CORE shelter design recommendations for coastal areas of Sindh Pakistan. FUNDED BY HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL

1. Engr.Zubair Hashmi’s study as consultant
Field Research
17th- 29th May,2012
Recommendations for Permanent Shelter in Coastal Districts of Lower Sindh
Handicap Pakistan funded this study

2. Research Methodology
• Physical Investigation & Observation
• Interviews
a)Internal b) External
• Focus Group Discussions
a) Beneficiaries b) Self Builders c) Non-Beneficiaries d) Artisans (Carpenters/Masons)
• Participatory work on MODEL
• Coordination Meetings
• Construction Material Source & Availability Survey
Coordination
• Coordination Officer ,UN OCHA • Logistic Officer, Tear Fund
• DDMA Representative, Badin • Technical Lead, IOM Hyderabad
• Shelter Cluster District Badin Focal • Chief Engineer , UN Habitat, Thatta
• Operations Officer .Hands Organization • Fore man , KPT
• Site Supervisor , HF • General Secretary , PFF Badin
• Provincial Coordinator, IDC • Rural Infrastructure Engineer, SCDP / CDA,
Badin

3. Shelter Response
UNHabitat Design in Thatta
Coverage Concentration in Accessible Area near Urban Settlements
Limited Traditional Design option
Limited Transitional / Core Shelter Response to 2011, Flood
SC Focal & UNOCHA resources and field observation concludes
KPT Design in Thatta
Hands Shelter design in Thatta

4. Local Housing Typology & Practices

5. Local Materials & Behavior
Material Source / Availability Behavior Environmental Impact
Stone Kotri, Hyderabad, Jamshoro Durable Affecting the natural settings , with
embodied energy utilized during
transpiration
Blocks Urban areas Vulnerable against salinity High effect because of Cement /
Crush /Sand
Bricks Kilns working near river banks / Poor Against salinity Embodied energy during burning
canal banks to use saline free earth Challenge to find Salt free bricks in kiln and transpiration
for bricks
Babhur Timber Stiff wood ,take long time to decay production cycle is 10-12 years ,
Locally available in Thatta & Stiff but weak against pest / self growing because of seeds
Badin abundantly Termite spread around
Devi
Takes long time to get mature
Lai cladding plants Thatta Kacha Area Hard sticks , long time to get decay Self growing plant , grooming in 1
and bear wind speed year
Popular / Saveri KPK / Sukkur Poor against termite /pest Undefined yet
Sufeda Punjab / Local often Stiff to carry l.oad but poor against Undefined yet
pest / termite
Sand Jham Peer, Gharoo , Kotri Due to course quality does’nt give Stone crushing Crushing impacts
strong bond environment
, impact to natural settings

6. Indigenous Practices
Construction Typology
The house which is one room for a family is called as Kotha , Landhi, Chapra,
Jhopra, Taike de Ja in Sindhi
“The house is called as Loh Kaath when steel nails are used to connect timber in
framing, bracings and roofing rather tie up with rope. As “Loh means Steel and
Kaath s for Timber in Sindhi language”
Classification depending on foundation type
A-Bundha Khor B- Tarh Dasu
Posts standing on wall plate
above masonry “ Tarh Dasu”
Posts provided directly into
ground “ Bundha Khor”
Room Sizes Ranges between 16x12-24x12

7. Indigenous Practices
Structural Overview:
Foundation: “Charri” in local language”
Three types of practices observed
a) Poles along with cladding provided deep in 2.5ft wide & 2.5-3ft deep
continuous excavation to hold the structure while poles spacing
ranges between 6-8ft mostly in northern areas.
b) All the vertical Poles inserted into ground while poles spacing ranges
between 1-4ft in the areas of heavy winds and cyclones towards sea.
c) Brick or stone mud mortar or CS mortar masonry with a heavy profile
timber wall plate / Plinth beam provided on plinth level 1.5-2ft
above ground level to carry the structure load through vertical posts
resting on it. Such type of foundation is in old buildings but not
observed in recent construction.
Walls: “Bhit in local language”
Walls of two types observed
a) Heavy profile cross section posts spacing ranges between 6-8ft filling
with concentrated twigs to plaster and get thickness up to 1.5ft. This
practice is observed in Tando Bago.
b) Relatively small cross section Posts spacing ranges between 1-4ft filling
with twigs in between to plaster and get thickness up to 6inches.

8. Indigenous Practices
Cladding: “ Banth in local language”
There are different locally available twigs are weaved
together to be used as cladding.
a) Lai Twigs:
b) Cotton twigs:
c) Sunflower twigs:
d) Timber irregular cut pieces or saw mill’s waste:
Horizontal Bracings: “ Patti in local language”
Horizontal bracings provided to vertically align the
cladding and tie the posts together internally and
externally spacing ranges between 6” inches-1ft
Different types of wood is used in bracing
a) Saveri:
b) Babhur:
c) Jar:
d)Devi:

9. Challenges
Roofing: “ Chit in local language”
• Two way slopes using timber profiles of different size
in Ridge, Purlin and Rafters resting on wall plate with
two layers of “Kani or Pun” Thatch with a sandwich
plastic sheet layer.
• Tie up thatch with structure using nails or rope “
Wanr”
Plastering: “ Laipa/ Raga in local language”
• Stabilized Plastering on cladding and roof layer by
layer normally three layers

10. Indigenous Practices
Challenges:
• Termite & Pest Attack deteriorates foundation poles causing
major damage in flooding & Cyclones
• Excessive Salinity swallowing underground timber and erode
plaster within few months
• Low Bearing capacity of Soil because of salinity / high water table
during flooding
• Transportation / accessibility as material carriage costs 10-15 % of
total cost
• Land Ownership
a) tanents (Hari) b) Land Lords barren lands resident c) “Pud”
Resident d) Mallah on Coastal belts
• Carrying of Salt free Earth from canal beds (Silt) for Plaster by
women mostly
• Conflicts

11. Indigenous Practices
Good Practices:
• Laying of Gross /shrubs over saline earth to resist
Salinity to come up on floors
• Elevated stabilized Plinth Protection & Drain away
• Mud stabilization with Animal Dung and Husk
• Lime ,Jute Slush and sand mix final plaster
• Foundation Masonry with a heavy timber beam on
top
• Tying up of roof Thatch with ropes or extra purlin on
top
• Concentrated Bracing
• Raised Platform
• Not to plaster 1’ at bottom to avoid plaster erosion
• V Connections for corners and Flag Post
• Polythene sheet wrapping to post stem
• Proper Ventilation & Light

12. Indigenous Practices
Bad Practices:
• Connections / Overlapping & Joints
• Wall s Alignment / Plumb
• No brackets / Struts
• Load Transformation / Distribution
• Timber Quality Compromise
• No proper Compaction around vertical posts
• Large Room Sizes with week overlaps & Connections
• Heavy Roofing

13. Recommendations

14. Recommended Operational Strategy
• Community involvement from design to process with a strong Training component
(On Job – Hands on)
• Demo Houses for internal staff / Artisans Orientations/ Capacity building before
launching and segmental / Refresher orientations
• Maximum utilization of Community capacity & Involvement to create ownership feel
for sustainability e.g Cladding , Plastering & Carriage
• Close Monitoring of process and construction through monitoring staffing other
than supervisory and social staff.
• Local Purchase through purchasing from multiple hubs Village 1
Purchase Village 2
Point
Purchase Issuing Material to Community Village 3
Point
Mid way
Purchase Storage Village 4
Point
Purchase Village 5
Point
Village 6
Accountability through Monitoring Staff

15. Design Recommendations
“Tarh Dasu” is durable and resilient to Salinity, Cyclones and Flooding due to
following characteristics
• Masonry Foundation
• Timber detached from earth to get decayed
• Plinth beam provides BOX behavior
Key Consideration:
• Strong Base
• Anchorage / Connections & Joints
• Load transformation / Distribution
• Water Proofing
Materials
• Babhur a stiff and durable locally available timber for structure framing and
bracing as it takes more time to decay
• Lai Cladding
• Stones best material to use in foundation masonry as its more resistant against
salinity
• Lime sand mortar for masonry because of economy and low embodied energy
• Jute Slush to stabilize lime Mortar for Plastering final layer on roof top and walls
• I-Profile Girder as Ridge Beam

16. Foundation Plan
Foundation Plan Option: 1

17. Foundation Plan
Foundation Plan Option: 2

18. X-Section Foundation View
Foundation X-Section Opt:1

19. Ridge Anchorage
Joints / Anchorage / Connections

20. Roofing Ties
Roof Ties / Joints

21. Water Proofing
Water Proofing

22. Cost / Time Vs Quality
Time :
5-6 Days with One Carpenter to erect framing and one mason day for masonry
(Traditional Housing – Weaknesses + Improvements ) = A strong , Durable , Safe and habitable local Design
Value of Money:
A strong house of life span 15-20 Years to avoid
repeated repair / rebuilding time to time
Traditional House Costs: 900-1000 USD
Cost = 1.5 x Traditional House Cost

23. Challenges
Limitations:
• Main Timber Profile limited length in Babhur
• Stone Min supply of 650 cft / load , which can be a
limitation for replication