After the 2015 earthquake, IngOG+ supported the British NGO Learning Planet in developing modular, earthquake-resistant primary school buildings. Two school buildings were constructed using locally available materials and serve as prototypes for further replication.
Numerous small primary schools, known as “feeder schools,” were destroyed during the earthquake in Nepal in April 2015. The reconstruction of these schools progressed only slowly. Feeder schools are located in small, often very poor and hard-to-reach villages and provide education for the youngest children, for whom the long journey to the nearest regular school would be too difficult. These schools are generally funded through charitable means, while the small village communities have little influence at the national level and therefore receive neither attention nor funding when reconstruction priorities in Nepal are determined.
The British NGO Learning Planet developed a modular school system to efficiently advance the reconstruction of feeder schools in Nepal. IngOG+ supported Learning Planet in adapting its modular school system to the needs of feeder schools and designing the building structures to be earthquake-resistant. The aim of the project was to provide a cost-effective and affordable solution for rebuilding feeder schools at different locations.
As part of the collaboration with IngOG+, two prototypes were constructed in the villages of Sano Bhorle and Dhawa, north of Kathmandu. The walls of the school buildings were built from compressed earth bricks, while the roof structures and certain structural reinforcements were made of bamboo frameworks. This ensures that the schools can be built using locally available materials, taking into account the shortage of conventional timber following the earthquake. The earth bricks can be compressed and stored directly on-site.
It remains to be seen how successfully the prototype can be replicated and implemented at different locations. If needed, IngOG+ continues to provide technical expertise and support.