Let's hear it people..

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Ended the semester with a girl night out with the housemates. Heart you people loads lah can! Random pics.. I look so good in yellow lah ryt? Muahahah! All around the school aka city..

Thats outside the international student centre. And the lake.. where 2 ducks are always found together.

The elder hall and the state museum library

The days I grew black eyes...

Because of this frigging essay, I did not get my beauty sleep for the weekend. I am glad that I took all those time though. I jolly well did a gr8 job on both the essay and presentation. Pray for my distinction people. Ameen....

Poor communities like Bangladesh face problems like poverty and frequent natural calamities resulting in the loss of homes. According to Singleton (2003), "poverty is a lack of wealth and the denial of various choices and opportunities basic to human development". Engineers play a major in designing sustainable housing in poor communities in difficult climates. In order to improve sustainable housing, the use of available natural resources and appropriate technology is essential. This paper explores three significant issues associated with sustainable housing in poor communities in difficult climates and the role engineering innovations play in improving such sustainable housing in the future. The three issues which will be discussed are the insufficient supply of fresh drinking water, the depletion of building materials and finally, the lack of fuel.

Water is a daily necessity in our everyday lives. It is very important such that in some areas where severe drought occurs, water supply was cut from neighbouring countries as the water was not enough. In Bangladesh, there is an increase in the number of people (from 65 million people in 1998 to 90 million people in 2000) who were affected by arsenic toxins due to collecting water from polluted tube wells (Islam 2000 cited in Mclean & Moore 2005). Water-related disease resulted in the death of a child every eight seconds (Islamic Relief 2004 cited in Mclean & Moore 2005). A simple solution to these problems can be storing natural water. The most well-known suitable technology used in Kenya was concrete jars, used as storage tanks to collect rain water (Pfafflin & Ziegler). However, water stored in the tanks might not be drinkable after being kept for a long time. This can be solved by using a simple filter in the tanks or by installing inexpensive hand pumps for the poor communities. Pipes can then be built from the tank leading to the houses. According to Singleton (2003), this promotes time and energy saving for the women and young girls in South Africa from having to collect water from the wells which is usually located very far away. Another useful method is rainwater harvesting. Rainwater harvesting allows the community to have access to potable water and sanitation. However, suitable materials are needed to build the roofs in order to obtain clean water. If the material used is inappropriate, water can be dirtied or poisoned once it comes in contact with basic chemical substance which is not easily disposable from such surfaces (DTU, 1998, 2001 cited in Mclean and Moore 2005). Thus, with appropriate materials and technology, cleaner water will be supplied to houses and the risk of water-related illnesses like malaria and cholera can be avoided.

Bamboo, together with reed, palm leaf and earth are common materials used to build a Bangladeshi house (Muktadir and Hassan 1985 cited in Mclean & Moore 2005). Unfortunately, based on Nurazzaman (2004), these materials are becoming rare. This is manifested in the drastic rise in price (SKAT 1991 cited in Mclean and Moore 2005). Fortunately, engineering has come up with ideas to build homes using alternative materials. Johannesburg is a good example of a city in South Africa using alternative materials. It has endorsed an eco-housing policy where houses are built out of locally available renewable resources. Burnett (2007) claims that by using a technique called cobbing, "thick mud walls can be created from mixing sand, clay, earth and water". Cob is known to be long-lasting as seen in cob houses in England. It is beneficial as it is termite resistant and acts as an insulator trapping heat in winter and is cooling in summer. Another alternative material includes sand lime which can be burnt to produce building lime from the "waste from the shell fishing and Ger farming industries" (Mclean & Moore 2005). After which, locally available sand is added to create lime mortar which can be used to design the walls of houses. This discussion shows that alternative renewable resources, which can be found locally, can be used instead of the normal building materials which are being depleted to build more durable houses. Thus saving cost for the poor communities.

Bangladesh's main energy sources are biomass and natural gas which uses roughly about 73% of the country's main power supply (World Bank 1998 cited in Islam, S and Islam, M 2005). They are mostly used for cooking, lighting and in small rural industries. Usually, kerosene light is used, restricting the Bangladeshi people's night activities and evening hours(Barua 1998). Barua (1998) also added that besides contributing to pollution, these resources are slowly diminishing. However, in June 1996, Grameen Shakti, one of the main branches of Grameen Bank, was formed to focus on promoting the use of solar energy. The heat from solar energy can be used for cooking (Poppen and Weiler 2002 cited in Mclean & Moore 2005) and can also generate electricity allowing houses to be better equipped with brighter lighting at night prolonging the night activities and working hours. It also enhances the safety of women and children at night. More income can also be generated as wives are able to help out through simple activities like basket weaving, sewing and baking pastries at night which can be sold the next day. Also, according to Barua (1998), villagers in Nabinagar, a rural area in India, are now able to be acquainted with the rest of the world by phone services run by solar system. Solar energy can also be used to produce building materials like "roof tiles, clay pipes and other domestic objects by burning natural resources available like sand, seashells and clay in a solar kiln" (Mclean & Moore 2005). These materials make up the parts of rainwater harvesting. Solar energy is therefore the cheapest, most affordable method and can be used for many purposes as mentioned and is ideal for the poor communities.

In conclusion, engineering innovation certainly plays an important role in improving sustainable housing in the future. This paper has shown that with proper technology and materials, clean water can be obtained and therefore lessening the risk of water related illnesses. The use of alternative building materials which can be sourced locally can also be explored and used to build more durable houses. By using natural renewable resources, non-renewable resources like bamboo will not be diminished. Lastly, the lives of the Bangladeshi’s have improved since the use of solar power. The benefits are a better working environment and longer working hours. This generates more income and enhances the safety and the welfare of the women and children at night. In all of these ways, engineering and innovation have helped to tackle the problems faced by the communities due to poverty and difficult climate.
(1100 words)


References
Barua, D C 1998, ' Energy's Role in the Rural Income Generation: The Grameen Strategy', Presented at Village 98 Scaling Up Electricity Access for Sustainable Rural Development, Washington, D.C., 6 October - 8 October, pp.1-9. Accessed 17 October, 2007,
http://www.nrel.gov/villagepower/vpconference/vp98/wpromote/dipall.pdf

Burnett, P 2007 ' Eco-friendly 'green' housing bumps up against red tape', Science in Africa, March. Accessed 18 October, 2007.
http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2007/march/greenhouse.htm

Islam, S and Islam, M 2005, 'Status of Renewable Energy Technologies in Bangladesh', ISESCO Science and Technology Vision, May, vol.1, no 1, pp.51-60. Accessed 19 October, 2007,
http://www.isesco.org.ma/ISESCO_Technology_Vision/NUM01/A.K.M.%20Sadrul%20Islam/A.K.M.%20Sadrul%20Islam.pdf

Mclean, S N and Moore, D R 2005, ' A mitigation strategy for the natural disaster of poverty in Bangladesh', Journal of Disaster Prevention and Management, vol. 14, no 2, pp. 223-232.
Pfafflin,R J and Ziegler, N E 1998, Encyclopedia of Environmental Science and Engineering 4th edn, vol. 2 M-Z, Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, USA.

Singleton, D 2003, 'Poverty alleviation: the role of the engineer [electronic resource]' Arup Journal, vol.38, no 1 (2003) pp.3-9.

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