SuperAdobe Relief Initiatives
The Global Impact of SuperAdobe
SuperAdobe is a powerful tool in the fight against the global housing crisis. It is currently used across the globe in ways that have helped rebuild communities facing housing crisis. The education provided by CalEarth has empowered hundreds of people to found humanitarian projects for those in need.
Duffle Bag Dome Project
Over the past year and a half, we have developed the "Duffel Bag Dome"
• Two duffel bags weighing less than 35lbs each (15.88kg)
• Includes all the tools and materials needed to build a 6 foot (1.83 meters) emergency shelter
We are now ready to mass produce these kits and send them out all over the world with trained builders to build and teach in communities that need this knowledge but cannot access it easily. We always say, if it is not accessible, it is not sustainable.
Please help us make this a reality by making a donation to CalEarth.
Projects carried out by CalEarth
Past CalEarth Initatives
Baninajar Refugee Camp
After demonstrating SuperAdobe technology at Tehran University and the Building Research Center on a UN invitation in 1994, Nader Khalili was awarded a contract by UNDP Tehran to provide the design and technical training of UN personnel to build 14 shelters in the Baninajar refugee camp in Khuzestan, Iran. The refugees from Southern Iraq, as the eventual inhabitants, built the shelters supervised by the trained UN personnel. Each shelter was built by a team of six refugees and took 7-11 days--the cost of each shelter was $625
Haiti Earthquake
After the 2010 earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince and surrounding cities, CalEarth was invited on a research trip to design a possible temporary housing alternative for individuals who lost their homes and were living in tent villages. After speaking with many families living in these camps, we returned a designed a structure based on their requests. As an alternative to our single dome designs, this structure includes a 10 foot main dome with 3 small apses, one for a sleeping nook, one for a cooking surface, and one for storage.
It also includes a rocket stove, a recycled door made from pallets, and small window openings using PVC pipes. See more images of the "Haiti One" prototype here.
Pakistan Earthquake
After the earthquake in October 2005 in northern Pakistan, CalEarth partnered with the SASI Foundation to form the CalEarth Pakistan initiative. According to SASI, hundreds of refugees were trained hands-on, as well as national and international NGOs and military emergency relief units under the direction of Shahid Malik Shahid and Khorram Shroff. The needed rolls of bags were distributed to the refugees. Since the structural system passed tests in California, the shelters were approved by the authorities in Pakistan. Costs for the training shelters were similar to the UNHCR shelters (see above).
Projects carried out by CalEarth Alumni
Alumni Initiatives
Konbit Shelter
HAITI
The Konbit Shelter Project is composed of a small group of artists and builders dedicated to reaching out to the Haitian communities devastated by the 2010 earthquake. They have built multiple SuperAdobe structures, each capable of housing 4-5 people and connected with local community members to raise funds to rebuild schools, clinics and community meetings spaces.
Pegasus Children's Project
KATHMANDU, NEPAL
A UK charity, Small Earth, built over 40 domes in 2006 for the Pegasus Children’s Project in Nepal, which is home to over 90 children and their caretakers, all of who are confirmed safe after the 7.6 earthquake on 25 April 2015. Trained by a Cal-Earth alumni in 2005, Small Earth’s founder, Julian Faulkner, shared the news: “The domes have come through relatively unscathed with just surface cracking to the plasterwork… in the village below the site 15 houses have collapsed and many others are badly damaged with all the villagers now sleeping under tarpaulins in the fields.”
Oxfam in the Middle East
ZA'ATARI REFUGEE CAMP, JORDAN
Oxfam in the Middle East is a Superadobe project built by refugees in the Za'atari Refugee camp in Jordan. Shared on World Refugee Day 2018.
United States Africa Command
KARABATI SAN, DJIBOUTI
Africom joined a local community to build a SuperAdobe Eco Dome with communities in Djibouti, Africa. "The mission is really to bring the community together. Give them a sense of ownership in this area. It’s been a great opportunity to work side by side with the villagers. Things as simple as shoveling dirt together breaks through so many cultural barriers. I don’t know their language. I knowa few words but we’ve developed friendships. We;ve broken through the language barrier just by working side by side."
- U.S. Army Captain Justin Lev, 4901 Civil Affairs Team Chief
