[Strawbale] Workshop announcement

["BWBNewsletter" <BWBNewsletter@lists....com>]

Straw-Bale, Low Income Housing Workshop - Anapra,
Mexico
March 8th-19th, 2004

Builders Without Borders, in conjunction with the World Hands Project and
Casa de la Cruz announce a work experience opportunity in Anapra, a
?colonia? of Juarez, Mexico.

Project Managers from BWB and the World Hands Project will lead an
intensive twelve day (10 1/2 work days) workshop to build a straw-bale
home for a local family. This is an opportunity to learn about natural
building by doing, while experiencing life in this border 
community.

This workshop will include all stages of straw-bale construction
beginning with site preparations, bale raising, window/door buck, bond
beam and pallet truss installation, wall pinning and strapping, straw
ceiling insulation, roof assembly,electrical wiring and earthen
plastering.

All participants will interact daily with the family whose house is being
built, work side-by-side with local Mexican builders and a group of
college volunteers from St. Mark?s Parish in Independence, 
Missouri.

Cost is $695, including meals, dorm-style housing and instruction by
facilitators who will be sharing the same housing. The workshop offers
participants the opportunity to interact with local residents, learn
about building in challenged environments and impact the lives of our
neighbors across the border. We offer a limited number of scholarships,
please contact us if you require financial assistance.

Contact: Builders Without Borders to register at 505-895-5400, or for
more information call Jeff Cygan of the World Hands Project at
541-754-9606.

More About Builders Without Borders (BWB), the World Hands Project and
the Anapra Project:

BWB is a non-profit organization that began its operations in 1999 and
consists of a group of natural builders concerned about housing people of
need around the world. Our mission is to increase the availability of
affordable and sustainable, transitional and permanent housing around the
world, in partnership with local communities.

One of Builders Without Border?s goals is to train local builders to
build their own shelter through cooperative building projects. We promote
the use of straw, earth and other natural materials with the goal of
decreasing the reliance on expensive and often unavailable alternatives.
We also recognize that such housing solutions will necessarily be as
varied as the communities and individuals involved.

The World Hands Project is a team of natural builders lead by Santa Fe
architect Alfred vonBachmayr. The World Hands Project is committed to
empowering individuals and communities by developing co-creation models
designed for local cultures. Based on specific project goals, these
models provide a variety of services from effective shelter and food
production, to waste and water systems while using natural and local
resources. All of our models are culturally appropriate, economically
profitable, and environmentally sound. World Hands strives to address
basic human needs and quality of life issues with every project we
accept.

The Anapra Project: The community of Anapra is along the border outside
Juarez, Mexico and is the home of many families who have left their homes
in other parts of Mexico and came to the area in search of a better life.
They live in houses made of discarded shipping pallets covered with tar
paper and with uninsulated roofs. Such homes are sweltering in the summer
and freezing in the winter. Straw bales, locally available for about $1
each, are proving to be a comfortable and affordable alternative. Anapra
alone has almost 20,000 residents and Juarez is home to more than 200
such ?colonias? which are mostly inhabited by factory workers, working
just south of the border.

BWB has assisted in the building of four homes for local families. The
houses are intended to demonstrate to the residents, how to build
comfortable, well-insulated, low-cost homes out of natural and recycled
materials. They are designed to make use of passive solar heating and
utilize shipping pallets to fabricate roof trusses. The straw-bale walls
rise from simple foundations, the walls are finished with earthen
plasters.

The continuing program incorporates aspects developed by Alfred
vonBachmayr which include micro-credit lending for economic development
and home mortgages. Recipient families are required to contribute time to
building their homes and running community programs. Employment for local
community members is created building components for the houses and
supporting building groups that come to Anapra. The program is intended
to build cross cultural relations while empowering a community through
enterprise and the creation of comfortable housing.

Donations to BWB are tax deductible. For more information or to become a
member of BWB, visit our website at:
www.BuildersWithoutBorders.org.

For more information regarding the World Hands Project email us at
worldhandsproject@yahoo... (our website will be up soon)