Post-Tsunami Reconstruction

and Rehabilitation Project of

Practical Action in Sri Lanka.

Asoka Ajantha

Content • Post Tsunami Context

• Post Tsunami Housing Project of PA

• Project achievements

• Post occupancy evaluation

• Research methodology

• Main changes after five years

• Research findings

• What we do differently

• Conclusion

Post Tsunami Context

Fully Damaged houses 67,000

Partially damaged houses More than 70,000

Post Tsunami Housing Project of PA

• Objectives of the project:

– To promote the use of cost effective environmentally friendly technologies and adopting participatory and inclusive planning, designing to post tsunami housing reconstruction

– To strengthen capacity, skills and knowledge that are essential for high quality reconstruction

Technologies promoted

• Rat-trap masonry technology

• Filler slab technology

• I channel roofing (clay tile)

• Energy efficient brick kilns

Project Achievements

• Built 175 houses in five districts

• Trained nearly 1000 construction

tradesmen

• Publications on quality of construction,

maintenance of houses etc.

• Shortlisted in 2008 at the international

competition organized by BSHF

Partially Completed House (tile roof)

Partially Completed House (tile

roof)

Research Methodology

• Formal and informal discussions

• Questioner survey

• Focus group discussions

• Key informant discussions

• field visit to sites

Main changes after five years

• New comers in many houses

• 28% temporally or permanently extended

the houses

• 88.75% paying tax for local authorities

• 100% electrification

Findings

• Users’ satisfaction (overall)

– 61.5% yes

• Attractive house design and aesthetic appearance

• Cool interior temperature

• Completed house

Completed Houses (roof slab)

Findings

• Users’ satisfaction (overall)

– 38.5% somewhat

• Excessively hot interior with concrete flat roof

• No plastering

• Construction defects (due to improper fixing of valance

and barge boards, allowing entry of rats, chimney too low,)

Construction defects

Findings

• Changes to house

– 72% No

– 28% Yes

• permanent/temporary extension, Plastering (not

fully)

Houses with extensions

Findings

• Damages due to natural disasters

– No damages

– Some exposed bricks just above plinth in one

house showed damage from local floods.

Findings

• Selling property

– One beneficiary had sold the property to

invest in a textile business

Findings

• Replication of the technologies

– No any house built using these technologies

(except IFRC) and beneficiaries not aware

about replication

– Trained masons are engaging n conventional

constriction technologies

Findings

• Livelihood improvement

– Trained masons are engaging in contraction

but not in rat-trap masonry bond

construction

Lessons (doing differently)

• Since project having many drawbacks

regarding the technology used, priority

given for the technologies which are familiar

for local communities and constructions

tradesmen.

• Tropical design criteria are introduced for

house designing and construction which will

ensure energy efficiency in house envelop

and thermal comfort in-side the houses

Lessons (doing differently)

• The total budget for the capacity building

component (1/3) was very high but the

long term impact is very less

• No mason is now engaging in this

technology but conventional technologies

in housing construction. Therefore, the

capacity building component of the

project will be planed carefully

Lessons (doing differently)

• Beneficiaries complained about the minor

defects on finishing. Proper quality

controlling measures to be executed to

avoid technical errors in construction

• Component to project life cycle added to

investigate long term impacts and

beneficiary satisfactions

Conclusion

• The findings of this are contradictory to

the findings of post occupancy evaluation

carried out just after the project

completion.

• The technology (rat-trap bond) was not

mainstreamed in Sri Lanka

Thank You