Hi Travis,

Here are a few questions we have. All the buildings seem to be fairly
similar. One was built with the participation of a group from Ireland.
Are they all built according to Nepalese School Standards? Materials
and the weather are big concerns of ours. We have maps from Google
Earth that show the buildings. We're wondering what the boundaries of
the school property are. It is hard to tell what the approximate
elevation changes are from terrace to terrace (we imagine they are not
uniform). Do they get a lot of water running down the hillside during
the rainy season or when snow melts? I am attaching the list in .doc
and .pdf as well as the following. We've tried to organize the list
somewhat so here you go:

Architecture for Humanity Boston questions:

MATERIALS
Type of stone? not sure what type of stone
Size and shape of local stones?
Do they quarry stone? no quarry, dug out of ground by locals as needed
Do they cut stone onsite? yes
If so, what do they do with the waste chips? Typically used for conc. agregate or as a base for the floor
Type of soil – clay? depending on where you dig you get a modratly clay rich soil or rocky soil
Is the soil very rocky? see above
Can you dig into the hillsides for earth sheltering? not recommended due to lack of waterproofing and soil saturation during monsoon season
Is there a pottery industry or clay products? in certain areas of nepal yes, but not in this region that i am aware of
The maps show a copper mine – are mine tailings available? no direct route to cooper mine from village
Are there any abandoned structure that we could recycle – doors, windows? no
Do locals use thatch, hay, husks, fibers, for building materials? thatch roof for livestock pen roof
Do they insulate their buildings? typically there is no special attention paid to insulation no. they do not apply anything additional to their walls for insulation.
Would windows and doors be built on site or imported in standard sizes? on site. no standard
What is their trash? no trash typically. everything is resued
What do they do with their trash? what little trash is generated, say a card board box, they will burn.
Pipes? PVC? Expensive? PVC yes. typically used for septic lines. fairly expensive
Do they have available:
Bamboo? yes but small diameter only.
Wood? Yes but not at the Basa site. For the other sites posts, roughly 10"x10"x12', are hauled 3 hours to the village from the jungle. skilled wood workers cut the wood on site. could be for wood planks, rafters, windows, etc
Plaster? yes. we have to haul in cement bags from the airport. can do earthen plaster for interior walls
Concrete? see above
Chain link? not sure. could fly in if necessary
“Chicken” wire? same as chain link
Gabion cages – (manufactured)? not sure
Metal roofing? yes. very common
Translucent roofing? yes

ENVIRONMENT
What crops do they grow? reference original project overview. project description answers this question
What fertilizer do they use/not use? animal waste
Do they have a school plot/garden/farm? not sure. from website photos it looks like it
What animals are kept locally? water buffalo, chicken, and goats
Are there animals associated with the school? no
Are animals used for transport of people? of goods? just goods, not people.

BUILDING
Are there Nepal school standard that need to be followed? none
What part of the site is available for building? all.
Do they want two distinct rooms or one large room that could be divided? either. but space need to be able to function mainly as two separate classrooms
Do they use heating? Stove? not necessary
Do they use or have experience with bottled gas? yes but almost all are brown glass, not clear. not much light transmittance through them.
Do they collect rainwater? In tanks? In a cistern? yes. tanks only. no cistern
Do they use flat roofs? not in villages
Do they use shed roofs? yes
Do they prefer gabled roofs? yes
Electricity? yes, but only a couple hours a day.
Internet connection? no
Artificial lighting? yes but not dependable
Natural lighting? ??
Skylights? no
Do they have/want/need running water in building? no
Toilets attached to or separate from school? seperate
Separate boys and girls toilets? yes
Single stall or multi-stall? up to you
Is Phuleli included in the Biogas Sector Partnership Nepal program? not sure
www.bspnepal.org.np
Are they familiar with the Saleri Girls Hostel and it’s biogas plant? no
Do they use biogas? bio gas will not be happening at any schools. all of the toilets assoicated with the school will be water-less or septic system based. the biogas toilets are for houses only. we will be installing many bio gas toilets through out this project but only at houses in the villages.
If so, do they use human waste, animal waste, compost? yes, animal waste used for fertilizer
Do they have personnel that could maintain a biogas system? not at school
Auxiliary rooms? Teacher office? Supply room? Coat closet? up to you
Orientation preferences? up to you
Are all exterior walls painted ‘cream’? wall color up to you
Are all metal roofs painted green? blue is the most common.

CULTURE
Religious or cultural requirements? none
Are boys and girls taught together? yes
Do the teachers live at the school? no. live in village
Is the school complex always occupied? no, but school could be used for other functions. such as community gathering space

WEATHER
Prevailing wind direction? not sure
Perceived insolation/weather data – cloudy, foggy, clear, rainy, snowy? no snow.
High winds? yes in monsoon season
Heating season – temperature range? 40-90 temp range
Rainfall? around 50 inches

Someone had had a question about this tonight...

Solukhumbu seems like our area. In which case 65 plants were constructed. In that area, # households with animals was 35,426. Technical potential biogas 1,709.

http://www.bspnepal.org.np/plant-distribution-map

Biogas Sector Partnership Nepal (BSP-Nepal) is the implementing agency of Biogas Support Programme (BSP) Phase-IV. BSP-Nepal was established as an NGO in 2003 to take over the implementation responsibility of BSP, which formerly was managed directly by the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV).

http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/projects/dlygad2_nominee-19217
http://www.sulabhinternational.org/st/community_toilet_linked_biogas_pan...

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S7R4BwM5n_8UM0Q6e5oKYj5XDdGTHcbHAGdA...

STATIC VERSION AS OF SEPT 8

Revised: OAN thinks this posting is spam, so I am going to have to post just a bit:

GENERAL:
Q. Is it possible to have the community members, teachers, and students, fill out a survey regarding how the space is designed?
A. Once I get to Nepal I will have this discussion with the village members. TRAVIS

Q. How far do students travel to get to class? / Student Commute/ community needs: How far do the children travel and do they need lunch amenities or other?
A. 15-60 minutes. Big breakfast and then meal when they get home. The max walking distance for students is 1 hr 30 minutes but most students walk around 45 minutes or so. <--Why is this answer different? -CT

http://phulelischool.org/

Shree Saraswati School was established (in 1986) in the heart of Phuleli village of Takindu Village Development Committee, Solukhumbu, Nepal. The word 'Saraswati' means the goddess of (teaching & learning) knowledge or wisdom. It is a government or public school. Phuleli village is located on the lap of Mt. Everest, on way to Khumbu from Jiri or Phaplu & Sallery. It was erected as a primary school; promoted as Lower Secondary level in 2008. Around 200 pupils have been attending the school from the surrounding villages. This school is located in the centre of mix communities of Kirat Khaling, Viswakarma, Sherpa, Magar, Tamang, Damai Chhetri etc..

.....

School that helped build one of the existing school buildings:

alexandracollege.eu/senior-school/creative/students/phuleli/

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Solukhumbu,Nepal&hl=en&sll=42.319318,-71.0...

General non-design questions I asked:

- How Eo7 and everyone involved got connected and decided upon this project.
- About the unrelated school website and other actors involved (and how we fit in)
- About the "recipient" community and who is engaged and involved from there.
- How best to get our cultural and community-sensitive background and design questions answered.
- How Eo7 plans to implement the other components of the project, e.g. PTA and agricultural extension (where does this capacity come from? how were those needs identified?)
- General clarifications on relationships, since it's been our chapter project team --> Travis emails + calls with Eo7 --> group based in Kathmandu --> Karma the contractor and local contact? --> western Nepal ”community” in some form.

Answers:
Karma = project local partner in Nepal. Eo7 working with him for the past year and a half. Eo7 built hostel in Sculeri (sp?) with him last year. Karma’s org = The Small World. They’re the implementing partner. Vetting process: thirty partners generated, worked with a different one, had some on the list. http://thesmallworld.org/index.php?action=testimonials
Erin’s husband is Nepali. He’s been great with the vetting process as well. Erin took a five-month trip to Nepal to get to know lots of potential partners. She picked groups in India, Thailand, Cambodia from that trip, based on various indicators.
Karma is awesome. Really well respected in the community. Hostel project gave him a lot of visibility, 34 VDCs (village development communities) and Eo7 working with 30 of them (ones with less visibility). Hostel = allows girls to live in proximity and attend higher secondary school.
With visibility, Karma gets approached regularly, i.e. “we heard about you. our community is looking for ____.” So communities approach him.
He learned that these five places (our project sites) had immediate needs in their villages. Met with leaders in communities, identified needs, working with local organizations.
Lower capacity at school = lower caste kids get excluded first. What are projects that are going to affect everyone? Additional to school = lower caste kids get involved.
Phuleli: village leadership said they were looking for an extension to the school. Karma assesses needs in village (education, all students receiving benefits, keeping kids in school) and looks at causes (agriculture, lack of parental education). Phuleli decided as a community the school project was something they wanted to do.
Ag + PTA components were not necessarily decided by community, but they are good ways to address existing issues: there’s a need to have parents more involved, agricultural training. Karma will be running those programs with the village.
How Eo7 adds value to Karma’s work: look at other places (in the world?), see what’s worked, awareness and support, send volunteers to develop awareness of third world.
Eo7 and The Small World are partners. First project was 50/50 split ($50k) -- Karma et al raised $25k, Eo7 raised $25k. This project, well, $100k would be hard to raise in Nepal, especially these days. Karma HAS raised $10k for Purdu project. TSW has some government funding, too, which adds to his credibility.
How does he have so much capacity? He has lots of people working with him, also other volunteer partner groups, e.g. some Canadians.
I brought up how we had found these two existing websites for Phuleli and the Irish university.
Fancy wood panels versus computers. Minimalist perspective. Comfortable but minimalist supplies. As cheaply as possibly. Wood, fire, heat? Phuleli and Basa, 0-25 degrees C. 2-3 hour walk to get wood near Phuleli. Not that far. (Basa is 6-hour walk. Community forest with carpenter.) Daytime temperature is more moderate. Heat would be nice, too.
Travis will help once there with vetting with the local community, making sure that everything is respectful, etc. But Karma is the key here.
About the school with the website, are they still involved? Would imagine they are probably are not. Emily got the impression that the group is no longer involved?
Travis and his WIFE are going to Nepal. She will stay in Kathmandu.
Phuleli does have electricity. (Basa no. Chiwang and Phuleli does.)
If we really want to survey the community about design components... Emily and I discussed, and probably the best thing will be for us to come up with a list of questions to send along with Travis and Karma, and they will make sure the community is fully participating and sensitively ask the questions, in place of a bona fide survey.
Karma is from nearby: Taksindu. He’s a gentleman, but Eo7 really sought to find someone who’s sensitive to gender issues, and he is. Looking at issues like trafficking and finding ways to address them
Our ability to communicate with the Phuleli community? Satellite phone WILL be in the field at all times when the volunteer trips happen. Trip running November 21 onwards.
10 volunteers signed up at this point. Emily and husband. Couple college students. Couple architects and construction people. Pretty varied.