Awareness raising material

There is no point in training masons if people, including contractors, are not willing to hire them. The public at large must be made aware that safer construction methods do exist and that there are trained masons who know how to build properly. People must get convinced that it's worthwhile to build a safer house even if it may cost a bit more.

Calendars

awareness raising calendar confined masonry.png

Calendars are useful. People love them. Presenting the most important aspects of safe construction on a similar support ensures that people see the messages. What is more, each message will remain there to be seen for a whole month. The calendars have been distributed through local government offices, neighbourhood associations, NGOs and hardware supply shops.

Here some examples:

Billboards

Seven types of 1.5 x 3 m sized billboards have been placed in busy intersections and squares of Port au Prince, Haiti. Each type is about a fundamental issue of safe construction, from mixing concrete with the right proportions to placing rebars correctly, and from the correct way of making concrete blocks to how to cure concrete properly to make it stronger.

See the 7 billboards:

Flyers

Letter- and tabloid-sized flyers with step by step instructions on five important construction issues such as concrete block production, concrete curing, etc.. The smaller flyers were made available in government offices or distributed by NGOs, while the tabloid-sized flyers were meant to be plastered on neighbourhood walls like election posters.

Here the 5 flyers:

Murals

The murals were a surprise, an unintended collateral benefit. They started to appear in various parts of the Haitian capital without any involvement from our side. Local associations had decided to copy our billboard and flyer messages by painting them on the walls of their neighbourhoods.

Some examples of murals

based on our info material:

Photo booklets on trainings

The photo booklets are intended for institutions or organisations interested in construction training. They document two types of practical trainings: The 2016 booklet shows an on-site training-of-trainers through the construction of a small house. The second of 2017 illustrates the practical training in a technical college with the aid of a full-scale model.

On-site training on a real building site:

coverthumb Photo booklet CM on-site trai

Practical training in a technical college:

Pages from Photo booklet CM school pract

TV spots

The two TV spots were an attempt to nudge people into using safer building methods by making them laugh. Despite the fact that these short videos were supported by the Ministry of Public Works, national TV stations refused to broadcast them without payment. Lesson learned: Get TV stations on board before producing the spots!

Video on correct stirrup bending:

Video on correct concrete mixing:

The Monument

"The Monument" is a full-scale model of confined masonry intended to be placed in public squares to allow people to check correct detailing of reinforcements. A prototype monument had been built at a technical college as a training opportunity and a teaching object. Monuments in public places however were never realised for lack of interest.

Pictures of the monument:

Download instructions in French (L) or English (R):

Cement bags with mixing recipes

Food packages often show one or more recipe on how to prepare the content of the package. Cement bags should also contain instructions on how to use the content. In countries with a high number of masons and self-builders with a limited training such instructions would help to avoid major mixing errors.

Cement bags with instructions: