Habitat is a fundamental human need. People require protection from the elements, somewhere to raise families, somewhere to work from and land to call their own. Yet 20% of the world's population are either homeless or live in very poor housing. The majority of them are the extreme poor in developing countries. Poor families in these countries are forced to improvise, either because building materials are too costly or because good building land is too expensive.

Engineers Without Borders UK work to date:

Placements:

• PRODECI: A volunteer's blog documenting his design and construction of built infrastructure placement in Ecuador in 2007
• PRODECI: A volunteer's casestudy documenting his design and construction of built infrastructure placement in Ecuador in 2007
• ACTED: A volunteer's blog documenting his disaster relief reduction placement in Indonesia in 2009
• REDES: A volunteer's casestudy documenting his investigating into housing and sanitation in rural communities placement in El Salvador in 2009
• Shelter Associates: A volunteer's blog documenting her GIS mapping placement in India in 2009

Research:

• Structural analysis of geodesic domes - Marek Kubik
• A sustainability approach to standards for rammed earth construction in Bhutan - Zareen Sethna
• Bamboo housing in Pabal - Jaspreet Grewal
• How mud bricks work: using unsaturated soil mechanic principles to explain the material properties of earth buildings - Paul Jaquin
• Extending the collapse time of non-engineered masonry buildings under seismic loading - J Macabuag and S Bhattacharya
• A critical review of retrofitting methods for unreinforced masonry structures - A Smith and T Redman
• Local gumpole timbers and mud bricks: an example of the UK building industry's international contribution - Laura Smith

Current opportunities with Engineers Without Borders UK:

Placements:

• Shelter Centre: resources research and dissemination - Switzerland
• PRODECI: Assistance in the design and construction of built infrastructure - Ecuador
• ACTED: Disaster relief reduction - Indonesia
• NSET: Developing the governmental schools earthquake safety programme - Nepal
• REDES: Investigating into housing and sanitation in rural communities - El Salvador
• Shelter Associates: GIS mapping - India
• KACCAD: Construction of a community and volunteer centre - Uganda

Research:

Available Projects 2009:

1. Structural analysis of a geodesic dome
2. Cooler housing in hot climates
3. Bamboo as a structural component

Other interesting links:

• Successful organisations in the developing world
• BASIN
• GPA
• Builders Without Borders
• Ecomposites

(If there are other things that you would like to see on this page then contact us)