First, check out the lead article of AOL News, on the first anniversary of the Haiti earthquake:
This virulent, but nicely written piece came together after the journalist asked to “shadow” me during one of my Haiti business development trips.
Back on the “home front”, Nicaragua, things are HOT, HOT, HOT. And I ain’t talkin about the weather. As blogged about previously, I launched an initiative to reach out to other mayors, now that we have something concrete to show in the municipality of Rosita. DING DING DING!
So, let’s see, after 2 days in Puerto Cabezas, also known as Bilwi:
– met with a German NGO to push for their participation in a development project to bring to market the world’s first pre-fabricated floating bamboo house
– met with the “Regional Government”, and learned that they have a funded, but yet unattributed program for 60 or so houses (which we are of course going to bid)
– met with a our main customer, Junta Andalucia, and learned about another Spanish NGO that is rumored to have another 80 houses, unassigned, which we are going to pursue…
– met with the Mayor, who gave us an immediate opportunity to bid on a high visibility project, though small, to have something local to show, proposal was discussed this a.m., by 5:30, the Mayor had a proposal, drawings and priced proposal, in his email inbox
– met with the Red Cross and got them to sign up to participate in the same floating house bamboo initiative
Bilwi’s region, characterized by systemic flooding, has a very clear architectural heritage, wooden houses on pillars. Here are a few examples. The river is Rio Wawa, which rises about 6-10 feet every year, and forces widespread evacuation when it does…
2011 is shaping up to be a heck of a ride for CO2
This is going to be an interesting year!
Next trip: Waspan! another Atlantic Coast city (with housing requirements)
Very cool Ben! I printed the article to show to Rick, any press is good press right?
Hey Kim! Nice to see you are still “on board” as a blog follower… Actually, it IS good press. The article presents a solid analysis of the shelter problem in Haiti. Hello to all in aerospace land!