TEACHING EARTHQUAKE-RESISTANT BUILDING PRACTICES IN GUATEMALA: DISSEMINATING EXISTING KNOWLEDGE TO THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT MOST

Most geoscience professors have spent years teaching about the geology of earthquakes, but geologic knowledge alone does not prevent fatalities: building collapse in response to shaking accounts for most casualties. Though earthquake-resistant building techniques have been developed using the concrete frame and masonry block construction typical in the developing world, a major challenge remains in disseminating these known best practices to the amateur builders and local contractors who are responsible for most housing and small scale commercial construction in rural areas. The principal earthquake-resistant technique – Confined Masonry – is highly effective for these non-engineered buildings, and it requires only modest changes in customary design and building practices.

Recently I had the opportunity to teach earthquake-resistant building techniques in rural Guatemala, although I am neither a builder nor an engineer. My experience suggests that effective teaching, a skill that most geoscientists have and practice every day in their classrooms and workplaces, is the most critical tool for providing meaningful assistance with this and many other geoscience-related issues. Expert knowledge, fluency in local languages, years of local experience and cultural insight are all useful but can be provided or developed through relationships with local partners.

I developed a 1-hour presentation using a laptop computer and small portable projector. I used photographs of local buildings and simple graphics with minimal captions to illustrate best/poor practices with yes/no labels, and breakable models to demonstrate basic design principals. Manuals with additional information and examples were provided to each attendee, for later reference and the possibility of propagating this information forward. Most remote villages had access to sufficient electricity to run a small projector, and the general underemployment of even educated individuals meant that there was little difficulty in finding partners capable of providing running translation into local language(s). The most challenging aspect of this project was developing a working relationship with a local organization willing and able to assist with scheduling, publicity, and generally connecting me with appropriate audiences.