Rebuilding after the Tsunami in Kurukkalmadam and Mankadu, Sri Lanka (2006)

X

December 2005. In the villages of Kurukkalmadam and Mankadu, almost 200 houses were damaged or demolished by the tsunami.

Some houses are still partially habitable, others had to be demolished after thorough inspection.

Some people were offered a temporary shelter by a relief organization, others had to build a shelter themselves from the debris.

Sometimes the families were not only struck by tsunami, but also by the civil war. Some are literally surrounded by barb wire from army camps and some houses even have bullet holes!

But live goes on anyway…

April 10 in 2006, twenty permanent houses were handed over in Kurukkalmadam, a small village on the East coast of Sri Lanka. These houses have been built for people who were, before the tsunami, living illegally in the buffer zone, which means they were living within 200 meters from the sea. For this reason the government did not help them. Martijn Schildkamp has been working on this project as a technical consultant for the Canadian relief organization CRWRC, who have implemented and completely financed the construction of these houses.

X

October 27. We received the final approval from the DS of Kaluwanchikudy, for the design of the first 20 permanent houses in Kurukkalmadam.

 

X

November 2005. Start of the building of the first 20 permanent houses. These houses are for people that were living inside the bufferzone, so they are referred to as 'resettlement houses'.

 

X

December 2005. Within a week nearly all 20 foundations have been completed!

 

X

December 2005. Also the walls go up pretty quickly! After two and a half weeks some houses already have the lintels and gables being built!

 

X

December 2005. Sometimes it goes a bit too fast… This week we had to break down a few walls that had been built with very low quality blocks. The contractor run out of his stock of blocks, but we cannot accept inferior materials in our structures.

 

X

January 2006. The shape of the houses is becoming more and more visible.

 

X

January 2006. Because of the high water table, we need to build septic tanks instead of a soakage pit. The hard floor filling is being put in place in some houses.

 

X

January 2006. Construction of the roofs. We anchor the wall plates to the walls, because this area may be prone to cyclones.

 

X

January 2006. Digging of the well, quite a difficult task with the high water table, caused by the current monsoon.

 

X

January 2006. Building and completion of the first roof.

 

X

February 2006. Finishing of the houses has started, and all houses get a bright coat of paint.

 

X

April 10, 2006. The Grand Opening of the first 20 permanent houses in Kurukkalmadam.

 

X

April 10, 2006. All houses have been decorated and the people have written their names on their new houses with coloured paper.

 

X

April 10, 2006. The people have furnished their houses and made them habitable.

 

X

April 10, 2006.

'People Driven Housing' in Kurukkalmadam en Mankadu

The next step was the rebuilding of houses in two villages on the east coast of Sri Lanka. In Kurukkalmadam we have assisted with the construction of 79 houses and in Mankadu we have worked on 71 houses. Here the people built their house themselves, ordered the materials themselves and hired the labourers themselves. The government financed 2.500 dollar per house and CRWRC complemented that amount with a maximum of 3.500 dollar. The technical advice was done by Martijn Schildkamp. The project started in November 2005 and was finished around the fall of 2006.

X

Most people have a toilet built from leaves. Sanitation the way we know it, is fairly unknown here.

X

The first step to a new house is the construction of the new foundation.

X

The people purchase the materials for construction themselves.

In some cases the quality of the masonry is unacceptably low and then we advise to break down the inferior parts. Generally the people follow those pieces of advice.

Important stage is the casting of the lintel; the connecting beam above the door level.

The shape of the houses is becoming more and more definite.

X

The wood for the construction and the tiles are purchased.

Again we pay close attention to the quality. Cracked beams have to be replaced, as they need to carry the full weight of the tiled roof.

On average the construction of the roof takes three days.

X

The moment the roof is finished, the people change the temporary shelter for their new home.

Some people have already places all the electrical conduits and wiring. Next step is the installation of doors and windows, and the pouring of the floors.

From September 2006 many people finalized their houses and here are some very good looking end results!

In total CRWRC has built 900 houses in 2,5 years time, following the people driven housing concept!