TEACHING EARTHQUAKE-RESISTANT BUILDING PRACTICES IN
GUATEMALA:
DISSEMINATING EXISTING KNOWLEDGE TO THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT MOST
Like most geoscience professors, I have spent years teaching American undergraduate students about earthquakes. But increased geologic knowledge alone does not prevent earthquakes from becoming disasters, especially in the developing world.
Building collapse in response to shaking still accounts for most earthquake fatalities, even though earthquake-resistant building techniques have been developed for the concrete frame and masonry block construction typical in the developing world. The amateur builders and local contractors who are responsible for most housing and small-scale commercial construction in rural areas are typically unaware of these techniques, or have heard that such techniques require more, and prohibitively expensive, materials. However, the principal earthquake-resistant building technique – Confined Masonry – is highly effective for non-engineered buildings, and requires only modest changes in customary design and building practices.
During a recent sabbatical I had the opportunity to teach earthquake-resistant building techniques in rural Guatemala, although I am neither a builder nor an engineer. I developed a 1-hour presentation using a laptop computer and small portable projector. I used photographs of local buildings and simple graphics with minimal captions to illustrate best/poor practices with yes/no labels and to demonstrate basic design principles. Breakable models allowed me to show how and why the techniques worked during ground shaking. Manuals with additional information and examples (in Spanish and copiously illustrated for a low-literacy audience) were provided to each attendee, for later reference and the possibility of propagating this information forward. Most remote villages had access to sufficient electricity to run a small projector, and there was little difficulty in finding partners capable of providing running translation into local language(s). The most challenging aspect of this project was developing a working relationship with a local organization willing and able to assist with scheduling, publicity, and generally connecting me with appropriate audiences.
My experience suggests that effective teaching, a skill that most geoscientists have and practice every day in their classrooms and workplaces, is the most critical tool for providing meaningful assistance with this and many other geoscience-related development issues. Expert knowledge, fluency in local languages, years of local experience and cultural insight are all useful but can be provided or developed through relationships with local partners.
I am actively seeking funding to continue with this work as opportunities arise.
I presented a poster describing this project at the Geological Society of America Cordilleran Section Meeting in 2013. Link to poster (8 MB pdf).
A paper describing this work, Increasing resilience to earthquakes through educating community builders: Teaching earthquake-resistant building techniques in Guatemala, was recently published in The Geological Society of America Special Paper 520: Geoscience for the Public Good and Global Development: Toward a Sustainable Future (Greene, 2016). Reprints are available on request.