Foreword By John Parry, MBE, Managing Director Our company is the principal pioneer of an approach which reintroduces an involvement by local people using available natural resources to the building of modern classrooms, clinics, houses and stores. We have concentrated on upgrading the quality of products for roofs, walls, floors and other hard surfaces, using the materials available in the locality of the construction projects. We have also concentrated on production processes, to make sure that they can be small scale, requiring only easily learned skills, and needing equipment which is simple, robust and inexpensive. As a result we are able to create economically-viable businesses staffed and managed by local people.

Issues at stake in the developing world

Throughout the developing world many problems are faced by local people and authorities. These problems can be divided roughly into social, economic and environmental issues. However it is important to remember that all three may be interrelated, and all three must somehow be resolved.

Social issues

War destroys societies as well as buildings. After war has ended, where do all the soldiers go? As with many developing countries, when Sierra Leone was torn apart by civil war very few people remained uninvolved. Even children became soldiers. Besides death, war left people with disabling injuries, for example lost limbs. Disease and lack of social security has also lead to a higher proportion of disabled people of economically active age groups in developing countries.

Economic issues

Construction methods are presently changing to suit the convenience of importers and the major multinational firms, pushing aside local producers who previously supplied that market. The reasons for the change lie in the aspirations of developing countries to have homes and lives that reflect those of people in the developed world. In Nigeria for example, rural areas are undergoing demographic change as a result of young people moving to cities to find work, and this is to the substantial detriment of local economies.

Environmental issues

Many developing countries lie in some of the worlds most extreme or changeable environments. This can include climatic variables (most notably precipitation and temperature) which are often combined with geomorphologic features including vast wetlands and floodplains (e.g. Mozambique), mountains, and areas of geological activity. Also linked to environmental issues is the need for energy conservation, this is essential for everyone in the world, but it is a concern for people in developing countries in real terms, as inefficient energy use costs money that would better be spent on other essentials such as food and medicine.

War, corruption, costs of imports and environmental disasters such as flooding and drought can each feature alone or combined in developing nations. Yet perhaps having to survive such threatening social, economic and environmental situations has given the developing world its greatest assets: optimistic, industrious, determined and competent people who are more than willing to find and use the tools they need to help themselves and their countries.

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