miércoles, 28 de abril de 2010

Concrete Blocks - 2

ON THIS POST, I would like to share the second activity about the making of concrete blocks to be used as floor in houses. As you must know, by the first activity on this initiative, the main goal is to provide the posibility the poor residents of Chimbote may count on concrete floor at low price for their houses and this way avoding that family members, specially little children, may get some kind of disease, breathe air mixed with dust, etc. because of having soil floor. In this second activity Mr. Carlos Alayo along with an assistant were making more concrete blocks.

They were working an entire afternoon, even until night, at brickwork San Gerónimo located in Ramal Playa village very near fr. Jacks Davis' parish. It is expected this initiative will be able to get better, in some way, the quality of life of the poor residents of Chimbote and bring them dignity living in houses worthy of a human being.

Click on the image below or on the link to see more PICTURES.


martes, 6 de abril de 2010

Papercrete Panels

THROUGH THIS NEW POST, I would like to share with you all about a new initiative related to development of affordable housing here in Chimbote-Perú. It is about PAPERCRETE PANELS PROJECT. It was born with the purpose of making possible that poor families in the area are able to acquire a decent housing to live. It is opportune to highlight the invaluable contribution and selfless support of Mr. Earl Milbrath (from Minnesota-USA) as a catalyst element for this project. Presently he is the president of the Economic Development Council (EDC) which is a committee operating under the direction of the non-profit organization Los Amigos del Padre Juan.

Mr. Earl Milbrath is doing his best, through several ways, for all programs of CHOI to keep running. At this point I must say that CHOI is sponsoring this Papercrete Project. Mr. Orlando Bermúdez, the present executive director of CHOI, is in charge of this project and Mr. Carlos Alayo is in charge of the technical part of the project. At the end of the last month, March, after spending some time putting together resources needed to the project, Mr. Carlos Alayo started its implementation.

But you may be wondering yourself, what is papercrete? Well, it comes from the union of two words: Paper + Concrete = Papercrete. Let me share a little more about it. Papercrete is a recently developed construction material, an amazing building material. It is made from recycled paper with a small amount of cement (concrete) and sand added. The ratio paper/concrete/sand is 3/1/1. Before making the mixture, paper should has been soaked in water for several days. Then it must be crumbled using an appropriate proportion of water. It would be better if it is used a mixer to do this process.

After paper is crumbled it is time to prepare mixture. The paper/concrete/sand combination is stirred in a large barrel, much like a blender, until all paper is shredded and evenly mixed with the concrete and sand. After mixture has an uniform texture it is poured in any type of mold, prepared in advance. It is allowed to dry for a while and already it is gotten papercrete products: bricks for walls, blocks, etc, to use them in constructions. Papercrete can be mortared, drilled, hammered, nailed, used as plaster and as an infill between poles or studs.

To make papercrete, it can be used nearly any kind of paper. Cardboard, glossy magazine stock, advertising brochures, junk mail, etc. Some types of paper work better than others, but all types work. Newsprint is best. Waterproofed paper and cardboard, such as butcher paper, beer cartons, etc. are harder to break down in water. Catalogs, magazines and other publications are fine.

Back to this Papercrete Project, the place chosen to run it was Saint Mauricio Brickwork, property of an American lady named Veronica Miuller and located in Ramal Playa village here in Chimbote. So, Mr. Carlos Alayo was there and made a planch of papercrete. People in charge of this project are gonna try to make bricks of papercrete as well. This time is to make prototypes and test papercrete products.

Click on the image below or on the link to see more PICTURES.


domingo, 4 de abril de 2010

Concrete Blocks - 1

IN AN EFFORT TO ASSIST, one way or another, the poor people of Chimbote, the non-profit organization Chimbote Oportunidades Ilimitadas CHOI (Chimbote Unlimited Oportunities), whose present administrator is Mr. Orlando Bermúdez, has sponsored the making of concrete blocks which can be used as floor in houses. They will be able to be purchased by those people disadvantaged at a very cheap price. Mr. Carlos Alayo, coordinator of CHOI's educational programs called Dollas For Scholars and Leaders For Tomorrow, is in charge of the performance of this work which is possible because of funds provided by CHOI, which coming from benefactors specially Americans.

At the moment, the work is at stage of making of small-scale concrete blocks. People who are in charge of this work are trying to make these blocks considering the lowest possible production cost for the price of each concrete block to be accessible for the poor residents of Chimbote. After the making, they are going to test the quality of the blocks to make sure that they are well done.

Click on the image below or on the lick to see more PICTURES.


sábado, 3 de abril de 2010

CHOI Training Event - Day 2

CONTINUING WITH the two-day training event organized by CHOI, which was headed to customers of one of its programs called Micro lending and all people interested in it, and having been held the first day of training on Friday, February 26th, 2010 now I would like to share with you all about the second day of training that took place on Monday, March 01st, 2010 at 3:30 pm in Youth House here in Chimbote. The session was opened by the administrator of CHOI Mr. Orlando Bermúdez.

The main speaker was Mr. Jorge Villar Reyes, who is a business administrator and past manager (2004 - 2006) of the Asociación Civil Apoyo Familiar ACAF (Family Support Civil Association) an association that operates under direction of The non-profit organization called Los Amigos del Padre Juan (The Father Jack's Friends.) Mr. Jorge was sharing with attendees the topic: Marketing for Enterpreneurs. Here are some items that Mr. Jorge Villar shared:

  • A look at market
  • What do other businesses offer that small businesses don't?
  • Against whom we compete?
  • What is marketing?
  • Practical functions of marketing
  • Creative marketing
  • If you use marketing, can you attract customers?
  • Let's analyze your business: Who are your customers? do you know who your competition is? what is the value of your products or services?
  • Marketing mix
  • Do satisfied customers always return?
  • Main elements to succeed in your business
  • Ideas to generate more sales in your business, etc.

This way the two day training event was performed having on mind sowing seeds for creation of new small business and strengthening existing ones.

Click on the image below or on the link to see more PICTURES.