The Kichwa / Peace Corps Sustainable House Project, Redux

Many of you contributed to the Kichwa / Peace Corps Sustainable House Project we started raising money for at the end of last year. In fact, one of my Christmas presents was the final donation to complete our funding goal. In February, work on the house began in earnest, and this month saw its completion. Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to bus up and lend a hand, but the good news is that the house is there and open to any travelers who are inclined to make the village of Tingo a stop on their itinerary. Don't be fooled; its tiny size belies the gigantic welcome you would receive if you ended up visiting.

Here's a rundown of the project's progress over the past couple of months.

***Note: This text is lifted from our project's wrap-up report on the Global Giving website. I ain't no plagiarizer.***

(Rebar corners)

(Foundation)

In March we completed the Tingo Sustainable House Project. The community provided labor and land, and several Peace Corps Ecuador Volunteers assisted with construction, which began in February. The completed house includes an East-facing solar bottle wall...

(Bottle wall)

...composting toilet, rain catchment system, clean wood-burning stove, and natural straw-ventilation for the roof.

(Installing straw roof)

(Roof plastic and beams)

(Roof sheeting)

We also experimented with an alternative, naturally insulated form for the concrete floor.

(Floor and foundation)

(Floor poured)

Perforated brick partition walls separate interior spaces but allow maximum sunlight to filter through the house, which is organized into an entrance hall, kitchen and bedroom, with an attached bathroom.

(Brickwork)

We hope that this simple but considered program will shape how new homes are built in the area; typically, local houses lack even basic space-planning.

Extra bricks, unused in the building construction, will be donated to the community for clean stoves in existing houses.

(PCV Ronald and a ton of bricks)

We hope that the low cost of several building elements included in the house (straw insulation, wood stoves, insulated concrete floors) will encourage residents to copy those techniques in future construction. It is probably unlikely that other elements of the house – bottle walls, brick masonry – will be replicated elsewhere, however, and our final price tag of $2900 slightly exceeds our original budget and average costs for local homes.

(Plastering)

(PCVs Mike, Isa, and Angela on site)

We hope the finished building will promote the nascent community tourism initiative developed by indigenous residents in the area, and provide temporary housing for volunteers working in Tingo.

(Front door)

(Exterior)

(Interior straw roof)

(Interior entrance)

(Interior entrance and wall. The pipe sticking out of the wall is where the sink will go.)

(Interior window view)
(Admit it, you would love to have a view like that)
(Well you can)
(Just come to Tingo)

(Kitchen looking into bedroom)

(Interior bedroom wall, and clean stove is on the left. The bedroom is already equipped with a bunk bed, and in the photo men are putting in a desk, afixed to the wall in the corner.)

(View of the completed house. The blue tank outside is already full with rain water and hooked up to the house.)

Next week the villagers will put on the final touches: another coat of paint, cleaning the floor, and generally tidying the place up. And the house design and project budget will be printed as a poster, to be hung outside--the idea being that anyone in town can check out how and where to buy materials for a stove, roof, rain catchment, etc. for their own house.

***THANKS to all who contributed. You guys made this project possible!***