John_in_Nepal

The scene in Haiti foretells the scene in Nepal once the, "100 Year Earthquake" hits here. Nepal, as Haiti, is very poor – among the poorest in the world. There are codes and blueprint requirements in metro centers like Kathmandu but in the village there are none. In the village, inherently, homes are spaced far apart; they won't collapse on each other. Contrarily the city sees multistory buildings built nearly on top of each other because land values are in the millions of dollars.

Before the concrete-diaphragm-sructure with brick-infill was imported from India, homes in Nepal were built the traditional way - the first floor masonry walls were at least two feet wide. The first floor height was between 5-6 feet (sic). The ratio was far less than 1:8. The Nepalese had learned from past earthquakes. As the walls progressed upwards they became thinner; the roof was a lightweight wood structure.

Then came the earthquake-interlude (there is a history of large earthquakes in Nepal) and everything Indian became popular including their building codes. But, you can't just import the codes, you need the knowledge behind it as well. Without that knowledge/understanding of why and the immportance of why, not even the builders will build correctly. As a result I see builders copying the Indian style of building that have no idea where, how much, or what size rebar to place in their concrete. They have no idea of concrete mixes, aggregate requirements, water requirements. The aggregate is full of clay that never gets washed out. They just wing everything because they know that "concrete is strong". I have seen rebar placed within a half inch of the outside of concrete collumns. I have seen flat concrete roofs that are only three inches thick reinforced with 1/2 inch rebar that span 12 feet. The list goes on and on. What the builders understand is how it appears. They don't understand the chemistry or the mechanics.

DON'T export your codes and your values to developing countries; tell them what's "right", then leave and hope for the best. Let, them develop their own structures within their own timeframes based on their environment and their capabilities.

I work in Nepal building homes and I can tell you, almost anything is better than a stone tied to a stout stick for pounding nails into wood. If I had one of these four modern-age hammers I am positive that my fellow Nepalese builders could see the benefits of using the proper tool for the work at hand even if it cost a whole years wages to have it.