Where to begin.....

These domes are going to be pretty easy to make. We just need 343 10' sticks of 1" metal conduit pipe to start with....

I am going to start with making one prototype. A friend at 3rd Ward has said he will help me to figure out the jigs so that the metal struts are totally uniform. I found an online "Dome Calculator" which gives the precise measurements needed and on another website I found detailed instructions on how to build one as well as pdf files which contain patterns for the cover! Hot damn, gotta love the internet.

So far I've found a willing non-profit to serve as an umbrella organization for Domes for Haiti. It's called the Watershed Center. It's a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to education and environmental sustainability.

I've got my friend, the head carpenter at MTV's studios to promise me the banners that are in the windows when they take them down. I have also spoken to a guy at a scenic company up in Newburgh who liked the idea very much and is going to look into their surplus vinyl situation and get back to me tomorrow. I spoke with the owner of Pacific Domes, an old friend of mine, who encouraged me to do the project and told me that I'd need a "heat welder" because you cant sew vinyl and have it remain waterproof.

I found an organization called AFYA which has a warehouse in Yonkers which is shipping containers of supplies to Haiti every week. A source close to the company told me that they often have extra space in the containers. I think the domes might hitch hike to Haiti.

What else? I started working on the Project Proposal which lists the mission statement, the materials needed, the approximated cost of labor, travel expenses and tools needed.

I have never done anything quite like this before.

I have to thank Duncan, a fellow stage hand who sort of egged me on to do this. He has a video idea that he wants to make about the process from idea to completed project.