IKEA Haiti?

So while my other half is working in hygiene and health education, you might have asked yourself what I (Ian) am up to. A taste of my work days begins and ends with a capital "L." Currently, I am enveloped in latrine land. When I first arrived in Haiti the amount of latrines that were being built was low and the current strategy of trying to build the latrines on site became a logistical nightmare as supplies and resources were limited. The grant we are working on has a target of 500 latrines, bath units, hand-washing units and rubbish pits, all of which must be completed by early May, 2010. Quite a project indeed. Since tens of thousands of people have lost their homes to the earthquake, there are many people living within IDP camps (Internally Displaced Persons). IDP camps are a grab bag - some of them are really organized and well-resourced by local NGOs and international organizations, while many others (perhaps the majority) are chaotic; no organized place to defecate, gather or receive and water and food, and sometimes no resources like plastic tarpaulins to construct a make-shift tent to hide from the swiftly coming rains. With many thousands of people setting up camps on private land, there is no safe way to dispose of human excrement - which obviously lends itself to a more rapid spread of disease.

Needless to say we had to think of a new strategy to pump these latrines out. So about a 2 weeks ago Monica and I were on the beach, and an idea hit me. Perhaps it was a moment of divine inspiration...but I thought that it might be nice to model our latrine production in a prefabricated method, building the floor systems, walls and rafters at our base, and then shipping them to pre-coordinated points within the surrounding area. All that needs to happen in the camps is assembly of the latrine. Thus, IKEA Haiti was birthed. This method maximizes the use of raw materials (even in Haiti) and production adaptation to meet people's needs. Watch out Scandinavia! Here are some pictures of the process...