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Cal Earth buildings are a new technique developed in California by Nader Khalli, which involves building homes using super adobe sacking, filled with a mix of earth and cement, which is coiled round to make low cost, low impact buildings. They are also very strong and resistant to Earthquakes, high winds and are water resistant. Our charity is building a village of these buildings in Nepal for a community of 65 children from poor backgrounds and staff.
Mission’s approach to linking UK corporate training and development programmes directly with sustainable development projects in poor rural communities around the world.
Concept:
Team development programmes that combine Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) objectives with effective training and development for corporate leaders & teams
has traditionally meant painting a school wall or digging ‘eco’ gardens within the boundaries of the M25.
Time and resources have always capped the impact of these programmes.
Mission has a refreshing approach to this area. We have teamed up with World of Rhythm to create a unique combination, working towards sustainable change.
The projects involve building domes for schools in the UK, which in turn creates the resources to build houses for poor rural communities around the world.
So what happened?
Frustrated by the lack of projects with real grass root benefits to the world’s poorest, Mission began to look for alternatives.
Firstly it established the aim; to link the activities of UK corporate organisations directly to tangible benefits in developing rural economies around the world.
Secondly it defined some principles against which projects would have to be assessed. These were:
Thirdly it drew up some plans for a typical programme which included one day programmes for corporate teams working in the UK but providing permanent shelter for poor rural communities in developing countries.
Shelter is a fundamental basic human right and one that we in the West take for granted. For many in poor rural communities around the world the prospect of owning their own house exists in dreams and not reality.
How does it work in practice?
The BIG IDEA
Corporate teams in one working day build a house/dome in a UK location that benefits a UK based charity, a school or similar organisation. By building this shelter in the UK an overseas rural community benefits on a ratio of 2:1 by receiving the resources to build 2 houses for the benefit of their community.
Practical steps are involved?
Options:
Throughout the process the UK based charity or organisation can use the experience to educate and inform a target audience. For example, identifying a rural community in Nepal could be used to educate and inform a class of UK pupils in primary or secondary school education.
The equipment – The buildings
Cal Earth buildings are a new technique developed in California by Nader Khalli, which involves building homes using super adobe sacking, filled with a mix of earth and cement, which is coiled round to make low cost, low impact buildings. They are also very strong and resistant to Earthquakes, high winds and are water resistant. Our charity, Pegasus Children’s Project Ltd, is building a village of these structures in Nepal for a community of 65 children and staff from poor backgrounds.
Concept:
Team development programmes that combine Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) objectives with effective training and development for corporate leaders & teams
has traditionally meant painting a school wall or digging ‘eco’ gardens within the boundaries of the M25.
Time and resources have always capped the impact of these programmes.
Mission has a refreshing approach to this area. We have teamed up with World of Rhythm to create a unique combination, working towards sustainable change.
The projects involve building domes for schools in the UK, which in turn creates the resources to build houses for poor rural communities around the world.
So what happened?
Frustrated by the lack of projects with real grass root benefits to the world’s poorest, Mission began to look for alternatives.
Firstly it established the aim; to link the activities of UK corporate organisations directly to tangible benefits in developing rural economies around the world.
Secondly it defined some principles against which projects would have to be assessed. These were:
- Transparent – clear direct links into poor rural economy
- Measurable – benefits linked specifically to concrete improvements in people’s lives in the rural economy
- Technology neutral – these improvements rely on readily available local resources, materials and expertise
- Cost effective – a disproportionate improvement in peoples lives stemming from minimal financial investment
- Time effective – Time effective – corporate teams can create tangible benefits in under one day – “build a house for a family in one day”
Thirdly it drew up some plans for a typical programme which included one day programmes for corporate teams working in the UK but providing permanent shelter for poor rural communities in developing countries.
Shelter is a fundamental basic human right and one that we in the West take for granted. For many in poor rural communities around the world the prospect of owning their own house exists in dreams and not reality.
How does it work in practice?
The BIG IDEA
Corporate teams in one working day build a house/dome in a UK location that benefits a UK based charity, a school or similar organisation. By building this shelter in the UK an overseas rural community benefits on a ratio of 2:1 by receiving the resources to build 2 houses for the benefit of their community.
Practical steps are involved?
- Step 1: The corporate team select a UK based partner from a list of established UK based charities, schools and other non-governmental organisations.
- Step 2: The corporate team selects their partner rural community as the focus for their efforts over the programme.
- Step 3: The corporate team and the rural community establish contact and exchange information on the scope of the project. Realistic objectives are determined by what can be achieved given the group size, time frame, number of buildings and their size.
- Step 4: With objectives agreed, dates and location can be confirmed for the construction. The corporate team build in the UK as part of their (CSR) programme with Mission. Shortly after construction the rural community build replica buildings in their community.
- Step 5: Pictures and experiences are exchanged and the next project is identified for additional groups to focus upon.
Options:
Throughout the process the UK based charity or organisation can use the experience to educate and inform a target audience. For example, identifying a rural community in Nepal could be used to educate and inform a class of UK pupils in primary or secondary school education.
The equipment – The buildings
Cal Earth buildings are a new technique developed in California by Nader Khalli, which involves building homes using super adobe sacking, filled with a mix of earth and cement, which is coiled round to make low cost, low impact buildings. They are also very strong and resistant to Earthquakes, high winds and are water resistant. Our charity, Pegasus Children’s Project Ltd, is building a village of these structures in Nepal for a community of 65 children and staff from poor backgrounds.
Benefits to the individual /organisation
Our chosen charity
Given Mission’s links with Everest and Nepal, Mission has chosen the Pegasus Children’s Project Ltd as the focus for all of its charitable efforts.
India Children’s Project
The mission of the India Children’s Project is to create a long-term future for disadvantaged children around the world by providing a loving and ecologically sustainable environment for their childhood and beyond.
The charity was started in 2004. Their first project was to help street children of Kathmandu, Nepal. In 2006 Pegasus bought the land where they are currently based on the side of the Kathmandu valley and built the Happy Home Hostel, which presently supports 67 children and 8 staff. The children range in age from 3 to 16. They have used local labour for all the building tasks, under the direction of their UK building consultancy partnership, bringing new skills and employment to the local community.
Short term aims
Currently the India Children's project is working to build a community that is self sustaining, both from an ecological and an economic point of view. Their objectives for 2008 are to:
Summary of the India children's project medium term aims
The next stage in achieving their sustainability goals is to acquire/develop more land for:
The India children's project longer term aims
In the longer term, the India children's project plan is to take what they have learnt from this initial project and replicate it in other needy parts of the world. They are also looking for land in the UK to set up a creative arts center for training, development & mentoring.
- Develops a higher purpose through an awareness of the global community
- Instils a real sense of meaning into team building activities
- Sense of achievement – building a house makes a difference
- The physical nature of the activity fosters an increased sense of wellbeing through the integration of mind, heart & body; insights from the event are not just concepts but fully embodied
- Encourages strong team spirit through trust, communication & co-operation
- Learning a new system of sustainable building techniques for the future
- Alongside the building activity will be training, learning & development sessions exploring creativity, leadership, presence & communication.
Our chosen charity
Given Mission’s links with Everest and Nepal, Mission has chosen the Pegasus Children’s Project Ltd as the focus for all of its charitable efforts.
India Children’s Project
The mission of the India Children’s Project is to create a long-term future for disadvantaged children around the world by providing a loving and ecologically sustainable environment for their childhood and beyond.
The charity was started in 2004. Their first project was to help street children of Kathmandu, Nepal. In 2006 Pegasus bought the land where they are currently based on the side of the Kathmandu valley and built the Happy Home Hostel, which presently supports 67 children and 8 staff. The children range in age from 3 to 16. They have used local labour for all the building tasks, under the direction of their UK building consultancy partnership, bringing new skills and employment to the local community.
Short term aims
Currently the India Children's project is working to build a community that is self sustaining, both from an ecological and an economic point of view. Their objectives for 2008 are to:
- Build a house for the Project Director’s family to live on site
- Complete the building of accommodation to house up to 75 children + 10 staff
- Improve the security of the site around the perimeter
- Complete the on-site school facility for the smaller children
- Stabilise and protect the land from damage the monsoon season can cause
- Reinforce and stabilise the access to the site by road
- Complete the on-site medical centre
- Build a 1kW pico-hydro converter to convert our running water source into power for the community
- Complete the transition to using bio-gas, turning sewage into cooking gas, and remove the dependence on kerosene
- Install a wind/solar hybrid system to produce additional power for the community
- Install a solar thermal heater system to provide hot water for the community (complete)
- Consider the purchase of further land for agriculture before the price rises too much more
- Repay outstanding loans now due
- Commence building infrastructure for on-site vocational training
Summary of the India children's project medium term aims
The next stage in achieving their sustainability goals is to acquire/develop more land for:
- Planting crops for the community’s food source and to sell at local markets to raise income
- To set up training initiatives for local women / mothers of the children to make handicraft for local and wholesale export businesses
- To build a small resort (pool and café) to attract day visitors to the project, creating income for the village and work for the older children
- To instigate local tree planting initiatives on our site and with the local community
- To help the local community to capitalise on their new building skills by working with other local projects as interest in the technology mounts
- To build a local community centre or “village hall” facility to help the residents integrate into the surrounding community
- Apply to UK based carbon offset schemes for funding to support their renewable energy production activities
The India children's project longer term aims
In the longer term, the India children's project plan is to take what they have learnt from this initial project and replicate it in other needy parts of the world. They are also looking for land in the UK to set up a creative arts center for training, development & mentoring.
