1st December 2004

Lessons from the Black Country:
Building peace in Southern Sudan - a model for aid and development

JPM Parry & Associates Ltd of Cradley Heath, West Midlands, is proud to announce the first agreement to provide equipment to assist in the rebuilding of Southern Sudan after the long civil war between the north and south of the country.

Four complete workshops for the production of building materials - including roofing tiles, wall blocks and floor paving - are to be financed by a charitable foundation based in north west England. A further set of equipment is being paid for by an East Africa based aid organisation. The machinery will be delivered to the Southern Sudanese towns of Rumbek (which will receive two plants), Wau, Juba and Yei. It is expected that more will be supplied shortly to other locations in Southern Sudan.

Parry Associates have been in contact with the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), widely expected to become the future regional government in Southern Sudan, over the past several months with the aim of helping the transition to lasting peace by means of livelihood creation and practical rebuilding assistance.

The order for Sudan follows previous successes using Parry technology in post-war situations. Equipment supplied to Sierra Leone, Angola, Uganda, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan has assisted areas ravaged by conflict. A particular achievement in Sierra Leone, under a Commonwealth-sponsored programme, was the rehabilitation of demobilised rebel fighters as workers in building materials workshops, the former soldiers literally supplying the building blocks for reconstruction.

The Parry approach to development is one of trade and livelihood creation, ensuring that sustainable, environmentally benign businesses are created. This in turn generates both wealth for the local communities and essential products for economic development. An essential component is the provision of training for local people, ensuring both that the building materials they produce are of high quality and that the houses, classrooms and other structures are built to suit the climate and materials used.

Parry Associates manufactures a complete range of building materials production equipment at its workshops in Cradley Heath. For details, click on:
ON-LINE CATALOGUE

Parry technology helps combat many of the real problems affecting people in developing countries. The following link gives examples of the solutions available:
PROBLEMS

Further details about the build-up to the Southern Sudan programme, as well as other stories on international building materials applications, can be found in the latest 'Parry News' newsletter No.40.

Notes:

1. The conflict between the north and south of Sudan is entirely separate from the situation in Darfur, in the west of the country. A pledge to reach a peace deal between the northern Khartoum government and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement was signed in November at a meeting of the UN Security Council in neighbouring Kenya.

2. JPM Parry & Associates Ltd was founded in 1974 by John Parry, one of the early team of directors of the Intermediate Technology Development Group and chair of its Building Materials Panel, to offer technical services to the construction industry in Britain and overseas. Shortly afterwards, the company started to develop a range of intermediate technology machinery that could be used to produce quality building materials in developing countries using local resources. These are now in service in over 80 countries.

3. Applied to transport, the Parry approach to technological development produced the flywheel energy storage system licensed to Parry People Movers Ltd (www.parrypeoplemovers.com).

For further information, please contact:

John Parry MBE
CHAIRMAN
JPM Parry & Associates Ltd
Overend Road
Cradley Heath
West Midlands
B64 7DD
UK

Telephone: +44 (0)1384 569171
Fax: +44 (0)1384 637753
E-mail: info@parryassociates.com
Website: www.parryassociates.com

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