Guatemala Housing PROJECT Ty James GUATEMALA IMP Guatemala Housing Guatemala 2. Introduction 2. Issue 4. Non-Profit 5. Geographical Area Analysis 7. Economic Analysis Part I 10. Economic Analysis Part II 12. Political System 14. Trade Laws and Legal Analysis 16. Population 17. Diet and Nutrition 19. Housing 20. Transportation 22. Labor 23. Education 25. Clothing 26. Recreation and Leisure 28. Language 29. Religion 31. Bibliography - (MLA - must be in alphabetical order, must have a minimum of 12 cited sources within your IMP and in your bibliography) 33. Appendix 33. NonProfit - Print Ad 34. Etiquette Information 1 Guatemala Housing Guatemala Intro Guatemala is a beautiful country that has seen some hard times. It has a diverse and stunning geography. Full of mountains, jungles, and more. Guatemala has an intricate and interwoven history. Every event affected the next, for better or for worse. The economy is growing and on the rise, as is the population. Both have been stunted, but are now ready to flourish. The politics of the country haven’t always been perfect, but they are getting better with time. The people of Guatemala make do with what they have and they have a smile on their face when they do it. Guatemala is a country on the rise and with a boost can be a leader for its region to aspire to. This country was chosen for its innocence and potential. Today’s Guatemala is trying to pick up the pieces its past left on the ground. Guatemala is not at fault for the lack of infrastructure from the war or the earthquakes it endures. But, it takes on its challenges and pushes through them. This country is trying to bounce back and become and player in today’s world. We at the Guatemala Housing Project see the effort that Guatemala puts in and we want to help them. We believe that a strong community of houses will be the base for Guatemala to build a great country on. Issue A Guatemalan father walks across town for the day to get to work. On his way back he feels the earth shake beneath him. He sighs, knowing the damage that earthquake might have just done. He runs home and finds his wife and their four kids alive and well. His wife looks at him with a smile. They’ve been through this before. This is the 3 time in the past 4 years their house has crumbled from an earthquake. This poor housing structure puts its residents at risk and these unsafe and unsanitary homes can be found all throughout rural Guatemala. The houses in rural Guatemala are made from a dried mud brick, called adobe. This method is cheap and easy to be built. These houses are typically composed of one room, which houses the sleeping quarters and the kitchen. These houses lack structural integrity due to their cheap and simple construction. This makes them extremely susceptible to damage from earthquakes, which are highly common in Guatemala due to its geographical location. Rural Guatemalan houses made of adobe are incredibly fragile and are not suited for their area. 2 Guatemala Housing Guatemala Guatemalans have almost become numb to earthquakes and their effect of the houses. Guatemalans can be seen smiling and laughing in their homes. This is their life and they know nothing different. They are used to the ground shaking and their homes coming tumbling down. They have to pick up their things and start anew. The safety of these homes is also in question. The stoves they use release smoke into the home for the mother and kids to breathe. The bathroom are usually just a hole in the ground with a seat on top, which can foster many diseases. And these rural homes fail to have a clean water supply. This makes for unhealthy living and can cause the mortality rate to go up. These people’s houses are sometimes their own death warrants. These people are having their homes, and sometimes lives, taken away through no fault of their own. Guatemala happened to be in a place of many earthquakes, but that doesn’t mean it's inhabitable. It just means our brothers and sisters of Guatemala need our help as a world to come together and get them on their feet. Even if you do not care about the Guatemalan people, you should still help. Guatemala has the largest population and economy of Central America. Helping solidify their housing industry can be just what they need to take the next step as a developing country. Helping Guatemala now, could mean another large trading partner in the future, and this benefits both sides. So whether it be for humanity or money, please help take Guatemala to the next step. 3 Guatemala Housing Guatemala Nonprofit: Guatemala Housing Project Mission Statement This project has been formed to help the Guatemalan people by means of bettering their lives through housing. We at GHP have no intention of overstepping our boundaries in this beautiful country. We are here for support, though our help will never be forced. If someone does not want help or asks us to back down we will willingly do so. We are here to help those who want it. We the Guatemala Housing Project. We are going to attack this issue of housing head on with cutting edge technology. We have teamed up with a company, Apis Cor, who revolutionized the industry of 3D printing buildings. These homes will be printed using their 3D printer. This machine prints the house around itself. The material will be local concrete, which when mixed with a silicon polymer is extremely strong and durable. This process allows homes to be built relatively cheaply, safely, and quickly. This process has a fast set up time of 30 minutes. With the base model house we can print one house every twenty four hours. These homes consist of one room, with an adjoined bathroom and kitchen. We chose this model due to its similarity to the houses that Guatemalans are using currently. We want them to feel at home because this will be their home. There will be two different placement strategies. The first will consist of a surveyor and representative going to rural communities and talking to the people about working with our project. We do not want to overstep or impose, so we will be transparent with the communities. We will gladly help the communities and families who want help. And, we will respect the wishes who want to be left alone. This process might be slow, but its progress and it’s respecting the people and land which is important to us. The second distribution method is set aside for disasters, likely earthquakes. This is when we utilize the rapid deployment of these systems, but we will still be asking for permission first. With the two printers we received from Apis Cor and the ability to print one house a day, we can print 14 houses in a week. That is the start of a community a week after a disaster strikes. These response time is incredible for natural disasters and is very important. This means we can give the people a home, which is a symbol for stability and strength, something much needed in times like these. 4 Guatemala Housing Guatemala How can you help? 1. Donate Money Monetary donations are used to help purchase building materials, provide living accommodations for volunteers, pay for meals and wages, and allow for transportation of the printers. Every donation is met with a reward: $10—GHP Thank You Bag $25—GHP T-shirt $50—Concrete Planter $100– All above and a name on our website $500—Name a house after donor $1500– Mini 3D Printer $5000-3D Printed Furniture $10,000—A House 2. Volunteer your Time We are in need of volunteers. We have many aspects of our operations that need help. We can use a wide variety of skills, from truck driving to Spanish speaking to land surveying. Not only would you be bettering Guatemala, but bettering yourself as an individual. This is also a great opportunity to network with industry leaders who are working on ground breaking technology. Time spent with the Guatemala Housing Project is time you can’t get anywhere else. Partners 1. APIS COR - The provider of the printers and they are working with us to provide safe effective homes 2. Guatemalan Government - They are allowing us to work with the communities and have put us in contact with important businesses and organizations 3. CEMEX- Working with us and Apis Cor to provide the concrete base for the houses. Geographical Analysis Within 40,042 sq. miles, Guatemala has a wide range of geography, from mountains to jungles to ancient ruins; it also has a relatively nice climate year round due to being so close to the equator. Guatemala may be small but that doesn’t stop it from being packed with a diverse geography. Just south of Mexico, Guatemala is in between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The majority of Guatemala’s eastern border ends with the country Belize, 5 Guatemala Housing Guatemala but about a fifty mile stretch below Belize is Guatemala’s east coast. The western border and the northern are shared with Mexico and the southern border is shared with the Pacific Ocean, El Salvador, and Honduras. Guatemala is slightly smaller than the state of Pennsylvania, but it still manages to fit a diverse range of biomes. Guatemala has an incredibly diverse geography, as Stanford University puts it, “Guatemala contains geographical zones that range from the boiling hot black sands of the Pacific Coast to snow-capped volcanic peaks to the high elevation scrub forest of the Cuchumatanes to the dense hardwood jungles of the Petén region.” The east begins with two mountain ranges, the Sierra Madre and the Cuchumatanes; these ranges rub almost parallel to each other, curving inland.