5.2. Flexible Design Approaches

And first of all, making their own decisions about the construction they wanted. So, now how this decentralization process have explained, have been implemented. Now, in most of the cases being a farmers community and most of these individual agricultural activities, most of these families own land so that at least they have a capacity to build on their own piece of land and they could able to develop self-help construction for the following reasons.

In this section, the focus is on how communities are empowered to make their own decisions regarding construction. The decentralization process allows each household, mostly farmers with land, to take charge of their construction projects. This means they can use their resources and skills to build on their own land.

Imagine a small community where every family grows its own vegetables. They know what they need for their meals and can grow them as they see fit. Similarly, in construction, families determine their needs and use the resources they have to build their homes.

One is farmers have skills and knowledge in construction, their extended families allow many people to work on each dwelling and because as I said to you earlier, it is a family business, their regular season of harvesting was almost 5 months after the disaster leaving the peasants with free time for other activities and also farmers work individually and run their own businesses which allows them the independence to manage their time.

Farmers often have practical skills in construction, acquired through experience and family traditions. During the five months of the harvesting season where they are less busy, they can focus on building their homes. This ability to manage their time and leverage family labor helps them develop resilient housing.

Think of a family-run restaurant where everyone in the family helps out. Just like they can use their knowledge of cooking to create delicious meals, farmers can utilize their practical skills to construct homes.

Rural communities have a deep-rooted sense of mutual cooperation. It’s unlike an urban setup; the rural community cooperates with each other.

In rural settings, there's a strong sense of community where individuals come together to help one another. This cooperative spirit is crucial in assisting families in construction efforts, differentiating it from more individualistic urban settings.

Imagine a neighborhood where everyone helps each other during a festival: they come together to prepare food, decorations, and set everything up. Similarly, in rural construction, neighbors lend a hand to complete building projects.

So the process of FORECAFE 1 and 2 fund in the housing reconstruction, first, once the society the individuals when they realize the housing needs and economic needs so they actually made their understanding of their requirements in a piece of paper and they drafted that in what they want and that is where the engineers or specialists about 17 engineers were working in order to assist them with the technical expertise.

In the reconstruction process funded by FORECAFE, individuals first recognize their housing and economic needs. They write down their requirements, enabling engineers to offer tailored technical support. This ensures that construction meets safety and quality standards.

Just like a chef will create a menu after understanding what the diners want, engineers create construction plans based on the needs expressed by the families.

And what are the ways they were assisting, approval of hazard resistant quality of the units so it could be a 2 bedroom and a kitchen and 1 small toilet, approval of the conformance of the construction with ecological and environmental standards and approval of the monthly construction payments?

Assistance involves ensuring that the constructed homes are not only designed as per desire (like a 2-bedroom house with necessary utilities) but also comply with safety regulations—like being hazard-resistant and environmentally friendly. The project also oversees the financial aspects such as approving payments for phases of construction.

Consider a university where students must submit their projects that meet all requirements before receiving their grades. Similarly, homes must meet set criteria before construction funds are released.

Once the affected families could receive the financial aid, infrastructure, technical support. For their industry, information and the technical assistance promoted by the project.

The affected families receive essential support, including financial aid and technical infrastructure to get their lives back on track. The project offers information and assistance to help them rebuild sustainably.

Think of a disaster relief organization that not only provides food and shelter but also helps families find jobs and rebuild their homes. This comprehensive support ensures a more stable recovery.

Residents optimized the use of resources by using the recycled material like from their old houses they use the doors, windows and other materials which have been reused which could reduce the cost and also get back the similar fabric what they had.

Utilizing recycled materials helps families save money and maintain familiarity in their newly constructed homes. This practice not only reduces costs but also supports a sustainable approach to rebuilding.

Imagine a person who decides to renovate their home using old furniture. By reusing what they have, they save money while also keeping memories tied to their possessions.

Of course, for any project, there are always some downturns. In this segment, in this whole project, because it’s a coffee growers associations which I working on, the coverage of informal dwellers because informal sector is a very significant aspect in Colombia which has not been addressed.

Every project faces challenges. In this case, the project struggled to address the needs of informal dwellers, an important aspect of the community that was not adequately considered in the planning stages, leading to potential oversight in housing needs.

This can be likened to planning a community event, forgetting to invite a certain group of people who also need to be included. If everyone isn’t considered, the needs of part of the community might be left out.

So, there is no transfer of knowledge what the learning they have gained in this process and how it can be transferred to the future reconstruction projects.

One significant challenge is the lack of knowledge transfer after the project ends. Without continuity and documentation of what was learned, future projects may struggle to build on successes or avoid past mistakes.

Think about a school where students learn new skills but do not keep notes or share with future classes. The next group doesn’t get the benefit of what was learned previously.

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