Rising from the ashes: Sandy Bay_October 2021

So excited about the innovative UP-cycled Organic Compost Workshop for Sandy Bay farmers....

#community #engineering #architecture #research #compost #organicfarming #reconstruction #livelihoods #knowhow #circulareconomy #upcycling #smart #innovation #resilientcommunities #regenerativeeconomy #humanitarian #thinkglobalactlocal #ecology #economy #teamwork #volcano #volcanicash #sargassum #seaweed #risingfromtheashes #biodiversity #SIDS #climatecrisis #naturaldisaster #holistic

GER3 continues to support recovery efforts in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in response to the eruption of the La Soufrière volcano last spring. After two months of on-the-ground work, the impacts of GER3’s recovery programs are visible throughout the Sandy Bay area.

Over 45 homes have been cleared of ash and debris, allowing residents to return to their homes and rebuild their lives. In the process, over 70 people from the Sandy Bay community have received temporary income for their work on cash-for-work teams, providing livelihood support to a local economy that was decimated by the eruption.

In addition, GER3’s home rehabilitation program is progressing though the final selection phase and will soon begin work on a number of homes.

GER3 has also launched programs targeting local farmers, whose livelihoods were severely disrupted. Though six months have passed since the eruptions subsided, farmers remain unable to sow their mountain-side plots due to unsafe access and inhospitable soil conditions, precluding even subsistence-level activities.

In response, GER3 – in partnership with Luke Punnet of Richmond Vale Academy in St. Vincent – launched an organic compositing program that will draw upon local knowledge as well as the latest scientific research to teach and to learn about organic composting methods using locally available resources like volcanic ash and sargassum. This program thus converts local resources of no or negative economic value (ash and sargassum) into fertile soil without the use of chemicals or fertilizers, while providing livelihood support to local farmers.

Luke Punnet of Richmond Vale Academy discussing organic composting techniques with farmers.

Notwithstanding the great progress of GER3 and its partners, much work remains and GER3 will continue to help Sandy Bay and St. Vincent build back better.

Donations at www.ger3.org

RISING FROM THE ASHES: Humanitarian engineering as response to the Volcanic Eruption of La Soufriere in St Vincent and the Grenadines

 

I LOVE SHARING GOOD NEWS, specially after months of nerve-wracking news [COVID19, Volcanic eruption, ash fall, torrential rains, floods, lahars, tens of thousands of refugees, a tropical storm...]

I am thrilled to announce that all the hard work carried out over the last months as the Operation Support Specialist for GER3 [Global emergency, Relief, Recovery and Reconstruction] has given its fruits and.....

We have SECURED a generous GRANT from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy [CDP] towards our Community Recovery and Reconstruction project which includes community capacity building, implementation of new sustainable livelihoods, circular economy up-cycling of materials & resources [including volcanic ash] and finally building back better by designing resilient engineered solutions and training local teams within the most vulnerable communities.

Would you like to get additional details about this amazing project?

Would you like to support this holistic project by volunteering your time?

Please do not hesitate to contact me at karla.pazsans@ger3.org

For DONATIONS towards this project, please go to GER3 website. [www.ger3.org]

CURA // opensource

CURA is an open-source design for emergency COVID-19 hospitals.. It uses repurposed shipping containers to create plug-in Intensive-Care Units (ICU) with biocontainment through negative pressure

The first COVID-19 intensive care units have been installed at a hospital in Turin, Italy.

Developed by the Italian designers Carlo Ratti Associati in collaboration with MIT, the temporary, portable two-bed units could expand hospital space fast in nations struggling to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Named CURA (“Connected Units for Respiratory Ailments,” an acronym that means “cure” in Latin), the units are quick to set up but provide all the features of normal isolation wards. Capable of being deployed in numerous configurations – either as self-standing groups of pods or connected to a hospital – the containers house all the equipment needed to treat two ICU patients, including beds, ventilators, monitors and intravenous fluid stands.

 

The units are connected via inflatable corridors that serve as a changing rooms and storage units, and use negative pressure “biocontainment” fans to remove infectious particles. Each pod, meanwhile, has glass windows that could allow visitors to get closer to their loved ones without placing them at risk of infection.

more info at curapods.org