I’m kinda giggling here because the timing (and I use this word because no other is quite this fitting ) is so serendipitous, in that I now have a distributable set of drawings in hand at a moment when the full body of the membership is made aware of this discussion by the most recent issue of Scantlings and this being post number fifty just adds to the sense of oddity which is part of what has made this whole experience so interesting.

Friend, neighbor and fellow member, Matt Steele is the first of many who have suggested they see reason to give time to whatever becomes of this, to have literally done so, He created a cadfile from what was not much more than the proverbial idea scratched on a napkin, tweaked it once and suggested he would be willing to do what the analysis and any input suggests need be…

Anyone who would like to view the file and an overview of how the frame is to be joined, or float an idea or point out the obvious or maybe the not so obvious is welcome and encouraged to e me and help come of this whatever it is to become.

Bump and bumping the best.

Will,
Mayhap some insight on how our efforts would best serve a needing population and not get lost in the noise. Note (from the Nature Convservancy Newsletter) : Also, please join me for a free, live online chat, sponsored by The Nature Conservancy, on Thursday, February 24, 2005 at 4pm EST.
Yes they do it in the woods and under the water.
deralte

I would be happy to spend some time looking at the file, or anything else to help.
Count me in. Tom

I'm getting in late, but put my name into the mix also. Thanks...

To further confuse the issue check out the USAID list of participating organizations. Read the disclaimer carefully. Our potential 'partners' are buried in there somewhere as we mount our educational effort with fringe benefits.

http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_near_east/tsunami/ngolist.html

It is great to see the outpouring of support from within the Guild membership. I first read about it in Scantlings and have followed up on the thread, and i'm left wondering how best our abilities as timber framers can help those in need.

As I watch the news and look at the various websites of those working to provide relief, it is hard to ignore that buildings are overwhelmingly block and rebar. What would be an appropriate infil material for a timber structure there? Would american woods stand up to the climate and insects of south east asia in the small rural applications I think we have in mind? Would such a building be accepted by the local population?

I understand the desire to donate time and ability to things we believe are worthwhile and for which we are passionate, but having lived and worked in many developing nations, I have seen a great number of well intentioned projects fail for reasons that are difficult to comprehend let alone predict.

I believe that our best chance for helping and providing assistance to those in need as a result of the Tsunami would be through cash donations. It can be through the methods in which we choose to generate the money that we demonstrate and utilize our passion and abilities as timber framers.

Just like we do best at rendezvous and other guild functions, lets apply the 'Keep it super simple' (KISS) principle. What we can do right now on our own is create frames and educate others about the beuaty, strength and history of timber frames . We are not experts in international logistics, or asian building customs, or identifying areas of greatest need in disaster relief, so why get into that.

Let's strike while the iron is hot and make something tangible happen. The longer we draw this whole process out, the less interest will remain. Look at the pattern of subsiding entries on the thread as an example.

Talk of an international project is initially very exciting, but interest tends to dissipate as the number of logistical and practical challenges eventually lead a great number of otherwise interested folks to feel overwhelmed and hopeless. Showing interest in helping doesn't qualify as helping. Actions help.

Let's move towards actions that we can undertake within the scope of our knowledge and resources and see if we can't use these actions to provide meaningful assistance.

It is not my intention to disuade people from thinking big, jsut a fear that in doing so we will lose an opportunity to have done something timely.

Steve

Steve,

A lot of what you say has been mentioned earlier in the thread. It is, I think, the general consensus that donating a product of our labor is more satisfying than sending cash. While we are not experts in the fields you mention, we are connected in the world to some who are. I think that one reason for the lessening traffic has been our anticipation of the plans that Will mentioned. It is extremely difficult to sell the idea of this project without a product to display. With these plans now ready for distribution and review, I think we'll see renewed energy and vigor on the thread. I have had the opportunity to share Will's design with someone who recently returned from Java. He feels that the frame would be well received and would make the recipient feel quite wealthy. The fact that the frame is seismically stable makes it more attractive, not less. It is still possible to build the walls with local techniques and materials, but since we won't be putting a large roof on poorly braced masonry walls, the building should last much longer.

As to sriking while the iron is hot, I think it will be hot for a long time to come. I think we should proceed with deliberation and forethought. We need to find the right partner, the right recipient, and the right design. When these are all identified, then we can really move forward. It is my belief that we will be able to field at least ten mini rendezvous around the country, producing at least ten frames. In addition to these mini rendezvous, people will be able to cut and send individual pieces for more frames. In the end, I would like to think that we could fill a container with frames.

Thinking big is not a problem. Recognizing that we are thinking big and planning appropriately is what we do. Look at Guelph, Sechelt, Russel-Colbath, Salem, and Angola. We do big well.

This is, of course, my two cents and may not represent the opinions of anyone else. That's OK because I am having all the fun.

Bob

Bob,

Thanks for your response. I am all for going big if that is the direction that folks believe is right. I too apreciate the desire to send products of individual labor instead of faceless dollars. I will continue to follow the thread and stand willing to contribute in any way I can.

Steve

While I think that this effort is needed, and, indeed, Noble, one of the key elements in the design process is sorely lacking, that being a consultation with the client, a determination of need, and how best the design, and implementation, serves and fulfills the requirements of the recipients.

Things on the ground are a convoluted Mess, to say the least. The Tsunami has exaserbated existing problems many orders of magnitude, political, religious, and economic issues have been upended, upsatged, by Dire Humanitarian concerns, but, not eliminated.

Reading through this series of posts several questions come to mind;

1.) Who is the intended beneficiary of this project?
* How are they best served?
- Are these long-term, family unit structures, Long-term community structures, short-term relief shelters, shelters to serve NGO's on the ground, and other relief efforts.

2.) What are the cultural needs of the people in the affected areas?
* Will these buildings be accepted in the long term,
* Will they meet the basic needs of the Locals? Environmental, cultrual, logistical

3.) Is one model suited to all affected areas?

4.) What is the local level of craftsmanship?

5.) What organizations exist which could serve the function of a "Client", and, answer these and many more questions?

At this time it seems WE are the client, and the need is to "Do Something", anything, even if that effort does not culminate in a perfect fit for those displaced and damaged by this staggering Natural Disaster.

While the old saw "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions" may well fit here, I do believe that the desire to respond to another's suffering is one of the wonders of being Human, and of being alive.

To do something, anything, to begin, is not in question. The logistics of what to do, and where to start is. Just as a full compliment of Doctors arriving at a fully staffed Hospital that is in great need of supplies is an example of an effort gone wrong, is it worse than the callous disregard of need altoghether?

There will be accidents and mayhaps along the way, but, let us answer some of the basic questions first, such as identifying the question before arriving at the answer.

This may be something that someone has already thought of but ....has anyone thought to contact the government(s) directly? I would start by contacting the ambssador from the USA and ask him who to contact in the affected areas.

While we feel the best thing to do would be to build homes....maybe they would be more reseptive to bridges or docks...or even a memorial to the lost>

Bob