5th July 2005

BLACK COUNTRY FIRM'S MACHINES HELP BUILD MALAWI SCHOOLS:
PARRY ASSOCIATES CHAIRMAN SEES EDUCATION REVOLUTION AT FIRST HAND

Parry Associates' chairman John Parry up to his elbows in happy 'customers' at a Malawi school roofed with Parry tiles.

The extraordinary achievements of the schools construction programme in the southern African state of Malawi have been seen at first hand by John Parry, the chairman of JPM Parry & Associates Ltd. The company is very proud to have played a major role in the programme by supplying appropriate technology machinery, manufactured in its workshops in Cradley Heath (West Midlands, UK), for producing roof tiles. Thirty of these machines have been supplied to Malawi and a further ten will be shipped to the country in the coming days. The Malawi Ministry of Education, supported by the UK's Department for International Development (DfID), has been constructing thirty classrooms a week; 1,500 new classrooms will be completed in 2005. A quarter of a million tiles will be supplied to the education programme this year.

The use of Parry technology has meant that a new Malawian industry supplying building materials has been created, and the reliance on expensive imported goods has been reduced. The tiles have many advantages over the steel roofing sheets that would have been used normally: they are cooler in the sun, quieter in the rain, do not suffer from rust and will not blow away in strong winds. There are now around 100,000 people, both children and adults, who benefit from the school buildings.

Although the machinery was supplied for the schools programme, the Malawi workshops are receiving enquiries from other customers for their roofing products. It is hoped that this new industry will soon be supplying building materials for offices, factories and private homes - and creating livelihoods for hundreds of people at the same time.

"It can be easy to overlook the importance of a good roof if you're used to one," said John Parry, who travelled to Malawi at the request of DfID to review progress of the roofing tile manufacturing programme after two years and to advise on expansion into the health and housing sectors.

"A good roof is one of the keys to providing decent buildings. In these schools the pupils and teachers don't to suffer excessive heat in the sun or the deafening noise of rain falling on a metal roof during the wet seasons.

"Our proudest achievement, though, is our involvement in the creation of businesses, jobs and livelihoods on the ground in Malawi. People's natural enterprise and energy is what will pull Africa out of poverty, not food parcels or globe-trotting consultants."

Parry Associates produces a range of machinery for the local production of building materials, including roofing, walling, flooring and ground surfacing products in both concrete and clay. Its products have been supplied to locations throughout Africa, Asia and central America. At its Cradley Heath base, the company has successfully built a prototype of its HIGH AND DRY concept: an affordable two-storey construction system which provides an upper-level refuge from flooding as well as the ability to build larger living spaces on small plots and hilly terrain.

An essential element in Parry Associates' service is its technical support and training, including the ability to send experienced trainers to locations around the world to ensure high quality buildings which are both affordable and involve local people in their construction.

Details of developmental success stories, including Malawi's school building programme, can be seen by clicking on the link below:

http://www.parryassociates.com/Success_stories.htm

The latest news from Parry Associates and related companies are included in the latest issue of the firm's newsletter. Click on the link below to view:

[JPA NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE]

Click on the following link for DfID's reports about the Malawi school building programme:

- MADE IN MALAWI: A QUIET ROOF THAT LASTS

Notes:

1. 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.

2. 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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