Caribbean Disaster
Mitigation Project
Implemented by the Organization of American States
Unit of Sustainable Development and Environment
for the USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and the Caribbean Regional Program
PREFACE
The publication of this booklet forms part of the Informal Housing Retrofit and Safe Construction Pilot Project administered in Dominica by the National Development Foundation of Dominica (NDFD) with technical input from Safe Shelter Initiative (SSI).
The Project is sponsored by the Caribbean Disaster Mitigation Project (CDMP), a regional disaster mitigation project being implemented by the OAS Department of Regional Development and Environment (DRDE), in conjunction with the Regional Housing & Urban Development Office, Caribbean (RHUDO/CAR), located in the USAID Jamaica Mission, and USAID missions in the region. CDMP is funded by the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The objective of CDMP is to establish public/private sector mechanisms for disaster mitigation which measurably lessen the loss of life, reduce physical and economic damage, and shorten the disaster recovery period. The project addresses some of the major issues in the disaster-development linkage in the Caribbean: the need to reduce natural hazard vulnerability in existing and planned development in order to achieve sustainable growth; mapping of hazard prone and environmentally fragile areas and the use of information in public awareness and development decision-making; and, the capacity of the insurance industry to better manage risk and maintain adequate catastrophe protection for the region.
The Informal Housing Retrofit and Safe Construction Pilot Project is a two year activity, the primary goal thereof being to assist governments, contractors, artisans and small builders throughout the eastern Caribbean to adopt appropriate and cost effective hurricane vulnerability reduction measures in the informal housing sector. The project implemented in Dominica has three main components: (1) Public awareness, (2) Training of persons involved in the construction industry, particularly, small builders and (3) A revolving loan fund for house retrofitting. Seed financing for the loan program is provided by the Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF) based in Maryland, USA.
The terms of reference are:
1. Study the technical aspects and cost effectiveness of the retrofitting program and prepare appropriate training material for use in the Project.
2. Design and carry out public education and awareness campaign at the national level.
3. Organize and administer training workshops for builders, artisans and homeowners in selected communities.
4. Develop a series of practical training manuals targeting specific aspects of safe construction and function of buildings.
The information presented in this booklet is intended to assist homeowners and small builders in the informal housing sector in applying safety measures for reducing housing vulnerability when building or retrofitting.