It's hip to be “green” at Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project 2015

Prominent use of bamboo in the construction of 100 houses in Habitat for Humanity’s signature build from 1 to 5 November in Pokhara, Nepal

BANGKOK (April 7, 2015) — For those who are more familiar with the brick-and-mortar type of construction, the 32nd Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project in Nepal, November 2015, will be an interesting experience. For one, bamboo will take centerstage with its prominent use in the walls and frames of the 100 houses to be built during the week-long blitz build. The grass — yes bamboo is a grass — is often lauded for its fast growth rate, tensile strength and versatility.

Habitat for Humanity Nepal has been promoting the use of bamboo with more than 40 percent of Habitat home partners constructing their homes with this material.

Bamboo nurseries set up by Habitat’s partner organizations in eastern Nepal play a role in reducing environmental problems. Bamboo is also a source of livelihood for low-income communities, especially the women, who are employed in cultivating and harvesting the grass, as well as making handicrafts and other items out of bamboo.

With more than 60 species of bamboo found in Nepal, Habitat and its partners have access to a ready supply. As a construction material, bamboo helps to maintain a cooler interior because of its lower capacity to conduct heat. Bamboo is also sustainable because it can be harvested in about three years compared to a few decades for timber.

These factors accounted for the use of bamboo in house construction during HFH Nepal’s Everest Build I in Pokhara in 2010 and Everest Build III in Chitwan in 2014.

Volunteers at the Carter Work Project can expect to use construction techniques that are similar to the Everest Builds. For the 100 houses to be built, the foundation and floor slab will be laid, the bamboo frame put up and the roofing in place ahead of the volunteers’ arrival. During the build week, the following tasks are expected to be completed by the volunteers:

• Cutting of bamboo strips to a required thickness; strips are then woven to form the walls of the house. Volunteers at each house will take turns to cut the bamboo strips or weave.
• Plastering will begin on woven sections of the bamboo walls. Painting of the exterior walls will follow after plastering and the installation of doors and windows will be done toward the end of the build.
• On the last day, volunteers will clean up the build site, decorate the house and prepare for the house dedication ceremony.

For those with no experience in working with bamboo, this is what a novice said. “Bamboo is a very new material to us. It is easy to use and we saw the achievement quickly,” said Helen Chan from Hong Kong. She was part of a Global Village volunteer team from Hong Kong who worked on a test build in Chitwan in September 2014, ahead of Everest Build III.

“Bamboo technology demonstrates to governments, NGOs and the volunteers a strong environmental awareness by Habitat for Humanity. I would support this 100 percent,” said Ian Brown from the U.K. “I believe the technology was very user-friendly and some aspects of its use could be used by all volunteers,” he added. Brown was a team leader at the Everest Build III last November in Chitwan.

The Carter Work Project will help low-income Nepali families forge a way out of poverty through decent housing. For the volunteers, great satisfaction is in store because what is accomplished in five days will make a life time of difference. Sign up as a volunteer now at www.habitat.org/cwp