Teaching Teachers
by Joseph F. Kennedy – Napa, California
Architect and educator Kelly Lerner is teaming up with other ecological builders at the Builders Without Borders “Project Facilitator Training” in Kingston, New Mexico on October 1-10, 2001. The course will focus on teaching teachers of natural building how to work within communities in a culturally-sensitive and effective manner. The goal in this training is not as much about answers as about asking the right questions, so that best practices can emerge from collective knowledge, then be effectively developed and replicated by local builders.
Founded in 1999, Builders Without Borders (BWB) advocates the use of straw, earth and other easily-obtainable materials for the construction of homes, to decrease reliance on expensive, and often unavailable, alternatives. As our mission statement reads, BWB “is an international network of ecological builders who form partnerships with communities and organizations around the world to create affordable housing from local materials, and to work together for a sustainable future. We believe the solution to homelessness is not merely housing, but a local population trained to provide housing for themselves.
While housing is a human right, many people around the world are chronically underhoused. Increasing numbers of people are also homeless due to war and environmental disaster. Many housing projects proposed to solve this housing crisis, however, are dependent on energy-intensive industrial models that are often inappropriate to climate, culturally inflexible, wasteful, environmentally destructive and expensive.
We have the opportunity to do better. Through improved design, appropriate materials use, creative networking, and a human-centered process, we can help create real homes for those most in need. Simple structures can provide quick shelter in an emergency, yet can be replaced or added to in the future, while designs can be flexible to respond to the materials and skills available, and to fit within cultural and social mores. With the catalytic addition of minimal modern technology to the timeless wisdom of traditional techniques, “hybrid” solutions can greatly improve strength and durability, and through using locally-available, energy-efficient and earth-friendly materials, mitigate environmental damage and save energy through utilizing resources like sun and wind.
However, BWB quickly realized that we would not help solve the housing crisis by simply becoming another provider of housing. Focusing on the goal of “teaching teachers,” we seek to create a process-oriented approach to developing local housing solutions that will come from within each individual community. This way the appropriate designs stand a better chance of being replicated without outside support. The BWB Project Facilitator Training in October is planned to address this challenge.
The course will include a lively discussion on the many complex issues surrounding “development” work. Within a context of a hands-on building project, the course will go beyond technique to broaden perspectives about working within other cultures, and identify those areas where teachers can be of value. Kelly Lerner will share lessons learned from her work in China and Mongolia (familiar to many of the readers of The Last Straw). The international group of attendees will be encouraged to share what has worked for them in a variety of circumstances, as well as what failed. It is expected to be an honest and deep exploration of the concerns and knowledge by a wide spectrum of participants.
The training will cover climate and culture-appropriate design, hands-on experience with a variety of natural building techniques, and skills to enhance working in the field including logistics, communication, cultural sensitivity, etc. The text for the course will be our evolving “Design and Facilitation Handbook,” including evaluation techniques, a process-oriented ecological design and natural building “tool kit,” and case studies of “best practices” in the field. Those successfully completing the training will be qualified to be BWB “Project Facilitators,” and encouraged to begin developing their own projects of interest.
BWB plans to refine the training so that it can eventually be replicated in different regions around the world, several times annually. Please join us in this exciting first step in this new venture.
Joseph F. Kennedy is the Director of Builders Without Borders, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Course fees are on a sliding scale: $850 for North Americans, $450 for those from other industrialized nations, and $200 for non-industrialized nations. The course has been partially underwritten by a recent grant from the Foundation for Sustainability and Innovation. 119 Main Street, Kingston, NM 88042, (505) 895-5400 <mail@BuildersWithoutBorders.org> www.BuildersWithoutBorders.org
BWB is an international network of ecological builders working together for a sustainable future.