In October 2023, Herat province in Afghanistan was impacted by a series of earthquakes which caused severe destruction to buildings and infrastructure. Ebadullah Momand has overseen response from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on shelter and housing, since then, serving as technical focal person at the field level in the region.
“We supported the community financially and technically to build transitional shelters in one
village (Chahak)”, explains Ebadullah. He is now working to continue support through building
and repairing homes.
“The RedR training on repairing and retrofitting vernacular houses was very relevant”, says
Ebadullah. “Such trainings are rare, and there is a huge expertise gap in Afghanistan in
retrofitting vernacular and even modern buildings and houses.”
The training was incredibly valuable to me. It emphasised the crucial need to preserve vernacular houses, especially in countries like Afghanistan where many people live in adobe houses, particularly in rural areas. These traditional structures hold significant cultural importance for communities and showcase traditional building techniques that have been handed down through generations.
When earthquakes strike, these houses are often significantly impacted. We need repair and retrofitting techniques that are affordable and earthquake resistant. He says, “My experience with UNDP has taught me about vernacular concepts including carbon emissions, climate-friendly practices, and building local knowledge and capacity, which have helped me easily understand the training on retrofitting and repairing of vernacular houses, conducted by RedR UK.”
As Ebadullah explains, however, there is significant value in preserving and repairing vernacular houses, created through traditional techniques – from not only a cultural, but also a technical standpoint. “In preserving cultural heritage through these traditional techniques, we also ensure the sustainability of these structures with minimal carbon emissions. Using local materials and traditional techniques not only enhances the resilience of these houses to seismic forces, but also makes them more adaptable to local climate conditions, leading to natural energy efficiency.”
This training, specifically catered to developing earthquake resilience in vernacular structures such as these, therefore holds particular value in the Afghan context. “By equipping individuals with the knowledge and skills to implement earthquake-resistant features and retrofitting measures in vernacular houses”, says Ebadullah, “we can help communities better withstand the impact of earthquakes and protect their cultural and traditional method of life.”
“The training has had a significant impact on my work, as it has deepened my understanding of the importance of preserving vernacular housing techniques, especially in disaster-prone areas like Afghanistan. I now have the knowledge and skills to implement earthquake-resistant features and retrofitting measures in traditional houses, which will help communities better withstand the impact of earthquakes and protect their cultural heritage.”
“This training has inspired me to continue working in disaster response, as I see the value in combining traditional knowledge with modern techniques to build more resilient and sustainable communities.”
Thanks for your support for RedR’s work in training disaster responders worldwide. Give financially to support this and similar projects for disaster-affected communities all over the world here.
This article contains elements that may be distressing.
In mid-March, soon after the February earthquake, we sent our Emergency Response Coordinator Mohammed Bashein to Türkiye.
He accompanied the Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT), from the Institution of Structural Engineers, on a research trip to earthquake sites. Mohammed spent ten days with the team as they carried out their research into structural, infrastructural, geotechnic, and humanitarian work that is required.
For RedR, this was an opportunity to understand the situation on the ground first hand, to inform our ongoing response. “Humanitarians always talk about serving populations,” says Mohammed. “But if we only operate from siloes, ivory towers, and computer screens many miles away we won’t really know or understand.” Insights from the trip have been invaluable in informing our Learning Needs Assessment, freely available to all working in this context.
Coordination saves lives, and this trip has helped us make more connections. We’re looking forward to bridging the humanitarian and engineering sectors in the region to build a coordination group. We have good connections, for instance, with engineer syndicates in Syria, and we’re also part of the Shelter cluster. We can use our positionality to connect them.
How can this trip inform ongoing conversations about capacity, power, and privilege? Here, Mohammed shares his reflections and insights.
What was it like to be on the ground?
“I’ve been to Türkiye many times before, and some of the culture and politics overlaps with Libya, where I’m from. My personal experience in Libya gave me some insight. In the 2019 conflict in Tripoli, my house burnt down, so I had a lot of empathy for how damage affects people’s lives first hand. In each storey of those damaged buildings, you can see a life.
“In Iskenderun, we saw how the earthquakes had raised up the coastline higher than the ground. Some areas of the city were a ghost town. While people were living in tents, others continued their lives, going to cafes and restaurants.
Do any interactions with people you met there stick in your mind?
“One of our first conversations was with an elder, fixing and building some tents. I greeted him.
“‘Hi uncle, I hope you and your family are well. I thank God for your safety.’ Lots of people needed to hear that kind of thing. On the night of the earthquake, he had taken his daughter to another city for routine medical treatment. When he returned to a ruined house, he couldn’t get a tent from the government. Someone else had given these to him. He told us that being from Syria undermines you. ‘We’re not a high priority’, he said. ‘But I’m thankful my family are safe, and people help us’. He insisted we stay and have coffee with him.”
“On another occasion, an elder lady asked us to see her home, even though we explained that we could not carry out any government assessments. She and her four sons were from Syria, but they had been renting this now partially collapsed house for ten years. I tried to give her some psychosocial support. Standing in her courtyard, next to her collapsed house, I told her I recognised her pain. People in this part of the world always pray for you as you speak. ‘I know you can’t do anything’, she said, ‘but you entered my heart. I hope to meet again in better circumstances.’ She said her daughters-in-law could make us some lunch. The moment made me realise the number of shocks these people have been through. I wasn’t sure if I was seeing resilience, or numbness.”
“Another woman asked us to see her house, although authorities had already told her it must be demolished. I tried to manage her expectations. I didn’t have the authority nor the capacity to assess its structural integrity, and her house had a lot of cracks. She told us she came every day just to be near it. I know from my experience in Tripoli that feeling, of trying to figure out where to start.”
The earthquake has now completely fallen out of the news cycle here in the UK. What are your thoughts about the ongoing need? How can we make a difference?
Even if you are on the wrong side of those linguistic and cultural barriers, anyone who wants to do good can find a way. It’s a matter of recognising your positionality, including from a socio-historical perspective. Be aware of how you see people, and how they see you.
There’s always a feeling of helplessness, because you can’t fix people’s lives on your own. But through your contacts and position in the sector, you can voice out these stories. For me, going back to that rationale of making a difference by influencing decisionmakers is very helpful. I want to enable the disempowered to be part of the discussion, and RedR UK really gives me that opportunity. We try to voice out community concerns at cluster level.
“The needs are still there, and there is lots to be done. Many of us are privileged to be in parts of the world, where these are not our problems. That gives us a responsibility to try and mobilise resources.
In my conversations with friends in the UK, I see that people are very interested to know what’s happening and donate. They want to make an impact. They just want to know how.”