Appropriate Housing Technology in Peru: The Socio-Economic & Cultural Feasibility of Using Tyre-Strips for Seismic Reinforcement of Adobe Houses

Abstract

Adobe (mud and straw block) construction is the main method of house construction in many developing countries. Simple designs can be built by householders using locally sourced materials. Unfortunately, adobe has very poor seismic resistance, and many people die or are injured in earthquake prone developing countries, from the collapse of their adobe homes. Peru is one of the top ten most seismically active regions in the world, where earthquakes have killed over 70,000 people since 1966. The capital, Lima, was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1746, and despite its extreme seismic risk, currently has a population of 8 million, many of whom live in adobe houses. In 2004, Victoria University of Wellington began research into the reinforcement of adobe buildings using tyre strips derived from used tyres. This promises to be a cheap and effective reinforcement technology. A preliminary cost model determined that used tyres from Wellington alone could supply sufficient tyre strips to reinforce 1,215 adobe houses per year, and that these could be provided free of charge, if production costs were subsidised by savings made by not putting the tyres in landfills.

Although this promises to benefit both the New Zealand environment and poor communities in Peru, many previous adobe reinforcement projects have failed to be adopted by the communities that they are intended to assist. A field investigation was therefore conducted to view local conditions, and to determine the socio economic, cultural, organisational and other barriers that may undermine community acceptance of tyre-strip technology, and to obtain in-country data to further refine the existing cost model. During the field study, there was widespread evidence of families living in unsafe adobe buildings, many of which were two or three storeys high. A total of 23 Spanish language interviews were conducted in and around Lima over three weeks, involving community representatives, development aid agencies, research organisations, government departments and logistics companies. This study confirmed that although tyre-strip reinforced adobe is likely to be the most cost-effective technology for adobe reinforcement, there are barriers preventing its uptake by rural communities. It appears that no existing adobe reinforcement technology represents a sustainable solution for poor communities. Nevertheless, tyre-strip technology may be an appropriate technology for use in large scale reconstruction aid programmes that can deliver reinforced houses free of charge, in conjunction with capacity building and community participation.