April 25th marks the third anniversary of the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal in 2015. The earthquake killed nearly 9000 people, left thousands homeless destroying property and livelihoods. INF has been working alongside the poor and marginalised through rehabilitation, disaster preparedness and resilience building projects through its GRACE Project and Disaster Response and Resilience Department after earthquake. This month we will be sharing stories about INF’s partnership with the people of Nepal as they continue the rebuilding journey since 2015.
A third of all homes in Dordi Rural Municipality were destroyed in the devastating earthquake of 2015. Dordi is in Lamjung District, which sits alongside Gorkha District, the epicentre of the quake. Rebuilding houses has been slow and problematic due to a lack of available resources and new government regulations. INF has started a new project in the area, SHELTER, focused on resilience, training and building earthquake resistant homes.
Numerous families have half built homes in Dordi having discovered they are ineligible for the second round of government grant money. Their initial construction doesn’t meet the required regulations mostly as a result of inadequate building supplies and unqualified local builders.
INF’s SHELTER project stands for ‘Safer Housing Exercise in Lamjung through Training and Empowering for Resilience’. It is focused on providing housing for the most vulnerable in the community and properly training labourers who can continue the work well into the future.
A team of 10 INF staff, including five engineers and three community mobilisers, are rolling out the first stage of SHELTER, building 27 model earthquake resistant houses. Trained masons and builders are working under the careful guidance of specialised engineers. Various stages of construction are open to the community to provide practical demonstrations for community members to watch, interact and learn basic concepts around earthquake resistant building construction.
SHELTER aims to assist communities to become more resilient, to improve their capacity and knowledge for the benefit of the entire community.
This article featured in the latest issue of Today in Nepal and was written by INF staff member BishnuGiri.