tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52615797162626849982024-03-14T20:25:43.797+06:00UE BangladeshDiederikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05531381309591124518noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-49301678398941158632009-06-21T20:47:00.017+07:002009-08-08T03:49:35.755+07:00Studio Urban Emergencies Exhibition and SymposiumThe studio Urban Emergencies, consisting of 18 Architecture Master students, presented their work in an exhibition and symposium. The exhibition opened on June 30th 2009 in the new Faculty of Architecture of Delft University of Technology. The symposium took place on July 2nd 2009, where the students presented their research to a number of professionals from various fields (NGOs, academics, UNOs, and architects). A discussion between the different experts and the students followed regarding their explorations.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/invitation_unofficial.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/uitnodiging_UE.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">click on image for more information</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">.</span></i></div><span class="fullpost"><br />The exhibition and symposium were well advertised throughout the faculty, university and professional world through different media ranging from websites to clothing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/SYMP1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/SYMP1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">catchy promotion</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">.</span></i></div><br />The Urban Emergencies studio managed to host their exhibition and symposium in the new east wing studio space. The work was exhibited in 6 different pavilions, one per country. The common themes were displayed on panels.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/SYMP2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/SYMP2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">21 panels wooden pavilions courtesy of FLAT architects</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">.</span></i></div><br />The presentations of Ghana, Philippines, Bangladesh, El Salvador, Indonesia, and Venezuela were held inside the orange tribune.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/SYMP3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/SYMP3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Urban Emergencies banner</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">.</span></i></div><br />The Bangladesh presentation.<br /><br /><div style="width:425px;text-align:left" id="__ss_1828679"><a style="font:14px Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;display:block;margin:12px 0 3px 0;text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/guest118eb8/ue-bangladesh" title="UE Bangladesh">UE Bangladesh</a><object style="margin:0px" width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=uebangladesh-090807141902-phpapp02&stripped_title=ue-bangladesh" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=uebangladesh-090807141902-phpapp02&stripped_title=ue-bangladesh" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><div style="font-size:11px;font-family:tahoma,arial;height:26px;padding-top:2px;">View more <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/">documents</a> from <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/guest118eb8">guest118eb8</a>.</div></div><br />The presentations were followed by a round table discussion.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/SYMP4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/SYMP4.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Alexander Vollebregt, coordinator of Urban Emergencies</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">.</span></i></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/SYMP5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/SYMP5.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Chris de Vries, student assistant and Diego Sepulveda, urban planner</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">.</span></i></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/SYMP6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/SYMP6.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">James Kennedy, Henk Meijerink and Tom Corsellis</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">.</span></i></div><br />The following panels were exhibited in the Bangla pavilion:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/Section_1_Salt_small.pdf"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/salt.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Section through the salt fields of Cox's Bazar</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">.</span></i></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/Section_2_Harbour_small.pdf"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/harbour.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Section through the harbour city of Chittagong</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">.</span></i></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/Section_3_Delta_small.pdf"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/delta.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Section through the river delta of Barisal</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">.</span></i></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/Section_4_Resort_small.pdf"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/resort.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Section through the resort town of Kuakata</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">.</span></i></div><br /></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516352432827469829noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-36494496174310770212009-05-11T10:11:00.040+06:002009-06-23T05:43:02.680+07:00Brain Storm BangladeshTogether with architecture and planning students from Brac University and BUET and geography and environment students from Jagannath University, we have done a full day workshop to explore the potentials in post-cyclone spatial redevelopment. The event took place in the conference room of IDB Bhaban (UNDP Building). In small groups, students discussed the spatial redevelopment in different time frames after the damage of a fictitious cyclone disaster. These groups then got the possibility to present their creative ideas to a number of professionals from various fields (NGOs, academics, UNOs, and architects). A discussion between the different experts and the students followed regarding their explorations. It was great to see the various fields of knowledge together in an enlightening workshop for all. Thank you!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/TUDworkshop.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/090511_Workshop_RGB_Site.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">click on image for more information</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">.</span></i></div><span class="fullpost"><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/workshop.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">students receiving the brief</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">.</span></i></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/workshop2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">students actively engaging in discussion</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">.</span></i></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/workshop3.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">critiques by external panel of academics, NGOs and architects</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">.</span></i></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/gang.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/4.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">the kuakata club</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">.</span></i></div><br /><br /></span>Diederikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05531381309591124518noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-87259992625927117862009-05-02T00:12:00.006+06:002009-05-16T02:02:53.973+06:00Kuakata dreamingAfter spending many weeks visiting the beneficiaries of homes designed by NGOs or local carpenters, we were interested to see what kind of dreams and desires people themselves might have. On yet another day of 43 degrees Celsius shade temperature, we set out (note that the amazon pose is not as easy to accomplish on the back of a motorcycle on a dirt road as it looks) to ask people about their futures. All the leaves were green and the sky was blue, we went for a ride on a summer's day. Kuakata dreaming.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/drawing.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/drawing.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="fullpost"><br />The community we visited had been provided houses on former kash (government) land. After cyclone Sidr they had been left landless living in bamboo shacks on the beach. Now they lived in tin shed housing with very sturdy timber frames and concrete foundations provided by the Red Cross, around 2,5 km inland from their former dwellings. Most of them were fishermen, now displaced from their source of income, and some had consequently turned to other livelihoods such as van (rickshaw) riding. The women were not employed, and their men claimed that they couldn't leave the house due to the muslim purdah customs. Women later told us that they couldn't visit public places like the bazar, but they regularly left their house, albeit in burqa, via the backdoors and backroads to visit their friends. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/red%20cross.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/red%20cross.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />We managed to sit down with two women to ask them about their daily activities in and around the house. The first was a woman who had gotten married at the age of 12 and starting having kids by the age 15. She was now 24 and mother of five. Her husband worked everyday from 9AM to 9PM but came home for all meals. Her daily schedule caused her to wake up at 6 everyday to clean the house. Remarkably, she did not get up at 5, which is the custom for muslim morning prayer. (This is apparently quite common in rural settings; purdah is very strictly followed but other spiritual aspects of religion may not be quite as strongly observed.) By 8 in the morning she sent her children off to school where they remained until 12. Once alone in the house, she started cooking at 10 to prepare lunch, dinner, and breakfast for the next morning. After this she bathed at the tubewell and waited for her husband and children to come home for lunch by 2. In the afternoon she tended to her cow or visited her friend's house. The family had dinner at 10 and then went to sleep. As the woman's role in the rural areas is so closely tied to the household (birth takes place here, as well as prayer when it occurs), it was very interesting to see the way space is shaped and reshaped by her activities. We asked the women to draw (from left to right) their selfmade homes when they were dwelling on the beach, their homes as provided by the Red Cross after cyclone Sidr, and their dreamhouses.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/dreamhouse1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/dreamhouse1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />It was interesting to note that this woman's self-rebuilt temporary shelter after cyclone Sidr had more windows than the Red Cross shelter (good for breeze, bad for storm). It was also remarkable that she drew the Red Cross shelter so graphically similar to her temporary shelter. Obviously the materials were very different but the core house with attached verandas and separated goat sheds were similar. She told us that her dream house would be situated linearly alongside a main road rather than in a cul-de-sac typology as privacy outweighed the pleasantries of social interaction with other families. She then explained that women used backdoor networks to visit their friends. Her dream house included lots of verandas, separate animal houses and a private kitchen and outdoor latrine as well as a tubewell. She also drew a small vegetable garden and the entire plot was lifted on a plinth surrounded by fruit trees. Her dreamhouse had electricity for a fan and many windows. When we asked her what she prayed for she told us that she prayed for shanti (peace) for her and her family in this life and in the afterlife. But as far as spatial improvement was concerned her main wishes were for a comfortable climate and an autarkic water and food system.<br /><br />The next woman we interviewed was a widow who had remarkably less dreaming capacity than the first woman. She asked a younger boy to draw her houses for her, and she seemed to have little ideas about her own future. (Interestingly enough the first woman had drawn the house in cross section, whilst the boy drew in side elevation.) The widow also had a different schedule to the family woman. She also woke at 6 to clean the house. She then cooked for breakfast as well as lunch simultaneously. At 4 she cooked again for dinner which was at 9. All meals tended to consist of rice, dal (lentils), and vegetables, with either chicken, duck, fish or beef once a month. She had no income and was dependent on her son who lived with her and worked at a local NGO.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/dreamhouse2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/dreamhouse2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The similar spatial characteristics between the improvised shelter and the Red Cross shelter also came out in her drawings. The materials differed (tin rather than bamboo) but the floor plan with added-on verandas and separate houses was similar. It was very difficult for her to come to terms with the concept of a dream house. She did specify that her dream house would be situated along a road rather than in a cluster, and that she would use the main road to go out (as was her present situation). As most of her children had been married off, she also wanted her dream house to have many separate rooms where they could stay if they came to visit. Those were her main wishes; to have privacy and to host her faraway children. The rest of the ideas she later came up with were suspiciously similar to the ones she saw on the first woman's drawings.<br /><br />At this time quite a crowd had gathered around the grass field cum drawing table. However, most women were too shy to share their dreams. One man stepped forward and in the interest of science we also asked him to draw his house. He was not from the Red Cross community but inhabited a traditional house in the nearby host community. He was a 'business man' and operated as a broker by buying fish from Kuakata fishermen and hiring trucks to transport them to Dhaka. He had an income of 9000 TK per month (3 euros per day, more than most day laborers) and for this he worked roughly eight hours per day, everyday. To start his business he had taken out a loan which had had not been able to repay as the cyclone Sidr aftermath had considerably damaged the local fishing industry. He and his family (parents, wife and two children) had survived the cyclone by fleeing to the nearest cyclone shelter. His house, a typical Barisal-region, 2-storey woodframed tinshed had also survived the storm.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/traditionallarge.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/traditional.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />His traditional house was well crafted and typically built on a mud plinth next to a pond, surrounded by plenty of fruit trees. His parents slept on the front veranda and the front part of the house was where he slept with his wife and children. The back part was for preparing food, connected with a door to the outside kitchen. In the yard he had a small vegetable garden and a cowshed. The latrine was situated a suitable distance from the main house. The house was very well manufactured with the help of a local carpenter, and later when we went to visit, we were quite impressed by the quality of the details. The owner took pride in the craftsmanship of his house and he was also not afraid of ambition and dreaming. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/dreamhouse3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/dreamhouse3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />He told us he dream house would be situated in a cluster of houses where his relatives would live, with his own house as the center. All houses would have their own access to the main road. The floorplan would consist of four rooms on a square plan; with separate spaces for guests, dining, living and sleeping. The house would have a cross hallway path and three entry doors. In both his drawings he took great pride in what was translated as the 'design' aspects, such as curly roof ornaments in his dream house. His preferred roofing material was still tin sheeting but his main structure was pucca (concrete) with many windows and a separate kitchen for fire safety. Pucca houses are very desired in Bangladesh, however the availability of affordable concrete is very limited in the delta areas. The wide availability of rich clay soil is exploited in the dry season when ponds dry up and people dig out the clay to use as plinths for their houses to protect from flooding.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/clay_large.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/clay.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The Red Cross houses provided a very strong core for the disaster struck beneficiaries of cyclone Sidr. It was very interesting to see that almost all houses had been extended to suit the need for more breezy verandas, extra goat houses, private kitchens and washing spaces for the women. By acknowledging and incorporating the local traditions in mud plinth building in their design, the Red Cross allowed people to extend the floor space of their houses to suit these personal needs. The core shelter design uses T shaped concrete columns which provide a fair amount of stability without having to resort to concrete or brick foundations. This flexibility does not compromise the fact that the core houses would still be standing after the next cyclone. Hopefully this security will give the people more stability and faith to start dreaming up even brighter futures of houses with even curlier roof ornaments.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/plinth.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/plinth.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516352432827469829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-85746296385801373492009-05-01T17:55:00.010+06:002009-05-14T20:23:16.120+06:00What's Next?Education is the future. This mantra seems to have been adopted in this country where currently around 40% of the population is literate (50% literacy amongst men and 30% literacy amongst women). Many people bend over backwards to send their kids to school. Everyone is aware that education will determine your position in the Bangladeshi job market. During our stay in Kuakata (affected by supercyclone Sidr in 2007) we visited a small school built by the NGO Friendship. A beneficiary community of farmers had pulled together and asked Friendship to build a small school from their leftover building materials. This they gladly did and the result was a rather successful little school where we attended a morning session of class zero.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/class%20zero.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/class%20zero.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="fullpost"><br />Upon entering we heard the kids chanting the days of the week in English, followed by the months, and the alphabet. Even twinkle twinkle little star was recited. The kids took pride in knowing these things by heart. Every successful recital ended with a round of applause. When we asked them to make drawings, however, they all seemed at a loss. Copying letters was something they could do. Learn to walk before you fly...<br /><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/schoolfilm.swf" height="338px" width="450px"><br /><param name="movie" value="movie.swf" /><br /></object><br /><br />When we asked the kids to draw their dream house, a few stepped forward to the task. The class was divided into three groups of ten, which each had at least two 'very bright students' in them. The bright students were the first to take the challenge. An interesting thing we noticed, was that after these kids had made a drawing, the other students tended to follow their examples rather than go wildly creative on this open exercise. As a result, many images became copied alternatives of the previous drawing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/elevationlarge.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/elevationsmall.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />It made us think of all the moments where we asked people to tell us about their dreams and hopes for a better life. Many shyly answered that they had no financial capabilities to dream of beautiful futures. Others deterministically avoided the question by saying "Inshallah". It appears that dreaming or hoping for a better future in public is taboo. We're sure every child dreams, and we've had them tell us their ideal future jobs. And we're sure every adult likes to dream as well. It may, however, be possible that dreaming and hoping in such a religious and poor country, is simply bound to lead to disappointment. Or there is some other cultural reason why making these dreams public would only bring bad luck.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/drywet.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/drywet.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Could this reason have something to do with the transience of time when you cannot be sure wether the house you built yesterday will survive the storms of tomorrow? When nature's overwhelming forces have taught you just how vulnerable material property is? Will the more permanent NGO housing projects bring a change to this attitude? The main problem many of the projects we have seen faced was how to build a shelter which is wind proof for the stormy monsoon months while still providing a pleasant environment during the steamy summer months. This particular school managed to do both. However, the next day we found a school which made even more use of the local resources; a portable TV with generator on rickshaw planted under a tree. Kids came from all corners strapped in little blue UNICEF bags to watch school TV. And if a big cyclone would hit, you would just paddle that bicycle into the sunset.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/unicef.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/lvansanten/Urban%20Emergencies%20Bangladesh/unicef.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516352432827469829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-32246907381553198632009-04-25T23:07:00.006+06:002009-04-26T00:08:30.235+06:00Reeling in the nets"Yesterday I got a strange call from a local NGO, who built boats for us after the 2007 Sidr cyclone and now needed a favour in return. Apparently, three white skinned students wanted to take a boat ride with us to see how we pull the nets in offshore. We always set off at two o'clock, but they were still not there by then. I called the NGO person by 2:30, but he didn't pick up the phone, so we set off without them."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/thesky.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/thesky.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="fullpost"><br />"By the time we got back, the tallest of them was drinking tea and talking lunghi with the fishermen in the local cha shop. A shorter foreigner arrived on motorcycle with the NGO man. A tall girl with a T-shirt and Bangladesh cricket cap arrived on the motorcycle shortly after. They were all set to go into the boat, even though we had already pulled in our nets. For me, as a poor fisherman, it is slightly pricy to do boat tours, but guests are holy in our country."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/bad%20fish.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/bad%20fish.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/good%20fish.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/good%20fish.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />"While we were showing how other boats catch the fish, the three foreign students kept insisting on 'helping' with the fishing. One of them got out to another boat to help, but quite frankly he was only lagging their work. Just to please them, we told them to catch one of the buoys of another boat, and reel in the net. We had a good laugh at their attempts, but they clearly had a good time. In the end, we only caught five pufferfish and two tiger prawns, but they didn't know this was a net we had reeled in just an hour ago already."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/fishermen%201.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/fishermen%201.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />"Back at the shore, they all looked happy and started pushing the boat ashore with all their strength. Such naive people, but very nice company. One of them gave me a box of matches, saying it was a special gift to me. He asked me to open it. It held at least 250 taka inside. That was very kind of him, but the thing with the match box must be a strange form of European humour. Back at the tea shop, I copied the trick when paying the cha wallah. I must remember that joke." <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/fishermen%202.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/fishermen%202.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />To conclude: we had a fantastic time on the Bay of Bengal. View to the Sundarbans, great sunny weather, but not too hot. Even though we had a lot of fun, we will leave the fishing to the Bengalis from now on. We were just bad luck to the fishermen. But we did have a few delicious fish curries that night at our local fish fryer "Dulal"!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/fishermen%203.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/fishermen%203.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516352432827469829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-15222173387604377462009-04-24T22:47:00.005+06:002009-04-25T00:44:26.492+06:00Concerning claddingThis was to be Laura's happy birthday: we were going to help the local carpenter with the construction of Red Cross shelters. These shelters have a timber frame, with bracing and concrete foundation columns, which makes it sturdy but expensive. The cladding is made of tin sheeting. People love tin sheeting in Bangladesh, even though the climate inside becomes rather uncomfortable during the hot season (9 months of the year). The whole thing is put together by a group of carpenters who were trained by the Red Cross. We got to witness their excellent craftsmanship. This made us rather self-conscious about our own practical skills. Practice makes perfect...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/building.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/building.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="fullpost"><br />We have visited different types of NGO shelter designs during our field trips. They all had different sizes, foundations, structures, claddings, bracing, details, materials, costs, construction processes. During our stay in Kuakata we are trying to research the small scale developments after the Sidr cyclone of 2007. Fortunately, for us that is, the Red Cross is still constructing their final shelters. This also means that some are still awaiting the possibility to move to their new designer home. Others were less lucky and were not put on the list of beneficiaries. Due to "fuzzy bureaucracy" at the government, people often had to pay a large amount of money to be on this list. Not to mention the great advantage it has to be a relative of the local chairman.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/detail%201.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/detail%201.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Right after the cyclone, many people lived along the embankment in temporary shelters. Many of these still live in these improvised homes, which have slowly evolved into a rural slum area that has a permanent character. Some have left to their NGO house, some are waiting to move, still others will be staying. Some families gave their new NGO house to their son, leaving them with their old shack. It is clear that the NGOs had to act quick, in order to give all the people a permanent shelter as soon as possible. The Red Cross got permission to build these shelters on appointed plots of government owned land.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/detail%202.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/detail%202.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Often, the shelters are aligned in lines along roads. There has been little or no planning on the scale of urbanism. More attention was given to the structural aspects, to make sure these houses would hold against heavy storms and small cyclones. The inhabitants of these houses have been trying to adjust them to their personal and cultural liking: the major addition being a veranda on the front and back side. Some have verandas on all sides, which makes the house look more like the wooden traditional houses (with tin sheeting as cladding and roof) that we see in Bangladesh. We are very interested to further analyze the possibility for the beneficiaries to transform their NGO core house into the traditional house that is embedded in their culture. This involves looking into the living pattern: where do people cook? Where is the latrine positioned? How are the houses situated in traditional settlements? How does the house relate to the pond?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/structure.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/structure.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />So... there we were, getting our hands dirty. It was quite cloudy, so it did not get to be 43 degrees like it does here these days. Laura was preparing the galvanized metal plates for the wooden connections, Magnus was busy chipping the wooden window frames, while Diederik was nailing the connections of the beams with these plates. See the pictures for some details of the building. It was very interesting to see how the construction of such a shelter looks like in practice. The whole process was controlled by the Red Cross, who's engineers did some quality checks while we were there as well. <br /><br />We finished the day with another dangerous motorcycle ride, and hope none of the shelters will falter because of our clumsy skills! </span>Diederikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05531381309591124518noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-90116224007055200242009-04-21T13:35:00.000+06:002009-04-25T00:49:22.871+06:00101 Bangla traffic for dummiesBangladesh is the country of hierarchies, and this is no different in the traffic situation. In the cacophony of tooting, no one will hear your engine coming, so you must toot too, and preferably louder than the rest. A beautiful example of this was a very clever bicycle rickshaw wallah who had three bells in a serial connection. He only needed one ringing motion of his finger to trigger an immense amount of annoying noise. Other (lazier) wallahs chose to opt for complete electronic bells, with automatic ringers, on their three-wheelers for the extra oomph.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/Transport.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/Transport_Small.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="fullpost"><br />In fact, according to our own SPSS analysis, there is a 96.736 % correlation between tooting capacity (measured in deciBel) and traffic obedience (measured in time it takes for obstacles to remove themselves from your path) within the city of Chtitagong. There is, however, some variance in the data, which can be accounted for the policemen with large sticks (cm). These men position themselves amidst the congested traffic crossroads (red. not great for life expectancy) where they wave around their wooden objects that appear to have much more ruling power than the now redundant traffic lights. Variance within the variance is still being investigated but we predict that it may be accounted for by personal relationship to the man waving the stick, possibly measured in the amount of cups of tea drunk together.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/090420_Scatter_Traffic.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/090420_Scatter_Traffic_Small.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />To pave the way through the banani*) of bangla traffic, we have written down some insider tips for beginners. Please be intimidated by the current noise pollution coming out of your screen, it is the healthy fear one gets while taking a dodgy bus. We have yet to find a toot-free spot in Bangladesh.<br /><br />*) pronounced boh-nah-nee means thick forest<br /><br /><br />PLANE<br />- to buy tickets, one has to go straight to the counter and pay with cash (officially paying with visa is a possibility, however in reality, power cuts prevent any such transaction)<br />- please get in contact with your life insurance to check whether flying with Biman in conflict with your policy<br />- inflight, you must make yourself at home: calling is no problem during take off and landing (if you get that far), smoking is allowed only in the toilet, and waiting for air hostesses is a waste of time when you can help yourself to entertainment at the kitchen<br /><br />ROCKET<br />- don’t stand in front of the tooting device… EVER!<br />- the rocket’s obedience (on the water) is extremely high, little boats don’t wanna get in the way of this bad boy<br />- two person cabins can fit at least your family and extended family and maybe an extra grandma or two (make sure to pay deck price for all of these)<br />- don’t be tempted to order the full English lunch (this will be by far exceed the price of your entire journey, and that of your extended family)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/rocket.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/rocket.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />TRAIN<br />- punctuality is not the train’s forte, be sure two show up at least two hours after expected departure to avoid being dumped at a landfill by the wrong train<br />- bring ear plugs as the toot replacement (loud bangla music that skips tracks as it is played from a pirate CD) will knock your socks off<br />- don’t be tempted to order mojo cola, it is a major mojo killer<br /><br />BUS<br />- two seats per person is not a luxury, neufert standards have no place here<br />- there is a hierarchy (of course) of seating (the back is to be avoided at all costs unless rollercoasters are your cup of cha) in order from pretty uncomfortable to ridiculously uncomfortable: driver (private fan and fancy leather seat), two seats, one seat, front public bench next to driver, sitting on someone’s lap, having someone else sit on your lap, standing, hanging on to the bus, sitting on top of bus (now illegal in Bangladesh unless you work for the bus company)<br />- when you get out at the bus station don’t walk to close to the bus due to possible projectile vomiting<br />- don’t open your window if the person in front of you just projectile vomited at the bus station, they may do it again<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/da5yf0ZNciE&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/da5yf0ZNciE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />CNG<br />- never pay more than half of the suggested price minus 5 TK (for a true local)<br />- if you need an extra seat you can always snuggle up next to the driver<br />- to get a CNG make loud caveman noises and gesture in an impatient and rude manner, perhaps accompanied by the words, “come, come”<br />- don’t expect the driver to know the address of your destination, get out at the largest intersection of that neighborhood and find a bicycle rickshaw<br /><br />MOTORSAIKAL<br />- most comfortable mode of transport in all terrain<br />- female riders are expected to use the amazone seat<br /><br />BICYCLE RICKSHAW<br />- try not to feel to guilty about the 60 year father of 10 who is sweating away in front of you to get you to the destination you could have probably walked<br />- an accepted gesture is to get out at steep inclines to lessen the load<br />- don’t ask for the price, just pay 20 TK<br />- if you want to culture shock, offer to ride the rickshaw yourself with him on it<br /><br />VAN<br />- don’t be fooled by the pile of wood on that cart, you can easily jump on with at least four or five persons<br />- these bicycle carts are extremely suitable for transporting sowing machines<br /><br />WALKING<br />- if you want to test your obedience level, stick out your hand, close your eyes, and just walk, inshallah!<br />- If you choose life, never cross without a buffer of three Bengalis in front of you<br />- forget sidewalks, you’re a part of the traffic flow now whether you like it or not<br />- because honking is not part of our natural vocabulary, bang on the hood of a car or CNG for extra recognition<br /></span>Diederikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05531381309591124518noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-22895126591244031182009-04-17T20:24:00.006+06:002009-04-18T21:31:07.660+06:00CYCLONE ALERT 8: Bijli to strike Kuakata?We were so happy to finally arrive at boisterous Kuakata (our final case study for the next two weeks) yesterday, crawling with sweat out of the bus that took us here from Barisal. There must have been at least a hundred other people in the bus sitting on each others laps during this horrible five hour trip. But apart from us and all these Bengali, we were not the only ones heading to this peaceful beach town...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/cyclone%20set.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/cyclone%20set.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="fullpost"><br />...cyclone Bijli also had plans to visit this beautiful seaside town. Coming from the Bay of Bengal, he is gaining strength and is still deciding whether or not to head for the world's longest seabeach (Cox's Bazaar) or the beach from which you can enjoy both sunset and sunrise (Kuakata). We have made our choice. That is: the third floor of Banani Palace, together with a fridge full of "entertainment".<br /><br />While Bijli was practicing his first rains on us, we set out to explore the island on motorcycle with Abdullah from Friendship (NGO). We visited some projects of various NGOs, all family homes along the coastline that were built after cyclone Sidr in 2007. Some NGOs decided to build strong but small shelters, some went for bigger weaker ones. Some families had rebuilt their homes in a traditional fashion on their own. It is intriguing to see the differences, and how the locals always prefer one over the other. The climate in the traditional houses is by far superior to the smaller tin-sheds built by the NGOs. This is true during hot summer months. When a cyclone hits, however, one would still prefer the less windy but strongly constructed tin shed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/cpp.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/cpp.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Those that did get a shelter are lucky. Then again, there poverty is not cured by better housing. When we visited one of the overly hospitable families, we noticed someone sleeping inside the not yet finished shelter by the Red Crescent. They explained to us that he had a chronic fever, which somehow couldn't be cured by the prescribed four-pack of paracetamol. A visit to the doctor, including some medicines, would cost 100 TK. This is roughly one euro, and about a daily income for many of the day laborers. And they are only able to get work about half the time. Twenty-five percent of the inhabitants of the coastal regions of Bangladesh has to make a living this way. While we are now on safe grounds, they may not feel so lucky anymore during the cyclone that may hit in a few hours.<br /><br />Even others, however, have a house on the wrong side of the embankment (dyke). The cyclone may well come with a three meter storm surge, which could easily wash away some of the self made shelters. These are the people who, after the Sidr cyclone in 2007, sold their land to project developers out of poverty and desperation. The developers, as well as the government, were very eager to buy this land at a cheap rate to turn Kuakata into the next big tourist attraction. Right now, however, the only thing attracting attention on the beach was us...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/audience.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/audience.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />...while we were photographing the wonderful sunset scenery. We were urged to move back to the hotel though: the cyclone was gaining strength. Volunteers from the Red Crescent and other NGOs were informing the people of Bijli's forecasts. In Bangla that is. Which left us quite clueless for a long while. To be on the safe side, we bought enough food to host a modest cyclone party (no alcohol...boohoo). Amidst ordering our seventh bottle of Mum mineral water, a journalist approached. He was eager to interview the obviously non-locals to ask them about their feelings. So, tonight our smiling faces will be broadcasted on Channel 1. Our meteorological insights will be the talk of the country until Bijli hits.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/channel%201.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/channel%201.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Right now we're enjoying our first quiet day in Bangladesh. It's kind of eerie. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/cyclone%20shack.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/cyclone%20shack.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Diederikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05531381309591124518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-31988998580805021512009-04-16T00:15:00.001+06:002009-04-19T00:52:13.841+06:00Barisal banter: Bakerganj, Babuganj, Bagerhat, BarisalThanks to the NGOs PGUK, INDAB, Friendship and Caritas (some of the perks of traveling on Henk’s tail!) we were able to make several field visits around Barisal division to Sidr response areas for the worst hit communities. We wanted to know the who, why, what, how and when of the houses that were donated by the NGOs. Who was targeted, why they were considered vulnerable, what they were given, and how and when it was given to them.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/land%20of%20bangla.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/land%20of%20bangla.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="fullpost"><br />With Mr. Prodip from PGUK we visited several of the most vulnerable demographic groups, especially widows, former beggars, and disabled communities. PGUK uses a ‘savings group’ approach, in which groups of (usually) women are formed with similar economic situations. They save money together and provide insurance to each other’s savings. Most of the women make less than a euro per day, and it is estimated they are unemployed half the time. Many work in slightly richer households for 3 kg of rice per day. It was interesting to see the different investments that were made with the loans. Some women invested in tools for a sustainable livelihood in weaving or poultry. Others used the money to pay off the debts of their children. Sadly, the loans were not waived after cyclone Sidr (month payment postoned).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/mixed%20women.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/mixed%20women.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The fact that these saving groups were in existence before the cyclone meant that PGUK was very quick to establish a list of beneficiaries. The hardcore poor were the ones who had the most poorly constructed houses that were the first to blow away with the winds of Sidr. PGUK provided material for rebuilding to about 1 out of every 10 of their savings beneficiaries. The women were in charge of transporting building materials from PGUK to their building sites. PGUK provided the ‘design’ (not specifically engineered to withstand great wind or water forces) and were in charge of hiring a carpenter (variable quality) for constructing the house.<br /><br />With Mr. Kabir from INDAB we also visited vulnerable demographic groups, more specifically ‘mixed groups’ (lower caste Hindus and Muslims), ‘boatpeople’ (gypsy communities who follow the fish and are completely outcast from land society), and char people (those dwelling on the eroding riverbanks) which were all greatly affected by cyclone Sidr. INDAB worked on a community (rather than group) based system in order to stimulate cooperation and joint ventures to break vicious cycles on individual scales.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/boy%20in%20shop.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/boy%20in%20shop.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The fact that the vulnerable are documented in this way speeds up the post disaster vulnerability assessment. Working with spatially connected communities and letting them decide amongst themselves who is most vulnerable means the assessment comes from bottom up and it was heartwarming to witness the generosity and group spirit shown in these decisions. After Sidr INDAB provided the communities with money and left them to decide on which materials they would spend it. Especially noticeable in the villages was the effect of one good carpenter on the entire community; this influenced all the house constructions. However, traditional bracing methods are not compliant with storm resistance. Carpenters lacked training in ways to cheaply build sustainable housing with traditional building methods.<br /><br />With Mr. Harun from Friendship we visited several of the worst affected areas where most people lost everything, and outside NGOs had to provide new housing to these communities. There were two types of turnkey housing that were provided by Friendship. The first type was constructed on a mud platform with concrete columns and wooden roof frame with tin sheet infill. This core house seemed relatively flexible as it allowed users to transform it to traditional typology. The second type was Ferro cement brick housing in the model village on Madher Char (where Friendship reinforced the embankment and built a port). Though the houses were designed to be sturdy, opportunistic contractors used poor quality cement causing structural problems. Due to inexperience, people were afraid to alter the structure.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/quality%20bricks.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/quality%20bricks.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />With Mr. Francis from Caritas we visited several communities with which they had had relations before the cyclone. Caritas used the existing committees in the unions to designate their (often related) beneficiaries. The shelters were made of concrete columns on an adobe base with a wooden structural frame and bamboo sheeting infill. Carpenters especially trained by Caritas built them. The extended verandas made the houses flexible enough to transform into the traditional three room dwellings.<br /><br />With a female translator, we also managed to visit a traditional house and question the women (the main users of the house as outside employment in the rural areas for women is near impossible) about the spatial uses of the house. The walls were also made of mud and the roof structure was made of a bamboo frame with some tin sheeting and the rest plastic and banana leaves. The only furniture inside were the beds. There was a non-monsoon and a monsoon kitchen on a raised platform. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/traditional.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/traditional.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />We celebrated Bangla New Year 1416 at the fair with Henk!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/henk.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/henk.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></span>Diederikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05531381309591124518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-1524311541407528142009-04-15T18:46:00.001+06:002009-04-18T21:19:40.601+06:00Chittagong: space syntaxDuring our stay in Chittagong, we mapped the (slightly oversized) city in the space syntax software. It took us some time to make sure there were no bugs in the connections, and to do the right analyses following the courses of Akkie. Currently we are looking at ways to incorporate the different outcomes with other maps, to make some conclusions regarding the relation between connectivity and other (emergency) variables. For instance, we are trying to find out the exact locations of cyclone shelters to link them with the connectivity. You can see both the local and global integrations below. Click on the "Read more" link for some topics of interest.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="blank_" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/Chittagong.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/Chittagong_small.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="fullpost"><br />The following information is done verbally. We will also make some graphs and diagrams to show what we mean later.<br /><br />City center: we can see some subtle differences between the local and global integrations. One of these is the city center that is visible as a white cloud just northwest of the middle (right image). This correlates with the current situation in Chittagong. The main livelihood is focused around the CDA Avenue, the long street from northeast to the south (dock) that is visible on the left image (local integration).<br /><br />Linear livelihoods: it is interesting to see the linear patterns in the local integration. One might expect little clouds that function as local centers of livelihood. In the image, however, one can clearly see the linear forms. Please zoom in on the left image to see how the spaces between these linear centers are filled with a maze of smaller streets. The connectivity is quickly reduced. This follows our experience in the city (and other cities in Bangladesh): most activity spreads out in a linear way. The smaller streets often feel as a maze. Most motorcycle rickshaw drivers will not know all these streets either, they will just know the name of the main streets and the region names.<br /><br />Bridge: looking at the left image with the local integration, one can see a circular roadway going through the city. This is the main CDA Avenue and its extensions: towards the southwest it goes to the port area (also visible as white cloud in the global integration), while it leads to the main bridge towards the southeast. Since we have not added the areas on the other side of the river (not part of Chittagong city), this road becomes less visible towards this bridge on the global integration image. It is, however, very clearly visible on the local integration. And we have indeed experienced how lively this street is. <br /><br />Airport area gap: on the southwest peninsula there is an airport. Around this area there used to be a great slum. During the 1991 cyclone, 3000 people died in this area. There has been little informal redevelopment since. It is interesting to see that this area is not very well connected on the local or global level, even though the city is thinking of making a big ring road around the river and see banks along a raised embankment. This road seems odd. It might increase the connectivity of the peninsula, but these regions are very prone to flooding and cyclones. As a counter reaction, the city corporation is planting mangrove forests to protect the embankment and people living behind it.<br /><br />Development: the city has grown mostly towards the north, around the hilly areas. It is interesting to see how the old port area (middle, south) is both connected locally as globally. It is the old heart of the city. The livelihoods have slowly moved towards the north (the current white cloud center). We can also see new projects towards the north, that appear to be well connected. Again, a linear livelihood is visible.</span>Diederikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05531381309591124518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-24017111535388384912009-04-07T14:30:00.004+06:002009-04-18T21:33:09.185+06:00Chittagong: post-presentationAfter our first weeks in Dhaka and Chittagong, we decided to make a short presentation that shows what we've been doing. This includes our meetings, field researches and theoretical ideas. We have included three powerpoint slides to this post: the the first is an activity diagram, the second is a braingraph of interrelated ideas, and the last includes sections through the landscape. We aim to work on this section throughout our trip, so that we can show all the interrelated elements of the braingraph in the section. This will force us to have a spatial focus for our research. Please click the "Read More..." button to see our presentations.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br /><br /><object style="margin:0px" width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=hostsharedfoldersdadekoningonmymacdesktopfish-090407040101-phpapp02&stripped_title=fishes" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=hostsharedfoldersdadekoningonmymacdesktopfish-090407040101-phpapp02&stripped_title=fishes" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><object style="margin:0px" width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=usersdadekoningdesktop090403brain-090406024801-phpapp01&stripped_title=braingraph" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=usersdadekoningdesktop090403brain-090406024801-phpapp01&stripped_title=braingraph" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><object style="margin:0px" width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=hostsharedfoldersdadekoningonmymacdesktopsections-090408054201-phpapp02&stripped_title=sections-1263289" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=hostsharedfoldersdadekoningonmymacdesktopsections-090408054201-phpapp02&stripped_title=sections-1263289" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /></span>Diederikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05531381309591124518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-6187849025609717772009-03-31T22:15:00.004+06:002009-03-31T23:11:30.414+06:00The rains have come...Streets were already starting to fill with water. Everyone was carefully hiding under the street-side roofs while trying to get a CNG rickshaw. While a local musician was blowing his flute, one local was trying to be the first of twenty (including us) to get a CNG rickshaw, bolts of lightning were striking the heart of Chittagong, and we were getting a cold because temperatures suddenly dropped to 25 degrees, a very kind and soaked man with umbrella was throwing himself at the traffic to make a CNG rickshaw stop for us.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PXuumF0eD3c&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PXuumF0eD3c&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><span class="fullpost"><br /><br />And off we went into the night in a rickshaw that was surprisingly dry, while streets were surprisingly wet. It is sheer impossible to get public transport when it's raining, unless you're willing to be soaked. Rain is not only good for the land, it is also good for the CNG rickshaw drivers. They take the risk of damaging their motors, while they can make twice the profit (no bargaining once you are safe and sound under the rickshaw's roof!).<br /><br />Once at our guesthouse, we had to wade through the local sewer: our front gate appears to be the lowest land of the neighborhood. I think we mentioned something about sanitation issues in our latest blog. This time the fishes came for us, no need to go on field trips purposefully! Just on a side note, there is no sewer system in this city. People use sceptic tanks, if they can afford it. If not, then they either use latrine pits or the local gutter... which is the one that ends in our front gate...<br /><br />...all our experiences here are intense. We live a hundred lives and there is something magical about this place that is hard to put in words. The feeling of relief that comes with the first rains is a real experience: even the rickshaw wallahs were laughing and having fun while getting soaked to the bone.<br /><br />Inshallah!<br /></span>Diederikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05531381309591124518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-87702120314860552782009-03-31T11:08:00.006+06:002009-03-31T11:52:28.899+06:00The emergency of emergencesIt has become apparent that it is difficult to analyze the emergency of a natural disaster within the complex emergences (pre-existing trends and tendencies) of a less economically developed country like Bangladesh. There is only a little gap between the problematic consequences of the emergency and that of the emergences. A more economically developed country can deal with a disaster in a more isolated manner since it can, relatively, get a much higher priority. Note that we consider yearly floods, winds and monsoon rains part of the emergences more than emergencies. Until now, we have looked at the impacts of the 1991 disaster in Chittagong city and district. This made it possible to analyze the long-term effects of a disaster and get an insight in the emergences.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/no%20ghat.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/no%20ghat.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="fullpost"><br />There have been numerous responses to the cyclone by the government and NGO's. Spatial redevelopment has been planned to some extent, related directly to disaster prevention, but formal plans are hard to realize or can have adverse effects. For instance, the government has pointed out locations where building is not permitted unless buildings leave open the first floor. This makes the areas less profitable for developers, so that informal settlements take over the land where formal settlements are restricted. The question we are facing, thus, is how to understand the complexity of the issue of post-natural disaster redevelopment, if it has such an informal character. One intriguing formal project by the government, on the other hand, is the planting of mangrove forests along the coastal zone (up to 300 meters in width). This will decrease the wind speeds of a cyclone.<br /><br />We have had difficulties to accurately research the first phase of aid after the 1991 cyclone, because it is such a long time ago. One thing we did conclude, however, is the lack of proper infrastructure. There is one proper tarmac road that runs from Dhaka to Chittagong and Cox's Bazaar. But as soon as you take a turn away from the road, the small embankment roads will not let you drive faster than walking speed, if at all. A lot of roads are made of bricks... and the lack of them. It makes us wonder how the first phase post-disaster aid can be executed properly. Those living in remote areas will be extremely vulnerable, after losing everything (including tube wells) and being cut off from the aid. Aid may be possible by boat. Still it is interesting that relatively little is done about these roads. Could NGO's be more involved also with the upgrading of roads, as it will enhance the first phase of post-disaster aid? With flooding, roads tend to get damaged, so that repair works seem to be a yearly process. The damage of cyclones and floods on the infrastructure, as well as the modality of aid transport, is something we can further investigate in the Sidr effected regions. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/dustyroad.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/dustyroad.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />This leads us to the following question as well: where is the boundary between the task of the government and that of the NGO's in a country where there is relatively little governmental funding? NGO's obviously prefer to deal with people directly: sad faces attract money, happy faces justify the spent money. However, the pre-disaster problem of infrastructure also becomes a problem in the post-disaster setting. Does proper infrastructure not give the people opportunities, as well as a quicker aid during disaster response? Note that we do not blame NGO's for their work! Rather, we are interested to look at the role that the NGO's can have within the Bangladesh government.<br /><br />Cyclone shelters can save the lives of many people. Awareness programs make sure people move to these shelters. Raised lands (killas) can save the people's livestock. But when the people return, the first urgent issues seem to be the lack of proper sanitation and drinking water. After that, the people will be concerned with their livelihood: did the cattle survive, where is the boat, how are the crops, is the garment factory closed, what to do as a rickshaw puller? And after that, spatial redevelopment is often informal. <br /><br />This is why our research has, until now, very much focused on the first two issues as described above. We will narrow down our research more towards the short-term effects when we get to the Sidr (2007 cyclone) effected region. Due to the research in the emergences and long-term effects of the cyclones, we aim on understanding the short-term emergencies based on this. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/foot.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/foot.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a></span>Diederikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05531381309591124518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-42458167854796989232009-03-27T01:20:00.008+06:002009-04-18T21:33:53.543+06:00Chittagong Chow (urban): Cooking up a storm on independence dayTrying out a situationist approach on the 38th birthday of Bangladesh, we decided to start the day with a walk! It seems, though, that wherever we go we create quite a crowd of gawking young men, all asking us “your country?”, education, marital status, favorite color, mother's middle name, personal idol, astrological convictions, and of course general opinions about Bangladesh. Everyone wants to indulge us in the Bengali hospitality and sometimes it can almost be a little intimidating. Today was rather exceptional, as we actually had someone admit to us that he had been following us from a student protest rally to a little cha shop - for our own safety.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/msvensson/UE/rickshaws_s.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 159px;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/msvensson/UE/rickshaws_s.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="fullpost"><br />This year’s independence day was met with mixed feelings around the country; due to recent political unrest all large gatherings were prohibited in the capital, obviously obstructing any big celebrations. In Chittagong however, the feast went on, or so we were told. Exploring this on a local level, we found very little different from everyday life. A lot of shops were closed, but there were no real signs of anything else being different. Deciding to photograph some of the street scenery instead, we got interrogated by a local man who felt insulted that we should be taking photographs of alleys and closed shops, instead of the richness of people living behind these facades. He convinced us to go into one of the houses and photograph a woman with her goats.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="hhttp://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/furniture.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/furniture.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />After meeting the whole neighborhood, we decided to move on to the center and see if there was anything going on. We were met by a student road blockade, carrying big signs and shouting slogans. Having set out in search of a good party and only finding protest rallies, we decided to take a break from braving the pressing humidity and stop for some tea. There we met the aforementioned student who told us that for our own security he had accompanied us there. This felt a little awkward as we had never had any cause to feel unsafe in Bangladesh.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/window%20into%20bangladesh.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/window%20into%20bangladesh.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />We decided to leave the tea shop (unfollowed) and go to the national stadium. Outside of the stadium there were many cars with official looking men giving speeches and rallying. Chittagong played a very important role in the independence of Bangladesh as it was here where independence from West Pakistan was first proclaimed in 1971 over a Chittagong radio station. This was followed by a nine-month war, where between 200,000 and 3 million Bangladeshis were killed (depending on whether Pakistani or Bangladeshi sources are being used). This was the final separation of the country after being dominated for centuries respectively by Mauryan, Mughal, and British Empires, and finally 24 years of West Pakistan governance. <br /><br />The 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent in many ways created more problems than it solved. The division in which and West and East Pakistan (Bangladesh) were united as one country (because of shared religion) was mainly due to political circumstance. It caused one of the largest cultural migrations in history. The division of these countries has implications for all aspects of modern Bangladesh. Being almost landlocked by India, water management of the three main rivers that flow through Bangladesh has proved very difficult without mutual cooperation. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/stadium.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/stadium.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Pondering these thoughts as we finally headed into the stadium, we found the action had already taken place. A little confused, we headed back home, were the pressing weather exploded in a thunderstorm of black rain, seeming strangely appropriate. </span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516352432827469829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-16470419962320579242009-03-27T01:09:00.012+06:002009-04-18T21:35:00.021+06:00Chittagong Chow (rural): Follow the fish, shrimps, salt and riceThanks to Caritas, we were able to make a second field trip into the very remote areas between Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar that were most affected by the 1991 cyclone and are most vulnerable for future cyclones. All still recovering from stomach upsets, we set off (by local bus) to cross the great Karnaphuli river once again en route to the highway cum embankment to Cox’s Bazar. The bridge, originally donated by the Dutch in the 70’s, was destroyed by a flying crane (!) in the 1991 cyclone. It was repaired, but will soon be replaced by a fancy new concrete bridge donated by Kuwait. The construction is under a lot of pressure, as the ends of the bridge must meet before the cyclone season starts (in April) to avoid history repeating itself…<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/msvensson/UE/bridge_s.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 175px;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/msvensson/UE/bridge_s.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="fullpost"><br />We carried out our fieldwork in the disaster stricken areas of the Pekua and Moheshkali upazilas (subdivisions of the Cox’s Bazar district). The focus of the fieldwork was to gain insight into the vulnerabilities of different livelihoods in the area, seeing as economic migration is one of the main spatial tendencies in Bangladesh.<br /><br />We stayed in Chaukaria town, a typical linear city so characteristic for Bangladesh. From here we went on life-threatening bus trips, off-road CNG drives, jaw-rattling rickshaw rides and cross-river rafting adventures to some of the most remote areas of the country. Everywhere we traveled we were met by smiles, apologies for not being able to provide more hospitality, and emotive stories of friends and family members lost in the Gorky cyclone of 1991.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/hands.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/hands.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Interestingly enough, many of the villagers that were interviewed had migrated to the area from other disaster areas (river erosion and embankment failure). The ‘leftover’ land that they had chosen to settle on was extremely vulnerable to cyclones, a fact they all experienced in 1991. Despite the great tragedy this disaster brought about, most people returned to the government-owned squatted land after the disaster due to strong family ties. Hardly any of the villagers actually owned their own land. Besides this, most also appeared to have multiple livelihoods; usually consisting of a main livelihood and renting out services as a day laborer to make some extra money.<br /><br />There also appeared to be a strong hierarchy in livelihoods; for instance the shrimp farmers seemed to be much better off than the pure day laborers. We found this was closely linked to the disaster vulnerability of the different livelihoods. Salt farming seemed to be the most resilient as salt can be stored underground during a cyclone and the harvest isn't dependant on the yearly seasons. Shrimp cultivation tended to take more than 2 years to regenerate; despite this it was a profitable business (shrimps are seen as a luxury product and are for a larg part exported). Fishermen could store their nets and boats in the channel between the mainland and the off shore islands to save them from destruction. However cyclones tend to affect the fish population quite drastically. Rice farmers came out most vulnerable after a cyclone; the saline water completely destroyed the land for several years after a disaster. In extreme cases making the land so barren that the land owners didn't bother to try to cultivate the land again but switched to mining salt (which in turn made the land even more saline).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/stilts.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/stilts.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The different livelihoods directly found their ways onto our plates as well in the local restaurants: the menu seemed to be one of rice, fish, shrimps and vegetables. Local fruits widely available were bananas and coconuts. For some reason on the bazaars everywhere in Bangladesh you only find fancy imported fruits like grapes, apples and oranges. We wound up our trip with a visit to Cox’s bazaar: the world’s longest beach and being voted on as we speak to become one of the new 7 world wonders! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/women.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/women.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516352432827469829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-22501735259823178982009-03-22T13:12:00.006+06:002009-03-27T01:19:05.127+06:00City slums: Urban RuralityAfter meeting with the Chittagong Development Authority and learning of their plans to heighten the embankment and plant mangrove forests, we wanted to visit some of the affected communities living in slum areas around the embankment that protects the city. We got pointed in the direction of the Chittagong City Corporation, where we met architects and urban planners Reza and Shahidul, involved in the department “Healthy City”. They busy themselves with issues surrounding slum development. They immediately invited us on an all day slum excursion, where we visited the most disaster prone and economically poor areas of Chittagong.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/shop.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 116px;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/shop.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="fullpost"><br /><br />We set off in our CNG, in which we thought only three people could fit. However, our super guide Shahidul squeezed himself next to (on top of) our driver and folded his arm around him. The first part of the ride took us through the outskirts of the port area which can be seen as the economic heart of the slums. This is where the broken ship parts (from the shipbreaking industry) are processed and resold to be used in the building industry. Everything is recycled! Due to the port proximity, it is also where most of the garment factories are located, one of Bangladesh’s largest economic export products.<br /><br />Our first stop was at a Hindu Fishing community, an informal settlement that was under development by the Chittagong City Corporation. People were proudly laying bricks for a narrow path (three bricks wide) through the small structures. We had not quite expected to be walking on such a good looking pathway in our first slum. We could see that these people were fishermen, due to the fishing nets that were used as fencing. There was one toilet for the whole community, which was apparently not sufficient. Most houses were in the traditional Kanchi style, made of bamboo. They preferred this over the tin sheeting due to interior climate, although parts of the bamboo houses needed to be rebuilt. The spaces were small, housing ten people on twelve square meters. Despite their struggles, these people were very friendly and the children were extremely playful. Just outside of the community, a canal was dug out again for water flow. Things were clearly under development.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/boy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 177px;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/boy.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />We then moved on to a local farm next to the embankment. First of all, it was surprising to see farm land inside such a huge city. Secondly, it was even more surprising to see Frisian cows invading the countryside! They were famous, because they came from "Australia". The ground was clearly very fertile. Rice paddies were green as green can be. The main problem the farmer faces, is the lack of killas (raised land) to protect the cattle in case of cyclones and flooding.<br /><br />The next stop was at the embankment itself, where we met with some fishermen and had a cup of tea. There were two embankments. One was newer and used as a highway. It was not possible to access this road from these villages, making them less connected. The other embankment had an old dirt road, which was nothing our CNG driver couldn't handle. The fisherman on the good side of the embankments have lived in the area for a long time. They have suffered greatly from the 1991 cyclone, and they surely do not feel comfortable with their current situation if a new cyclone would hit the area.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/embankment.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 106px;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/embankment.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />On the other side of the embankment, a vital group of women lived on government owned land. They came from the Barisal region, where they had lost their husbands during the Sidr disaster of 2007. They migrated towards the city to earn a living. In Chittagong, they now collect and sort garbage until they get removed from their land. The people were full of life and exclaimed: "Where there is work, there we will go".<br /><br />After visiting two other cyclone shelters, where we witnessed a Rabindranath concert by candlelight, we moved on to the meet all the "family" of our guide. Everyone was very hospitable, and apparently we now are part of his extended family!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/village.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 179px;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/village.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The next day the NGO Codec took us to another fishermen village, where they worked with a participatory approach to develop their living standards and awareness regarding cyclones. Some of their main concerns included: the still weak embankments, broken sluice, lack of cyclone shelters, and weakness of own houses. Towards the shore we could see a new mangrove forest that was planted to protect the area from cyclones. People said they spent 200-300 euro for a bamboo house structure, which they could build in one week. Codec also did research in the possibilities of micro-insurance systems in case of disaster.<br /><br />For our latest field trip, YPSA (a local NGO) took us to visit a garment factory and their communities. Quite understandably, most of the workers were not at home in their homes. We did visit a local bakery and went to two schools. The children dreamt of becoming doctors, teachers, or famous cricket players. We spoke with an old man who had lost his eyes during construction work. He and his wife now relied on the help of family and friends for food. The man told us that the water came up to his chin during the 1991 cyclone, and that people took shelter on top of the roofs. Most people migrated from more rural areas like Comilla due to land loss from river erosion. The men often work in the ship-breaking industry, while the younger women work at the garment industry. 600 people worked at the local garment factory, most of which were women. The factory appeared to be well organized, although we only got to see two of the working floors. Most of the valuable machineries were stored on the higher floors to prevent from flooding. One of the officials informed us that there is currently a trend around the country to move garment factories out of the city. In Chittagong, however, the factories still rely on the proximity of the port. Another 1000 of these factories exist in Chittagong itself. It is a huge industry.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/boats.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 337px;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/boats.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Yesterday, we were supposed to finish our research week with a trip to the ship-breaking communities, guided by YPSA. YPSA has been fighting for better working conditions within these ship-breaking industries, and to stop child labour that supposedly makes up 25% of the working force at these yards. At the moment of departure, however, we were informed that we would not be able to go due to security issues. Today we read in the local news paper, that workers made a human chain of 10 km to protest against a court case that forces several ship yards to close. Apparently, they chanted slogans against NGO's, and YPSA in particular. They blamed the NGO's for potentially losing 30.000 jobs in the industry.<br /><br />We are great with timing.</span>Diederikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05531381309591124518noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-30886136970017109422009-03-22T12:30:00.008+06:002009-04-18T21:36:29.683+06:00Happy world water day!Today is world water day, a day in which we can dream of <span style="font-style:italic;">clean</span> fresh drinking water for all Bangladeshi. And us. Unfortunately, though, one of the main water related issues in Bangladesh is the lack of clean drinking water. The safest water is bottled water, but not all of the brands produce the same quality. Tube wells are used to extract ground water, which is more or less fresh, but not very drinkable. People either cook or filter this water, but even then bacteria may still remain. Additionally, Bangladesh is facing a huge problem with arsenic that is mixed with the ground water. For us, as short-term visitors, this will not be a problem. But there are severe long-term effects for chronic intake of arsenic water. A lot of research is being done to solve this issue.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/worldwaterday.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 304px;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/worldwaterday.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="fullpost"><br />Secondly, there is the problem of sanitation in Bangladesh. Proper sewerage systems are lacking, and the frequent occurrence of flooding makes it difficult to separate sanitation drainage from the urban areas and fresh water supplies. As a result, a lot of people die due to diarrheal outbreaks. These outbreaks also occur after natural disasters, and can take more casualties than the short term effects of the disaster itself.<br /><br />So let's hope things will improve for Bangladesh, and call for a happy world water day! Although, honestly, we're not all enjoying it as much as we like. By now, we've fully, uhm, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">acclimatized</span>. Food here resembles alcohol: you enjoy it greatly at the moment of intake, but one has a strong regret the day after. Especially Magnus and Diederik went through some of the problems of sanitation and drinking water in person, and on multiple occasions. The hungover diet included ORS and Immodium ("an ORS a day, keeps the doctor away"). We have the luxury of staying in bed for a day or two, but the poor people of Bangladesh do not have this option, so that their condition becomes dangerous. As our stomachs turn, we feel for the people of Bangladesh...<br /><br />The only hope may be, that the cause comes from our Malarone Malaria pills. When reading through the side effects, we stumbled upon: "diarrhea, stomach pains, vomiting, headaches, and fever". To name a few all too familiar symptoms, that may be unnecessary because Malaria doesn't actually exist over here (more up in the hills). We hope this is actually the case, or else the rural areas will become quite a journey. We promise to show the GPS map of sanitation spots!<br /></span>Diederikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05531381309591124518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-20057543602917044422009-03-17T08:49:00.008+06:002009-03-22T12:56:40.463+06:00Formal: summary of researchWe have been in Bangladesh for almost two weeks now. During the first week, we made a lot of contacts in Dhaka, the capital city. We tried to use our time there to get as much information from earlier researches as possible. Through discussions with experienced people from various fields, we were able to construct a framework and get a lot of inputs. After the first week, we moved to Chittagong, the second city of Bangladesh. It is a harbour city of four milion inhabitants, and the economic heart of the country. We continued to expand our contact list, but also did our first two field researches.<div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/bangla.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 337px;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/bangla.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="fullpost"><br />For the first field research, we moved to the more "rural" areas (still densely populated between Chittagong and Cox's Bazaar. We also visited Mognama, one of the most effected cities during the 1991 Gorky cyclone. There were a lot of cyclone shelters. We had the chance to visit some of them, and were also able to talk with locals in Mognama (informal in-depth interview). For the second field trip we were guided into some of the slum areas of Chittagong. The inhabitants of these areas were often displaced people due to one of the disasters in the country. The poeople were very friendly and willing to talk.<br /><br />The discussions and field trips have shaped our way of thinking about the issue of natural disasters in Bangladesh. We are now in the process of writing down all the ideas we have, without linking them just yet. Some of the most interesting leads we have are:<br /><br /><em>The lack of shelters for possessions:</em> people can be saved by making cyclone shelters for them to hide during the storm. However, their livelihoods rely heavily on the possessions the people have. These include: their crops, livestock, working tools, materials, etc. In the cities, people are reluctant to move to cyclones since they are afraid their possessions might be stolen. In more rural areas, people fear that they will lose their livestock and crops. For the last category, so called "killas" can be constructed. These are six meter high hills where livestock can stay relatively safe.<br /><br /><em>The scarcity of land: </em>there is a scarcity of land, even in more rural areas. The land has been divided by among the growing amount of family members. This means that people rely on small patches of land. Small farmers have a hard time making a living. As a result, they are under constant pressure to sell their land to other land owners. When they do sell their land, the family will move illegally to government owned land outside of the river embankments (dangerous), or move to the city and live in informal settlements. We will be researching this migration in the coming weeks.<br /><br /><em>River erosion:</em> one of the big issues in Bangladesh is river erosion. Rivers tend to constantly be on the move. Agricultural land and dwellings are being consumed by the delta rivers. This is another reason for the migrations as described above. There are several reasons for these river problems. Upstream there is a dam in India controlling the water inflow, and India is preparing to build another dam as we speak. Mangroves protect the coastal zone near the Sundarbans, but these mangroves are lacking in the eastern part of the Bay of Bengal. There are projects to plant mangrove forests there.<br /><br /><em>Linear cities: </em>cities in Bangladesh tend to grow in a linear way along the major infrastructure connections. This seems to be an unplanned consequence. These roads are very lively, making them ideal places for small shops and industries. Also, the roads are often built on embankments (raised land to protect from flooding). The land is therefore more safe to build as it is higher. These roads have a very urban feel to them. But as soon as one takes a side street, the urbanity changes into a form of rurality. Encapsuled within the main infrastructure are the agriculture lands. This is why the rural areas can hardly be called rural. The urban and rural are intertwined, both spatially and culturally.<br /><br /><em>Holy water: </em>in the Netherlands we now see a tendency to move away from only blocking the water from the land. Rising dykes, and poldering land may not be permanent solutions to the problem of water quantity. In Bangladesh, however, people have lived with water for a long time. They rely on the land to be flooded. This makes their land so extremely fertile. At the moment, however, there is a tendency to rise the embankments and "take control over the land". There is an apparent conflict between the need for the water, and the fear for the water. How can Bangladesh cope with this paradox?<br /><br />There are many more interesting leads, or "fishes" as we call them (see our previous powerpoint presentations). We will be looking into these and post a summary of our main findings as much as we can. Feel free to comment or start a discussion!<br /></span></div>Diederikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05531381309591124518noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-40778982772555082452009-03-14T16:00:00.003+06:002009-04-18T21:39:45.215+06:00Life on the Embankment : Rural UrbanityAfter arriving in Chittagong and getting picked up by our translator and driver (which proved to be a little over our budget!) we got taken to meet with our contacts at Caritas. They offered to take us on a cyclone shelter trip to Cox’s Bazar the next day.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAwX_qoRE7a2q0QZ-_-G7QO72tLASkxt1sYKCAB5lpxNpg2gNTnS8fMDA1HPkxyfmNkiIWuSykQrKfYPYJ1ulMNAaWjs5xDGwyugbWz3llcRWKInc2qNDFk_qnzshKUYlcbxkvCkrjdSPW/s1600-h/DSC02161.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAwX_qoRE7a2q0QZ-_-G7QO72tLASkxt1sYKCAB5lpxNpg2gNTnS8fMDA1HPkxyfmNkiIWuSykQrKfYPYJ1ulMNAaWjs5xDGwyugbWz3llcRWKInc2qNDFk_qnzshKUYlcbxkvCkrjdSPW/s320/DSC02161.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312982915472125138" /></a><br /><span class="fullpost"><br />And off we went bright and early the next morning. The man from Caritas accompanying us, Mr Mozharul Islam, proved to be very helpful and knowledgeable in the subject. He had been working for Caritas for more than 20 years, and even worked in the Sidr area after the disaster in 2007. He was going around to all the shelters to check on the repair works and we got to visit their field office, where they were involved in a participatory approach in the village to educate people on how to build their houses in a more sustainable and cyclone proof way.<br /><br />We then went on to visit on of the worst hit areas after the 1991 Gorky cyclone, the union of Mognama. Bangladesh is divided into 6 divisions, which are subdivided into districts, which are subdivided into upazilas, which are subdivided into unions, which are subdivided into wards, which are around 3 km2. The Mognama union has roughly 30,000 inhabitants living on 20km2. Pretty dense for a rural area.<br /><br />Going through the countryside we noticed that the predominant agrarian activities seemed to be rice paddies, salt collection, shrimp farming, and tobacco plantations. All the economic activity (shops, restaurants) took place along the main road, on the embankment. These embankments are also the most desirable places to live. They are high and dry, so to speak. The areas outside the embankments are much more vulnerable and this is where the landless illegally squat government land.<br /><br />Mognama is a salt farming community. We got the chance to visit several cyclone shelters cum schools and talk with many of the locals. Salt farming actually turns out to be one of the more sustainable activities, as the farmers can store their salt underground and when a cyclone hits their ‘crop’ is not damaged.<br /><br />Their main concerns for the future were the lack of killas (raised platforms of 6m height) for storing cattle. Every family has several chickens or goats, and these usually have to be left behind during a cyclone. There are also far from enough cyclone shelters, we were told that there are five, each with capacity of 2500 people, for their entire community of 30,000. They need at least 10 more shelters for everyone to be able to evacuate. They were also in need of more primary schools.<br /><br />We visited many cyclone shelters and there are several different typologies. The three main types are the orthogonal structures (brick or concrete), raised on columns, the arrow shaped (concrete) also raised above ground, and the aerodynamic drop shaped shelters (concrete) also raised on columns. The average budget for these shelters is 80 lakh Taka. If we’re correct his converts to around 100,000 euros.<br /><br />We also got a chance to see some of Caritas’ houses, built of concrete columns with a steel framed roof and profiled tin sheeting roof. The infill was simple bamboo mats.<br /><br />On the way back we also went past Kotubdia island where we talked to some fishermen who had managed to flee the cyclone in 1991 due to the timely warning.<br /></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516352432827469829noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-57804824124266011732009-03-14T15:56:00.004+06:002009-04-18T21:40:21.122+06:00The (wrong) Bangladesh ExpressThis was a day to remember. Magnus was still feeling a bit bad in the morning, a combination of being ill and having to wake up early probably. After a phone call with Hubert Endtz, who gave us some helpful medical advice, we decided to go for the railway station as planned. We packed all our stuff in the car, and managed to squeeze ourselves in as well. All went well until the driver missed the final turn. We arrived five minutes before the train was scheduled to depart. The train was already there. While looking for the correct coach (extra 1), the train decided to start moving. What followed was a scene that resembled that of the opening of the Darjeeling Limited. Except that Bill Murray was lacking. With our flip-flops we ran to a door opening and jumped into sardine “7th” class…<br /><span class="fullpost"><br />…only to find out a few minutes later, that this wasn’t actually the train to Chittagong. A helpful man told us not to jump out of the train just yet (“accident!”). There was a lot of movement in the train, and a lot of yelling. We were hoping to be able to transfer on the next station. Wishful thinking. The train conductor wasn’t amused. He stopped the train, and kicked us out…<br /><br />…at a waste area and in a slum. Interestingly, that confirmed the theories that slum areas tend to grow around railway tracks. People looked out of the train to see us. Some had never seen such tall and white people, certainly not when just kicked out of a Bengal train. After a little scenic sewage walk, we managed to find three bicycle rickshaws drivers who bolted off back to the railway station. While buses were crashing against the roadblocks, cars were honking constantly, us trying to hold on to backpacks and guitars on a shaky rickshaw, our wallahs deciding to take the quicker but chaotic highway, and Laura dropping her flute and pack on this highway, a local passenger of another rickshaw smiled to Diederik, and said: <br /><br />“Welcome to Bangladesh!”<br /><br />Not knowing what we were to do next, after getting on the wrong train and getting kicked out, we just enjoyed the ride and appreciated life in all its glory. We’ll see. Inshallah. We managed to get to the railway station alive. We didn’t have enough change, so we gladly overpaid the rickshaw drivers who risked their life for us. Laura decided to take a quick look at the platform: just to check when the next train would be leaving (scheduled half a day or a day later). But to her surprise, the Bangla station announcer casually slipped the word “Chittagong”. How could we have thought that our train would arrive on the official time. Of course it was an hour late, so we were now five minutes early to catch the train we were supposed to take in the first place.<br /><br />The train was extremely comfortable. It had air conditioning, drinks, and a wonderful view to the countryside. It took us about seven hours to get to Chittagong. We were able to get some sleep, and had a good laugh about a day we’d probably remember for a long while. This is a strange country. Or, as Cecile Endtz put it:<br /><br />“Never a dull moment in Bangladesh!”<br /><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/dadekoning/UE/train.swf" height="223px" width="350px"><br /><param name="movie" value="movie.swf" /><br /></object><br /></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516352432827469829noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-9224055404134915732009-03-06T01:33:00.002+06:002009-03-07T23:08:29.275+06:00Dhaka on a CNG<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/msvensson/UE/CND.swf" height="223px" width="350px"><br /><param name="movie" value="movie.swf" /><br /></object>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-83690829335783347702009-03-06T00:48:00.009+06:002009-04-18T21:40:43.023+06:00Butler in BananiEven after camouflaging ourselves in panjabis and sawar kamez, learning how to tie a lunghi, and accidentally dying our hair black, we have not managed to get by unnoticed in the Dhaka streetscape. Maybe it's because we have a butler in banani...<br /><span class="fullpost"><br />The day started abruptly with the sound of a phone ringing. It was the hotel staff kindly informing us that our bill was 'ready' to be paid. We then got picked up by Cecile, who took us to our new fabulous apartment in BANANI where we are currently residing. It has everything we ever dreamed of and more; black shampoo, as much water as we can drink, a cow painted on the wall, and wireless internet! Also, we have adopted a new member of UE Bangladesh; he's from Barguna, the prime area struck by cyclone Sidr. His name is Nasreen and he comes with the apartment.<br /><br />After this we proceeded to get local. As true Bengali fashionists we didn't have to look long to find nice things, even in our freakishly large sizes. The staff of the shops were refreshingly honest and blatantly told us when we looked ridiculous. Also, we are not allowed to wear our lunghis on the street because we'll get laughed at... Nasreen laughed anyway.<br /><br />We also invested in some quality music. Everyone should download Shahid's music legally (rather than our illegally copied cd) from www.amadergaan.com. We blasted his tunes through our apartment. Nasreem was disappointed with our taste. He likes James (left).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcKbU7_eUrJ99RBj7_rYnqP3WmwwFNdCBy3MxP6mbuofyqe5Gd6CSqi5KFBWMlnyYK8jYC06Ca4Qqzvardt7KC-rzrwNIx3AmKIHSL3ohTVAeb0Jv7p3-A1bo1VyAbvJzYkJTGnvWuvch0/s1600-h/James_Pritam+Chakrabarti.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcKbU7_eUrJ99RBj7_rYnqP3WmwwFNdCBy3MxP6mbuofyqe5Gd6CSqi5KFBWMlnyYK8jYC06Ca4Qqzvardt7KC-rzrwNIx3AmKIHSL3ohTVAeb0Jv7p3-A1bo1VyAbvJzYkJTGnvWuvch0/s320/James_Pritam+Chakrabarti.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309779376575842690" /></a><br /><br />We then raced across town to visit the Comprehensive Disaster Management Program, a branch of the United Nations Development Program, and almost met the Secretary. The CDMP will be providing us with a lot of information on the cyclone Sidr response. Coincidentally our neighbor from our apartment works here too. We told you it was a village... As The Secretary was arriving, they did not have a lot of time so we arranged to have another meeting with the CDMP as well as with the UNDP on Sunday. On the way to the elevator we were photographed, we think they may have mistaken us for The Secretary...<br /><br />It was nearing Bangla weekend (Friday to Saturday) and it seems universal that people try to escape their offices early. However, we managed call our ITC contact just as he was leaving, and he agreed to meet with us. He is a senior GIS and data administrator and has established contacts with officials in Chittagong Planning Development Agency and the University of Khulna Planning Department.<br /><br />Another thing we noticed is that everyone here seems to have a card... even pharmacies! We have collected an impressive amount of them and are inspired to make our own.<br /><br />When we got home we were thrilled to find the CV of our translator in Chittagong in our inbox. Thank you CARITAS! We are worried we will leave with an inferiority complex as he is clearly overqualified...<br /><br />We also had an excellent dinner and even better than that we haven't had to enjoy it twice... yet...<br /><br />So... we have an early start full of architecture tomorrow, we're joining the Urban Study Group in a 4 (!) hour walk through Dhaka starting at 8 (!) in the morning. We feel like we're off to a kick start and Bangladesh has been smiling at us. However, something we have found is that it is very hard to ignore all the beggars on the street. There are just so many, and it is very saddening... We developed a strategy to at least give the children cookies instead of money, so far the rickshaw wallahs have been more keen on the cookies than the children.<br /><br />Until next time...<br /><br /></span>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516352432827469829noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-81093953787281451142009-03-04T22:20:00.021+06:002009-03-05T23:15:52.276+06:00First experiencesWell. How bizarre. A strange 36-hour day that started in Breda and ended in Dhaka. The difference is quite apparent. Our flight was split up into three, making stops at London and Doha. We made efficient use of our first day: we were picked up from the airport by Salaam. For that we thank Hubert and Cecile Endtz, with whom we had a chat about Bangladesh and our plans in the Dutch Club. After that, we went to the Dutch embassy and met Dr. Shayer Ghafur from the department of architecture at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. We are now writing our last mails before we take some sleep. Read more for a more thorough summary of the day.<br /><br /><a href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/msvensson/UE/3March3.jpg"><img src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/msvensson/UE/3March3_s.jpg" /></a><br /><span class="fullpost"><br />Overall, the flights with Qatar Airways were perfect. The connection between Doha and Dhaka, however, was slightly odd: it gave us a first impression of the Bengali lifestyle. That is: lack of public space (they like to lean over to your chair), no privacy, and lots of interconnected cosiness. Also, Bangladeshi don't follow rules. They sit where they want to, ask questions when they want to (especially when you want to sleep and don't respond: the 5 second rule works a bit too well...), make phone calls during take-off and landings, get their own drinks at the plane's kitchen, etc. People were rather interested in our journey. We talked with a Belgian who was going to visit orphan homes that were built by NGO's near Cox's Bazaar. A micro biology professor (<span style="font-style: italic;">M. Reza-ul (Raj) Karim, Ph.D., SM (ASCP), FES (NBRII)</span>) from the University of Minnesota is going to visit the country side and offered to help us with whatever whenever, even though he didn't know what we did (the way), nor did he have time (the when). But a nice gesture in any case. Talking about cases: luggage claim was interesting as well, as you can see in the post below. People even take jerry cans as luggage.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgThv3jKCDglCAwz9CYNkYPD6wGr1cWCKtQmzhQ-kB4VBzh-Q5Nw_Ql6Ywwij5qabq_jNs4rUNroSFOXB-O78vbwJYXhSTW_BHyAEZpVmBDHhZzUrs3hvXxDpa8dqOC7D4-eJjkTfWPkP3e/s1600-h/packaging.jpg"><img style="width: 440; height: 130px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgThv3jKCDglCAwz9CYNkYPD6wGr1cWCKtQmzhQ-kB4VBzh-Q5Nw_Ql6Ywwij5qabq_jNs4rUNroSFOXB-O78vbwJYXhSTW_BHyAEZpVmBDHhZzUrs3hvXxDpa8dqOC7D4-eJjkTfWPkP3e/s320/packaging.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309390953243781362" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Salaam drove us to the Dutch Club, where we are staying tonight. There were road signs and road markings. But none of them were used. We saw various modalities of transport: walking, the bicycle, the motorcycle, the bicycle rickshaws, the motorcycle rickshaws, the yellow cabs, the not so yellow anymore cabs, and the busses. Busses don't stop. Bus stops evoke a mass relay race, where people have to catch up with the bus and find a place in the bus. Which there isn't. The different modalities work on different scales. Using the public transport from one part of the city to the other will involve using two of these. The bicycle rickshaws to the closest roundabout, and the yellow taxis between major areas. Funnily, only the bicycle rickshaws know local streets, because the city is just too vast to remember. Then again, taxi drivers don't mind asking around.<br /><br /><a href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/msvensson/UE/3March1.jpg"><img src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/msvensson/UE/3March1_s.jpg" /></a><br /><br />We will not be staying at the Dutch Club for longer than one day. It is rather expensive, but at least it is safe. Everyone agrees that we ought to stay in the safer areas of the city (Gulshan and Baridara mainly). But these are also the richer and more expensive areas obviously. Considering the recent murders and tensions, we prefer safety over budget right now. With a bit of luck we will be able to sleep at another guest house or hotel from tomorrow on which is both safe and affordable. At the Dutch Club, Hubert and Cecile Endtz welcomed us and gave us some practical advise. We are very thankful for their help and kindness. Cecile has offered to join us to some clothing shops tomorrow. We're trying to look more local, although I doubt we'll pass. For that Magnus and I will desperately need a black mustache.<br /><br />From the Dutch Club we took bicycle rickshaws to the Dutch Embassy, where we registered with our contact information. They were so kind to give us advise regarding our visa and accommodation. We were also updated with the latest news regarding the tensions between the rifles and the army. We have seen quite a lot of army soldiers in the city, but have not felt uneasy about it. From the Embassy we took a taxi to the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. The taxi driver did not know the address, so he dropped us of somewhere in the campus. A bicycle rickshaw driver offered us a lift to the faculty of architecture, but we would not fit in with the three of us, so we decided to walk. The friendly cycler then showed us the direction when we got lost a bit. So we decided to let him and another driver cycle us to the faculty after all. In the end we wouldn't have found it without help. Our driver kept talking about his favorite football team, but I honestly don't know any teams in Bangladesh. Don't blame me. We overpayed them, made a picture of them with their rickshaws, and left to the faculty.<br /><br /><a href="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/msvensson/UE/3March2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px; float: left;" src="http://blackboard.tudelft.nl/bbcswebdav/users/msvensson/UE/3March2_s.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309388073531737938" border="0" /></a>The faculty was rather easy to distinguish from the faculty of civil engineering. You can see what I mean. Modernistic concrete building. Hooray (sorry Laura)! We met with some students, who were about to do a graduation thesis presentation. Everything felt so similar to TU Delft: tired students due to sleepless nights, scale models scattered around, presentation panels being rolled up safely, and a lot of Bengali student talk, which probably involved a lot of architecture as well. Professor Shayer Ghafur was a most inspiring man. We had a thorough chat with him about our research. Surprisingly, his ideas overlapped largely with our conclusions so far: he emphasized the livelihood, social factors, and the economical consequences of the disaster. His colleague at the planning department told us there were plans for new shelters that could protect both people and their livestock. Here we can also see some interested consequences due to the micro-credit system: poor people take a loan to buy a goat, then disaster strikes, killing the goat because there is no shelter for it. The owner comes back from the shelter, leaving him with nothing plus a debt. Result: a worse situation. We will be processing the information into a more formal report later on.<br /><br />When we headed back it had become dark. Dhaka became rather mysterious: street lamps did not work so that all the light came from informal shops' oil lamps or the traffic. The street was filled with bicycle rickshaws. All in all, words cannot describe this city. You need to hear and smell it. We will try to get some odor sample of what this city smells like. It at least includes food (peanuts) and burning of something (waste). The people are really interested in tall white foreign people. They'll say hi, shake your hand, giggle, smile, or just stare at you. The seem an honest people, giving back money when we overpay rickshaw cyclers for instance. But poverty is always around, which is sad and makes us uncomfortable at times. Ignoring people feels so rude. After all, we have too much and they have too little. We are trying to find ways to overcome the awkwardness. For instance, we could buy candies and give some to begging kids. Not sure how that will work out.<br /><br />We mapped most of our day with our GPS device, just to try it out. You can see the track at the right. To our (pleasant) suprise the result seemed more precise than back in Delft, this thing might come in handy after all.<br /><br />Tomorrow another day full of suprises and new encounters awaits.<br /></span>Diederikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05531381309591124518noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-36669094780601107822009-03-04T10:11:00.010+06:002009-04-18T21:41:05.787+06:00Happy Landings with Happy People<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_jSTRvkYak04/Sa4CEVr8J3I/AAAAAAAAADk/lcYSSV6y9x0/s1600-h/090304_diedriklikeswater.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_jSTRvkYak04/Sa4CEVr8J3I/AAAAAAAAADk/lcYSSV6y9x0/s200/090304_diedriklikeswater.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309183284280567666" /></a><p>After a mere 72 hours with no sleep, 3 flights hopping from Brussels to London, Doha and Dhaka with Diederik almost getting arrested on the plane (falsely accused for smoking in the toilet, communication error at stewardesses), and changing our perception on what luggage can be, we have landed in the biggest village on the planet; Dhaka. Dodging rickshaws and bicycles that were miraculously going against traffic, we have made it to a little Dutch oasis amidst the madness. We plan to swim and play darts all day long.</p>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516352432827469829noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5261579716262684998.post-71297479313867948182009-02-27T17:49:00.006+06:002009-03-04T23:24:01.047+06:00Presentation: week 4Before we head to areas of war and disaster we present you with our midterm presentation. You can skip through the presentation by pressing on the triangle buttons, and click on the fullscreen button for a bigger view. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span><span class="fullpost"><br /><div style="width:425px;text-align:left" id="__ss_1077299"><object style="margin:0px" width="425" height="355"><embed src="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=presentation-090227054541-phpapp02&stripped_title=presentation-1077299" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object></div></span>Diederikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05531381309591124518noreply@blogger.com0