Emergency and post-earthquake reconstruction

2015 – 2019

Emergency and post-earthquake reconstruction

On the 25th of April 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal causing massive damage and the death of nearly ten thousand people.

1. The emergency phase

Thanks to its established network of contacts on the ground, Kam For Sud was able to act immediately in order to organize relief efforts during the emergency phase. These were concentrated in places where Kam For Sud was already active before the earthquake, i.e., where its inclusion in the local social fabric allowed for targeted, coordinated and effective action.

First emergency operations consisted of:

water purification for epidemic prevention;
food distribution and emergency financial aid;
distribution of temporary housing (plastic sheeting, tents, sleeping mats, sleeping bags);
distribution of solar panels;
verification of structural safety of partially damaged houses.

Kam For Sud’s Nepali team, in particular from the orphanage-farm in Tathali—where the logistical base was initially located due to the seismic resilience of the buildings—strongly contributed to the success of the relief work during the emergency phase.

In Switzerland, a task force managed the various short- and medium-term operations, with the Ticino Civil Defense also contributing in the emergency phase.
On the other hand, the strong support received from a multitude of small and large donors gave Kam For Sud the strength to commit, after the emergency, to the reconstruction of an entire village.

2. Reconstruction in Saipu

The challenges of reconstruction after an earthquake are generally:

the supply/demand ratio of materials and labor is completely unbalanced;
the overall cost is enormous;
earthquake-resistant solutions adapted to different contexts are needed;
earthquake-resistant techniques must be culturally and economically accepted as well as recognized by the government;
in the case of Nepal you are working in a weak and unstable institutional environment.

As a first step, a base camp had to be built in the village of Saipu, where project staff could stay safely. Work began in the fall of 2015 and was completed in early 2016, thanks to substantial contributions from civil workers and volunteers. The base camp was made of bamboo (treated in view of the durability) and clay. The result is a very flexible (earthquake-resistant) and inexpensive construction, which also served as a model for temporary buildings.

The Saipu village reconstruction project was later structured into four separate modules.

Module 1

Training one hundred artisan masons and carpenters to meet the shortage of skilled labor.

Module 2

Technical support to the population for the application of sustainable earthquake-resistant methods for all.

Module 3

Concrete support for the reconstruction of more than eight hundred private homes.

Module 4

Reconstruction of public infrastructure (two schools and an outpatient clinic with maternity).

The project could be successfully completed first and foremost due to the professional management of three project leaders who succeeded each other in leading the local team: engineer Daniel Pittet in 2016, architect Giacomo Butte from early 2017 to June 2018, and finally engineer Bikash Tajale from July 2018 to May 2019.

To complement the team of professionals on site, in addition to the project leader, Kam For Sud also employed a construction coordinator, an engineer and two site supervisors, all Nepalese who are full-time base camp residents.

3. The results

In Saipu, more than eight hundred private homes have been rebuilt using earthquake-resistant techniques; on May 12, 2019, two schools and a medical clinic with a maternity ward were officially handed over to the Nepalese government, which provides ongoing operating costs and employs the necessary staff to keep the facilities running smoothly.

In the fall of 2019, the project came to an end, with an inauguration party for the reconstructed village held on the 23th October of 2019.