There's a difference between an intellectual exercise and being passionate about compassion

[harvey]

Christian suggested my complaints about the success of the perennial winners from Jovoto was sour grapes.

Not so.  I'm not angry about not winning.  I'm angry that Jovoto was used for the contest.  I see it as trivializing the efforts of those really involved in making the world a better place for the least fortunate of the less fortunate.  Jovoto made the search for affordable housing comparable to creating a logo for a new product.  

I can't fault Christian or Vijay because their goals were noble.  They were just naive.  Anyone can look at the statistics and see this is a very serious and important issue.  But there's more to it than the numbers.  There's evidence out there that's available that shows what ideas are working.  None of that information was considered in weighing the validity of the submissions.  That allowed submissions that had no validity to compete with viable concepts.  Jovoto's rating system magnified that error by allowing those who knew nothing about the topic to rate based upon presentations.

It would have been  nice to see five different concepts build prototypes in one place.  It would have been nice.

The world is going to be told that the contest to find the best way to build affordable housing for the poor came up with doing it with either earth bags or earth blocks because earth is free.  That is a half truth at best because there isn't one answer, one concept, one design that is the best idea of all.  What will work for rural poverty won't necessarily work for the urban poor.

Look at pictures of urban slums anywhere in the world.  Explain to me how you are going to get enough "free" dirt in there to build houses.   I've looked at those pictures and I accept that my idea of recycled plastic blocks won't be the best answer there.  That's because there isn't enough "free" dirt to make the plasters that are so critical  for our blocks to create safe houses that will last a lifetime.  We need the plaster to protect the inhabitants from the risk of fire.  We also need the plaster to protect the blocks themselves from the damage UV rays cause plastics.  Earth bags also need the plaster because the bags will deteriorate rapidly if exposed to UV rays.

Patti Stouter, the winner, and Owen Geiger are friends of mine and have helped us with our recycled plastic blocks.  They share the passion.  Owen and I found each other immediately after I came up with the idea of the recycled plastic blocks.  He introduced me to Patti and she worked with us on the earthen plaster for our model home.  I bet no one from Jovoto and only a couple contestants knew of Owen and Patti before the contest.  Owen and Patti are acknowledged leaders in sustainable housing.  Owen has been at the forefront of sustainable housing for more years than most of the voters on Jovoto have been out of diapers. 

 Think about that.  You have judges, voters, and contestants that don't know anything about current sustainable housing trends and personalities.  And the contest is about the best ideas for a low cost house that is sustainable.   

[Pete Abrams]

Harvey,

yes it was way less then perfect

(besides not picking the Bhome as the obvious winner :)

The random rating system,lack of cross referencing,accountability etc etc,

but it was SOMETHING, a step in the right direction that many passionate people have been trodding for years , and have given them and others a venue, voice and vocation that wasn't there before.

So lets show some gratitude for an imperfect opportunity presented by perfectly imperfect people.

eh?

.

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[Joseph Sandy]

Hey Harvey,

As one of the Jury selected winners(DVS) I don't think your concerns
are unfounded. As for the competition process I don't like public
voting, and thought the judges were to have more say in the final
outcomes. But one good part in the way everything played out is that
people took more interest in other project and thus were exposed to
more ideas. Regarding the materials, what I tried to do was use
materials already available to people in slums(I saw lots of slums
built out of bricks of some sort). Material may have be the most
difficult part because till we know exactly where the houses will be
built(if they were to be built), we don't know the climate, and what
is locally available at what cost.

I am trying to round up all of the diffident articles and ideas about
the $300 House challenge both for an against. I will post the roundup
on my blog with my reactions and updates to my project as I go back
and revise and rework as needed.


-Joseph Sandy(DVS)

[Christian]

Harvey - please go back and read the tone of your posts on Jovoto.

That said, I am happy you have decided to join us here. And for all
your
doom and gloom, our contest and our judges [who "know nothing"]
selected your friend Patti as the winner.

As for Owen, I have invited him to be an advisor to the project, and
we will
try to get him to the workshop as well. One of our other contest
winners
also asked to bring him to the prototyping workshop.

The Jovoto platform was incredible - it brought together a bunch of
passionate
people, designs, and yes, controversy. As a community based
collaboration
platform, it did its job - we are now all talking about and arguing
about design.
Without Jovoto, we wouldn't even have met, as I explained in my email
to you.

The judges got to pick three winners - the community picked the
rest.
Those were the terms of the contest.

And like I said on the jovoto blog, just because someone did not win
the contest
does not mean they should quit. Several of my favorites did not even
make it to the
final 16. So my message to them is to keep going. We will support
their efforts
as well, even as we are supporting businesses that did not enter this
contest.

Our goal with the contest was to give the designers a place to submit
their ideas
and talk about them. Our next step is to identify specific
communities we want
to work with in order to build prototypes that work for them!

Any suggestions? Ian - I saw your message - can u tell us more about
the community
you want to help.

[harvey]

Christian, Jovoto was the wrong platform, end of story.

Look at your goals and then your rules and expectations.

Now look at the Jovoto results. 20% of the prize money went to Jovoto
regulars.

If you take the time to read the comments in winners 15 and 16 you
will see my negative comments. Well, 16 had two entries that were
other people's ideas that he had borrowed without incorporating the
important, critical even, aspects of their ideas. The only reason
these two ideas were paid money was because the rating system
encouraged, rewarded even, ignorance. 15 in fact should have been
disqualified in everyone's mind just over the design of the front
steps. No one would make steps like that, well, I guess one person
would. Not to mention the concept of plastic sheets like we can buy at
the store. They don't last ten years in the weather much less the
"fifty year durability" specified in your presentation. Gabion walls
are being tried in Haiti. They aren't working out for many reasons.

Jovoto is about creative ideas for businesses that don't want to pay
for professional design help.

One of the things I expected to see at the end of the contest was the
press releases in all the media that had expressed interest earlier.
Either the press releases weren't sent out or they weren't interesting
enough for publication.

I've told you in private correspondence that I will help you anyway I
can with the prototype workshop. That I will do and without ill will
or any kind of negativity. You have asked me to bring my complaints
here instead of voicing them on Jovoto. I have done that. But as far
as I am concerned Jovoto is bar b que sauce on pancakes when it comes
to creative thinking, especially important creative thinking.

[Ian Fraser]

Hello Christian,

I propose a trial "60 house development" of the most suitable design chosen from the winners of the $300 House Contest.

It would re-house (all) the families in one village of the Mangyan People that is located nearby the town of Puerto Galera.

This village of Mangyan people live in an area very near the town of Puerto Galera. The Mangyans in general are the indigenous people of Oriental Mindoro Province of the Philippines. The Mangyans (Manguianes in Spanish, Mañguianes in Old Tagalog), consist of 7 distinct tribes. They occupy the interior, specially the highlands and down to some coastal areas. Mangyans have inhabited the island since pre-history. They are believed to have originally traveled from Indonesia and settled down for good in the island.

Spoken languages Tagalog, Mangyan (5 dialects), English

Based on the 2007 Census of Population, Oriental Mindoro has a population of 735,769 which makes it the most populous province in the region with a typical annual population growth rate of 1.06%. Housing is therefore a major issue.

The province is largely rural, with 70% of the population engaged in agriculture and fishing and with only 30% living in urban centers. Tagalog is widely spoken in the province along with English. Other languages spoken are Ilocano and Cebuano. Dialects of the Mangyan language are Arayan, Alagnan, Buhid, Hanunoo, and Tadyawan. Most of the population are of Roman Catholic stock. Refer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_Mindoro

The "village" I propose for a housing development is currently located very close to central Puerto Galera. Some of the people are engaged in share-farming of various crops; some work as guides and labourers at a local beach resort popular with overseas tourists that also sells some handicrafts produced mainly by the women of the village

I am not a sociologist or anthropologist and would say the people seem very poor but well into a cultural transition.

Their current housing is very, very basic (appalling would be a better description). Thatched palm leaves and simple; very small; timber structures with limited facilities -- no modern touches.

As a community they seem very "together'. They have well functioning primary school, church/minister, health and community centre. There is a very active community council that is representative, involving and consultative.

There is a very established cultural practice of sharing and helping each other -- it is a strong part of their cultural heritage and has a specific name in their language.

From discussions to-date they are very interested to be involved in such a project -- in fact they are having a council meeting this weekend (Saturday25th and Sunday 26th June 2011) to discuss such an idea. I confirm that, subject to the details of any proposal, I have definitely secured finance of approximately US$18,000 to build 60 houses based on average US$300 each.

Such a housing development needs to be supported by acceptable extra-community leadership expertise, specific community development/training programs as well as employment development programs. I am into working on these -- for example the major export income of the Philippines is Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) and I am trying to arrange for 5 to 10 males from the community to work picking fruit for one or more seasons in Northern Australia -- this will give direct "start-up" and sustaining cash-flow into the community during the development and transformative phase of this program. It will also give opportunity for skill development and experience in fields such as home building and agriculture in Australia

I am also exploring a microfinance proposal to support employment development in agriculture and/or fishing and building construction.

There is a serious question of clear land-ownership that needs to be addressed before any houses are built. I will also be looking into this.

It could be possible in the near future to build several "display-homes" on secure titled land.

I believe that all can be arranged and conducted with adequate and close management, monitoring and reporting to ensure transparency in all ways, appropriateness and freedom from corruption or mis-use.

The area where it is proposed to build these houses is sufficiently close to Manila , the Philippines capitol, to attract attention and involvement from the likes of University of the Philippines and Ateneo De Manila University or Santo Tomas or De La Salle University Manila.

If the 60 house project were successful there are many more such houses required by the rest of the Mangyan people and it could likely become a business for them.

Contact me if you have questions

Regards

Ian Fraser

--

[Inge]

How do u suggest the contest should have been held Harvey?

I see your point that perhaps the community on the Jovoto site was
comfortable and knew how to use the software to do effective
presentations, but they only got 20% of the awards. In most
communities it would have been the other way around, and they would
have won 80% of the awards. Our real-world design communities are
quite narrow minded, and like to do the same, so I think you have
disproved your own point.

A 20% bias towards itself is not a bias, Harvey. Instead, I think it
is a remarkable sign of open thinking.

Have you ever seen a design community give 80% of it awards to non-
community members? Certainly not - especially in traditional
architectural contests?

> > > > sustainable.  - Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Inge]

This is a great idea. We can have several communities around theworld
experimenting with the $ 300 House. Also we should look at helping
Africa because they have the need.

On Jun 24, 5:00 am, "Ian Fraser" <ianfra...@sydney.net> wrote:
> Hello Christian,
>
> I propose a trial "60 house development" of the most suitable design chosen from the winners of the $300 House Contest.
>
> It would re-house (all) the families in one village of the Mangyan People that is located nearby the town of Puerto Galera.
>
> This village of Mangyan people live in an area very near the town of Puerto Galera. The Mangyans in general are the indigenous people of Oriental Mindoro Province of the Philippines. The Mangyans (Manguianes in Spanish, Mañguianes in Old Tagalog), consist of 7 distinct tribes. They occupy the interior, specially the highlands and down to some coastal areas. Mangyans have inhabited the island since pre-history. They are believed to have originally traveled from Indonesia and settled down for good in the island.
>
> Spoken languages Tagalog, Mangyan (5 dialects), English
>
> Based on the 2007 Census of Population, Oriental Mindoro has a population of 735,769 which makes it the most populous province in the region with a typical annual population growth rate of 1.06%. Housing is therefore a major issue.
>

> The province is largely rural, with 70% of the population engaged in agriculture and fishing and with only 30% living in urban centers. Tagalog is widely spoken in the province along with English. Other languages spoken are Ilocano and Cebuano. Dialects of the Mangyan language are Arayan, Alagnan, Buhid, Hanunoo, and Tadyawan. Most of the population are of Roman Catholic stock. Referhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_Mindoro

> ...
>
> read more »- Hide quoted text -

[harvey]

That was my bad Inge. I thought it was about designing a $300.00
house for the poor because of Vijay and Christian's presence. I
didn't know it was a design contest for designers. I would never have
gotten involved.

[am prasad]

I am really unable to understand whats the fuss about.

There was clear goal (Stretch goal in my opinion). The goal was sought to be achieved through a contest to bring out the best out of teams. Today we have several interesting options/ideas in the public domain. As a global community, we are much better off today in this domain than what we were few weeks ago. So, what's the fuss?

cheers! amp

On Sat, Jun 25, 2011 at 6:54 PM, harvey <har...@harveylacey.com> wrote:

That was my bad Inge.  I thought it was about designing a $300.00
house for the poor because of Vijay and Christian's presence.  I
didn't know it was a design contest for designers.  I would never have
gotten involved.

On Jun 25, 2:01 am, Inge <edi...@cloudstoragestrategy.com> wrote:I 

[harvey]

Which of these ideas are you going to embrace and promote in your part
of the "global community"?

That's a fair question wouldn't you agree?

cheers, harvey

> ...
>
> read more »