific specie of bamboo: the Guadua Angustifolia. This bamboo is known for its straightness, thick wall and large diameter, making it the strongest bamboo around as well as the most cultivated & used bamboo specie for construction in Latin America. When we came to El Rama however, it appeared that all of the Guadua Angustofolia had died out. This occurrence is part of a mysterious natural cycle that is characteristic for many species of bamboo. Most species are subject to gregarious flowering, meaning all plants of a particular species flower at the same time regardless of differences in geographic locations or climate conditions, and then die soon after. In general, bamboo flowering intervals can be as long as 20-120 years. (guaduabamboo.com) We were forced to find other locally available bamboo species to work with, leading to the use of the Dendrocalamus Asper and the Gigantochcloa. Although these species are very suitable for construction, they are not quite as tough as Guadua. We were happily surprised when people from the area approached us with a description of bamboo that seemed to be a species of Guadua, growing abundantly around Rio Cama (two hours from El Rama). This meant that perhaps not all of the Guadua Angustifolia had died out! Last week we went to the Rio Cama area to research the specie of bamboo that was described to us: taking samples, looking at the height, wall thickness, growing patters, leave shape, overall quality and the available quantity. We are almost certain that we found a specie of Guadua, known by the name of Guadua Amplexifolia. Although not quite as big in diameter and height as Angustifolia, it is definitely superior in wall thickness and straightness compared to the bamboo we are using at the moment. While we are too far in the process of building our model house to switch bamboo specie, the Guadua Amplexifolia could be very interesting to use for future construction purposes. We are using this bamboo for the continuation of our BambĂş Social project, more specifically in the design for the social housing project discussed earlier in this update.

FRESH FRUITS ON THE MARKET

SUNSET AND THE PORT

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

BUSSES

WEL COME JAN AND SOFIA!

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

GOODBYE AND SPECIAL THANKS T O KARIN & TIE S

You are loved and missed by Rama, Let it not be a goodbye, but an

‘ HASTA LUEGO’.

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

IGUANA AT EL RECREO

THE B AMBÚ SOCIAL NET W ORK Bambú Social Team

Guards

Workers

Diana Jimena Gonzalez Floor van Eijden Henky Borgstein Jezabel Mejias Reyes Juan Carlos Gaviria Moreno Karin Fernanda Schwambach Laurens van der Wal Max Verhoeven Sheila Oroschin Sherman Tam Ties Temmink Jan van Mulken Sofia Caycedo

Don Calderon Don Nicolas Wilbert

Alan Miguel Salazar David Gabriel Padilla Deldifoneo Nicolas Kelly Ruiz Elias Manuel Alvarez Arroliga Erlin Eryin Reyez Ezequiel Jesus Mazanari Franklin Reyes Garcia Henry Jose Batancour Nuñez Juan Rafael Davila Martin Mervin Amador Yussely Ines Rostran Christian Reyez

Cooks Sonia - our second mother Doña Candida - an angel on earth Doña Elza - delicious food Lesbia- great cooker Doña Maria Davila Zamura Neizi Jiron

Transport Freddy Papamon Eddy

Students from Sustainable Construction Course Alfredo Quijano Angel Theodoro Eddy Manuel Sandoval Eliel Altamirano Engel Villata Giovany Flores Jamir Raudes Javier Antonio Rodrigues Jose Antonio Jose Armando Ruiz Juan Carlos Ruiz Juan Rafael Rosa Moreno Octavio Latinos Ramon Flores Ortega

Volunteers 10+ women of El Recreo - under coordination of Margarita Inatec studenten - under coordination of Victor Group from municipality

Workers in El Recreo Don Saul - motorsaw Don Julian - motorsaw Calisto Ariel Tacho Nelson Johnathan Doña Margarita and many more!

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT:

DAISY

SONIA

JUAN CARLOS RUIZ

CARLOS & CARLITOS

AIXA ACEVEDO SONIA

ESTEFANIA

NEIZI JIRON & MARIA DAVILLA

CANDIDA

ELZA GONZALEZ & OLGA BUITRAGO

MAILYN

DON CALDERON

LESBHIA ROCHA

SHORTSIGHTED EL RAMA // UPDATE 05 // 15-06-2014 // INFO@SHORTSIGHTEDARCHITECTURE.COM

RUBBER TREES AT EL RECREO, BY HUGO THOMASSEN