Recycled Chandeliers?

.

Let's find a way to make recycled chandeliers...
Bicycle parts? Light aluminum painted cans?
We could make bed drapes and curtain headers.
Have a contest in the schools for the best cut aluminum figures,
birds, animals, flowers, and buy them... another cottage industry.

A beautiful chandelier from the Catholic Church in Panajachel, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.

More photos on my flickr account:  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/catherinetodd/sets/72157629523320602/

A Boat Made of Trash ~ Plastiki

http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/2011/05/harrowing-ocean-crossing-of-a-boat-made-of-trash-as-chronicled-in-plastiki.php?page=2

From TreeHugger.com:

The Harrowing Ocean Crossing of a Boat Made of Trash, as Chronicled in Plastiki

plastiki boat construction
luca babini photo

The boat—a 60-foot catamaran—was designed and built by British environmentalist David de Rothschild.

Recycled PET bottles offered a strong, buoyant, material for the hull. The mast was constructed from a recycled aluminum irrigation pipe. Even the sail—woven from recycled PET—was an example of repurposed trash.

The concept seemed sound, but as the six-person crew boarded the ship in San Fransisco on March 20, 2010, Plastiki remained relatively untested. ...more


And much, much more, with photos and video: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/03/plastiki_launch.php

Plastiki from Glenn McElhose on Vimeo.

We've been following the progress of the Plastiki for over a year now. In case you've forgotten, it's the pet project of eco-adventurer David de Rothschild and it's a huge boat made from recycled plastic bottles. The vessel has been under construction and late last week, the crew finally unveiled it in the San Francisco Bay. This is the start point for what will be an 11,000 mile trek to Sydney, highlighting the problem of plastic as both a pollutant and design issue.

Made from 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles, the recycled srPET is a strong, bouyant material. The mast is made from reclaimed aluminum irrigation pipe and the sail is hand-made from reycled PET as well. To top it off, the secondary bonding is reinforced using a newly developed organic glue made from cashew nuts and sugar cane. It's a very green boat, and its credentials don't stop with the construction.

plastiki boat photo
Image via Plastiki

The Plastiki is also an off-grid vessel, relying primarily on renewable energy systems including from solar panels, wind and trailing propeller turbines, and bicycle generators, and utilizing a urine-to-water recovery and rain water catchment system for fresh water sources. Finally, it comes complete with a hydroponic rotating cylinder garden.

WATCH VIDEO: Blue August: Plastic is Forever

Right now, the crew is working on final preparations for their sail across the Pacific ocean. The trip will highlight not only all the plastic in our oceans, but also that waste - especially plastic waste - is a fundamental design flaw and we have to rethink waste as a resource.

Here's de Rothschild talking to TreeHugger's Graham Hill about how the ship is made.

Plastiki from Glenn McElhose on Vimeo.

You can buy a flat-pack kit to build a model of the plastic bottle boat!

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/12/plastiki-toy-model.php

When I saw this tweet from @Plastiki this afternoon, "We've released the Plastiki toy [so proud!] and @joshspear has put it front page", I thought surely they haven't built a miniature version of the complex boat famously built out of recycled plastic bottles! How the heck have they done that? As we wait for David De Rothschild and his crew to embark on their high seas adventure to the Gyre, otherwise known as the Pacific Garbage Patch, they have created something to keep us from twiddling our thumbs...

Plastiki-toy-kit.jpg

Flat packed Kit
Calling all kids, model making enthusiasts, and those jealous of David's imminent adventure! The Plastiki toy comes in a suitably sustainable form, not lots of tiny little bits of plastic, but rather a flat packed cardboard kit that you can assemble yourselves to put pride of place on your mantle piece, on your bookshelf or anywhere that takes your fancy, but probably not in your bath, as Josh Spear suggested!

FSC Approved
The Plastiki team tell us that their new toy is "manufactured and designed by Jamily in Manchester UK. The model is made from FSC approved card and printed locally using sustainable vegetable inks. Every stage of the manufacturing process was designed to produce minimal waste and efficient use of energy."

50% Profits to Sculpt The Future Foundation
You can buy one from the online Plastiki shop. It's being sold at the rather hefty price of £18.00, but we love the fact that 50% of profits will be donated to the Sculpt The Future Foundation which promotes "positive environmental change towards global sustainability by supporting creative, innovative and sustainable action."

Plastiki

More on Plastiki Expedition
David de Rothschild Sets Sail on Plastic Ship
David de Rothschild Shows Graham Hill Ways to Turn Plastic From ...
Sailing For Cause: Marine 'Odd-Ventures'
David de Rothschild and The Real Cost of Living (Video)
The TH Interview: David de Rothschild - Part 1
The TH Interview: David de Rothschild - Part 2

more: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/12/plastiki-toy-model.php

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plastic bottles, ocean crossing, Lake Atitlan, PET bottles, boat, trash, recycle, TreeHugger.com
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I want to try this at Lake Atitlan!

Global Village Shelters ~ Help for Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, after Hurricane Agatha?

From: Catherine S. Todd
Date: Wed, Jun 2, 2010 at 11:36 PM
Subject: Global Village Shelters ~ Help for Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, after Hurricane Agatha
To: Global Village Shelters , ferrara@ferraradesign.com
Cc: DrJohnWMerrick


To: Global Village Shelters LLC
221 Looking Glass Hill Morris, CT 06763 USA
email for information and inquiries: mferrara@ferraradesign.com
telephone: 860.567.4118, fax: 860.567.4265
www.gvshelters.com
Video: 20 Meter Assembly

"Global Village Shelters LLC is a for-profit company based in Litchfield County Connecticut, USA. It is co-owned by father-daughter team Daniel A Ferrara and Mia Ferrara Pelosi."


To Whom It May Concern,

I am sure you have heard about the hurricane and extensive destruction in Guatemala and in all the villages around Lake Atitlan. There are more than 200 people sleeping on the concrete floor of the local gymnasium here in Panajachel, where I live part of the year, and these people have lost EVERYTHING, when their houses slid into the river or down the mountain in a mudslide. I haven't even been able to check on my own property since the roads are still closed due to mud and giant boulders and trees. Things are getting cleaned up very quickly, though, and most utility services have finally been restored around the lake. Which bring us to why I am writing you.

I have been collecting information about kit and modular homes for a number of years, and working with my architect here in Panajachel, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala to start producing some kind of easy to set up and inexpensive home for the people who have to back-pack (literally) every bit of material up the mountain sides here in Panajchel, and across Lake Atitlan to the other pueblos and villages around the lake.

Most building materials here are scarce, expensive and difficult to transport, as well as adding to the pollution of the environment. Adobe is used extensively here, but some people believe that it is not well-suited to earthquakes which due occur here occasionally.

Your coated cardboard structures and your configurations are just marvelous. Your Global Village Shelters are at the top of my list. www.gvshelters.com/20m_configurations.htm

NOW is the time to try one or more out, as NOW is when they are needed.

I seem to remember that one of the small shelters cost about $550.00. Is this true? Do you know of costs & ways to ship them to Panajachel, Lake Atitlan in Guatemala? I have talked to Crowley Container Shipping Services in the past, but I don't remember what the main shipping port is from Miami.

Are your shelters sized for containers or trucks? Could your shelters also be driven overland?

I have very little money right now, but we sell beautiful hand-beaded keychains and jewelry through the American Museum of Natural History, the Bronx Zoo, the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and more to raise money for schools in Panajachel, Guatemala. I am going to add DISASTER HOUSING to the charitable list we are working on right now.


When the fair and festival season starts in Sept. I will have more cash coming in and could start putting it towards one or more of your shelters. How much do they cost? Who knows, perhaps a major sale will come in sooner than that. Either way, I would like to be prepared to test out your wonderful housing ideas in a most needed, real-world situation that would benefit these people greatly. I could even conceivably put one or more of your shelters on the four lots that I own, that did NOT slide into the mud, and the people could use them until other arrangements were made. These people have lost everything and are left with just the clothes on their back. Their children have no shoes. One man who is a carpenter has of course lost all his tools, their garden disappeared in the mudslide, the land he owned is gone along with the house. They are sleeping on the concrete floor. It's unbelievable, and for them, it's as bad as Haiti for those affected around here.

I hope you are able to help. I am NOT asking for a donation of any kind, just information as to COSTS and SHIPPING and how we could get some of your two-year temporary shelters here to the Lake Atitlan area.

Thank you so much for working on disaster relief housing. It means the world to the people who require it. Your website is full of interesting photos and technical information, and so many simple yet elegant ideas.



I will be coming back to the states through NYC for a few days on June 29 until July 3rd, when I deliver some of the beadwork to my customers and work on special projects, before I return to NC. I would love to be able to meet with you if you are going to be in NYC during that time, or perhaps I could come to Morris, CT since it is only two hours away.

There is a local Habitat for Humanity office in Panajachel, which I hope to visit this week. Perhaps there is something we could do together to help. I've attached some photos of the river after the storm; I'm uploading more on flickr later on. Please advise.

Yours, Catherine Todd
(all contact info & links below)
NY, NC USA & Guatemala
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GLOBAL VILLAGE Links, Configurations and Specs

http://www.gvshelters.com/20m_configurations.htm

Specifications for the 6 Meter Global Village Shelter

Physical/ Material Specifications

•Interior space: 6.25 square meters (67 square feet).

•Interior height: 8 feet maximum (at peak) / 5.1 feet minimum

•Material: White 13mm polypropylene (PP) profile extruded sheet and polypropylene extrusions

•13mm PP is UV resistant

•13mm PP meets ASTM E84, Grade A, Method of Test of Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials with a flame spread index <25.

•13mm PP: Normal temperature performance range is -85°F to 285°F

•White PP material has some translucence and reflects light.

•Construction: All parts are welded.

•Standard 6 meter shelter has one door and two windows.

•Window comes standard with screen and removable acrylic pane.

•Door has double latching system; interior and exterior.

•Global Village Shelter 6 M can be set up by two people in 15-20 minutes.

•Weight: 170lbs

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http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/japan-offers-aid-to-guatemala-victims-20100603-x140.html
Japan offers aid to Guatemala victims
June 3, 2010 - 10:49AM

Japan has announced an emergency aid package of $US220,000 ($A261,438) to help Guatemala recover from tropical storm Agatha, which left more than 150 dead in the nation. The aid is aimed at helping recovery from the storm and represents "the friendship between Japan and Guatemala," according to a statement from the Japanese embassy on Wednesday. The funds are expected to be used for blankets, tents and other supplies, the statement added. ...(more)

--
Catherine Todd
3007 Bent Tree Dr. Oxford NC 27565
H 919.693.0853 U.S. cell 919.605.0727
Blog: http://catherinetodd.blogspot.com/
Music: http://www.last.fm/music/Catherine+Todd
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/catherinetodd/sets/

Guatemalan Arts & Crafts (GAC)
Panajachel, Lake Atitlan
Guatemala cell (dial 011 from the U.S.):
(502) 5013.6300
Travel: http://lakeatitlan.blogspot.com/
Architecture: http://catherinetoddarchitecture.blogspot.com/

For 2010:

"The winds of grace blow all the time. All we need do is set our sails."
~ Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa ~ Gospel of Ramakrishna

Peace and justice are goals for man.
~ Mahatma Gandhi

John 16:33. "In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart, for I have overcome the world"

Global Village Shelters

I want to build these (really, just assemble). Starting at $550.00, flat pack plastic coated cardboard, 2 person setup. Good for 18 months or more. Can be made to last longer. Let's try one out at Life School for starters, and one as a studio / workshop / tool shed on my lots in Panajachel. Pretty great idea. Use four spread apart, with ramada in between, and fountain / pool in central patio. Beautiful! Then produce longer-lasting ones as another business here in Guatemala, in partnership with Global Village? This could help finish the last of the rebuilding after Hurricane Stan and create more classrooms for the schools.

Configurations:

www.gvshelters.com/20m_configurations.htm

The 20 meter shelter can be linked together in many configurations making larger structures immediately possible. The shelter is designed so the doors will line up, still allowing for maximum interior wall space when linked. This is important when creating a facility for medical purposes, security offices, food storage and preparation, staff housing for NGO's, educational buildings, etc. The possibilities are endless. ...(more)

Materials and Design

The design is a simple structure that would give the affected person/ family stability (durability) and safety during a disaster or refugee situation. To accomplish durability, the shelter has a concentric “ring” structure; the units have withstood winds up to 80 mph. The shelter is built out of a very strong 13mm Polypropylene profile sheet (thick UV resistant white plastic, often used in outdoor applications). Materials safety data is available upon request. The material is biologically inert, does not off gas, and can be reground (recycled) throughout the world. All edges are reinforced with polypropylene extrusions to prevent wear in this high traffic area, also adding strength to the door area and other stress points. All shelter components are pre fabricated and installed prior to shipping and packing. Material samples are can be requested by emailing mferrara@ferraradesign.com.

There are no comparable shelters actively on the market. The cost and ease of set up are both significant benefits for GVS as disaster relief housing. GVS allows any person to set up their own housing without much guidance or strength- no tools are required. GVS also offers several comfort factors: a removable acrylic window with a screen, dual locking door system, and optional fire safe stove pipe aperture in the wall. There are several options that can also be added to the GVS, such as various flooring solutions (including, but not limited to tarps, plywood/ foam, elevated flooring). The cross ventilation creates a temperature equilibrium with the outdoor temps in warm climates- it will not get warmer than the outside temperature.

Duration

The shelter will last 18 months or more. It is possible to extend this time period by using the walls as a footprint on which to build either with brick, mud, hay-bale materials, wood, corrugated tin, et al and providing a more substantial floor (not a tarp); basic maintenance like this can greatly extend its life. We recommend putting shelter units on raised platforms, creating a stable (you can screw the unit onto the platform) and level floor.

...(more)


Global Village Shelters LLC
221 Looking Glass Hill Morris, CT 06763 USA
email for information and inquiries: mferrara@ferraradesign.com
telephone: 860.567.4118 fax: 860.567.4265

Global Village Shelters LLC is a for-profit company based in Litchfield County Connecticut, USA. It is co-owned by father-daughter team Daniel A Ferrara and Mia Ferrara Pelosi.

Sketch and Floor Plan - Panajachel, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Casita 900 sq. ft.


Floor Plan 900 sq. ft.

Art Studio, guest house:


Casa pequeña (500 sq. ft)

From my wonderful architect, "Eddy" Amilcar Ovalle: eddyovalle@gmail.com, tel. (502) 4198.1877. His office in on the ground floor of my apartment building on Calle de los Tigres (near the Post Office) in Panajachel. What could be better? These are first drafts for lot #1 or #2 (out of four building lots I have near the Lake) along with an even smaller "casita," guest house "Casa pequeña." More to come... CT

Nira Apartments, Panajachel, Lake Atitlan, GUA

I want my little houses to look like this: Nira Apartments, Panajachel, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala (GUA)






panajachel.com/nirapartments