Konbit Super-Adobe Shelters are Helping a Rural Haitian Village Rebuild

These easter egg-style <a href="http://konbitshelter.org/" target="_blank">Konbit Shelters</a> are part of a rebuilding program in <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/haiti/">Haiti</a>. For the last two years, a group of architects, engineers and artists gathered together to do what they could to help the earthquake torn community of Cormiers. Using a "super-adobe" earth bag architecture technique originally designed by <a href="http://calearth.org/about/about-nader-khalili.html" target="_blank">Nader Khalili</a> and continued by <a href="http://calearth.org/" target="_blank">Cal-Earth</a>, the group, along with local residents, has built a disaster-proof, affordable and sustainable community center and a single family home. In January, they will begin work on another home for a mother and her three children, and they're asking for donations through their <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/328491151/konbit-shelter-sustainable-building-in-rural-haiti" target="_blank">Kickstarter campaign</a>.

In January 2010, this group of artists, builders, architects, and engineers asked themselves how they could use their skills and talents to help people in Haiti rebuilt their lives.

They settled on the earthquake, hurricane, flood, and fire resistant earth bag structures pioneered by Nader Kahlili.

The group worked with local residents to create a multi room community center in in the village of Bigones.

Partnering with the Mango Grower’s Association of Leogane, <a href="http://konbitshelter.org/" target="_blank">Konbit Shelter</a> taught the local people learned new skills and principles in order to construct the earth bag structures.

Konbit, in the local Creole language, is a traditional form of cooperative communal labor in Haiti, whereby the able-bodied folk of a locality help each other prepare their fields.

In the same sense, a Konbit Shelter is a joint cooperative effort by members of the community to build housing.

The Konbit Shelter is a domed structure, which utilizes 90% earth and only 10% cement to create homes that are stronger than typical cinder block homes.

They utilize practically no wood, which is very scarce in Haiti and no special tools or machinary are needed for construction.

The model is easy to replicate and also easy to customize and decorate with paint and exterior details as a way of personalizing the structure for each family.

Besides the community center, Konbit Shelter has also completed a single family home and expects to begin construction on a new home for or Avelia Louis and her family in January of 2013.

While building this next home, the team will focus their efforts on ways to reduce costs and make the design even more efficient.

"In community meetings, when we have asked what works and what doesn’t about the structures, people have said that the buildings are great houses and community spaces, light-filled and cool year round, but that despite utilizing a style developed for it’s affordability, these homes are still out of the economic reach of a rural family."

"Our goal in building this third house is to tackle this challenge head on by looking into other styles of earth-bag building that utilize less cement, and hew more closely to local housing styles, while continuing our commitment to making bright, inventive structures that incorporate local craftsmanship and creativity."

To support their efforts, please consider donating to the project through the <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/328491151/konbit-shelter-sustainable-building-in-rural-haiti" target="_blank">Konbit Shelter Kickstarter Campaign</a>.