Friday, April 30, 2010

Photos from the Art Auction



This is Dilan, he worked really hard from the time he arrived before the event started to the very end when we were packing up the art to go home.


The show last night was awesome, everyone who attended had a fabulous time. We made 450$ at the door + merch and $755 in the art auction, which we still have to collect the bulk of from the winning bidders. There were quite a few very generous people there who bought art. One of my paintings sold, a bunch of Tod Seelie's photos sold, Serra Bothwell Fels did rather well, Katelan Fosley, Kevin Caplicki and Ben Mortimer all sold works. We are grateful to all the artists who showed their work and we shared some of the proceeds with the artists to support them as well. Including the generous donations on both paypal sites Domes for Haiti currently has $3,030. Bit by bit we will reach the goal. Konbit. .
The only thing stopping us now is lack of money. We have manufacturer's on stand by to fabricate all ten dome covers. We have the completed metal frames for ten domes ready to go in a couple days from now. We need $10,000 to complete the covers. We need approx $1,000 to buy tools to send with each dome kit. People need tools to rebuild communities.
We'd also like to bring some money with us to hire Haitian workers to prep building sites for the domes as well as pay for transport. We are looking of donations of non perishable foods such as peanut butter, honey and rice cakes. We would love to bring some clothes to the kids in Port Au Prince, we'd love to bring beds and school supplies. Any and all of these donated goods we promise we can deliver them to the kids that need them.



Rachel Sage performed. She even dedicated a song to me.


Brett and Dan both entertained the audience with wonderful performances.


Zito brought a huge painting of a mexican wrestling house wife vacuuming. It was awesome.

We had so much amazing work on display. Our community is full of very talented artists and creative builders.

I had a rapt audience. That is, after I rapped them upside the head.
Just kidding. People were very supportive of the project.

I have to tell you, dear readers, that I was recently informed by a confidential dome manufacturing company owner that he has two domes in Miami, in a storage locker, ready to be shipped to Haiti tomorrow. He is willing to give me a significant break on the price of the domes. They are both huge domes, could be used for a school, a field hospital or a orphanage for about 50 kids each. One is 20' diameter, the other is a 24' dome. He will sell them both to me for a total of $8,000.

AGAIN it's the money stopping me from flying in the face of the hurricanes and saving a whole bunch of kids from harms way.

I am not going to make this money by selling tee shirts, thanks to all of you who bought them last night, but I need serious funding.

I just received my weekly report from the fiscal sponsor who sends me all the info on who is donating and how much. Our current total on their paypal is $1250. One of the donors listed in the report was Joni Mitchell. Thanks, Joni.

I spoke at length the other day via gmail chat with a photo journalist name Jeremy Dupin who is working for Algazeera and is in Haiti now. He told me about some of his friends in Port Au Prince who took in 24 kids off the street. They are living under a makeshift shelter of sticks and bed sheets. They have no beds. They need food, clothes and school supplies. Think of what gives dignity to a human life. Is is shelter? A bed? Food?? Decent clothes? Learning?
What would your life be like without access to any one of these things? What would your day be like if you hadn't slept the night before, not because you were out partying all night but because you couldn't lay down because the ground was flooded with water and mud.
Now put yourself into the shoes of a child, a kid in Haiti who may have lost their parents in the earthquake. Maybe they saw them die and couldn't help them. Now they are barely living themselves and depending on the kindness of strangers to even get a crumb to eat.

Not a pretty picture, right? Can you take just a little hit on your monthly budget to send 100 bucks to these kids? We have virtually no bureaucratic waste in this project. I am not a bureaucratic type person. I dont have alot of use for bureaucracy. I promise you that if you donate your hard earned cash to this project, that it will go to Haiti in the form of good solid shelter for some kids and some tools for their parents to build with.

Does anyone reading this blog work in a health food store or a food co-op? Do you think you could talk them into donating some 5 gallon buckets of peanut butter and honey and rice cakes to the kids in Port Au Prince? How about some summer clothes?

I am totally baffled by the Red Cross. Who are they helping besides themselves???
There are people living in a tent city right across the street from their headquarters in PaP.
The people interviewed at that tent city have not seen one drop of help from the Red Cross.

It's up to us. We have to step in. People helping people. This is Konbit.

Please donate today.

Thank You.

Photo Credits: Rachel Eisley

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Monday, April 26, 2010

Delay in Packing

Hi All. There is a slight delay in the packing up of domes this week. We are canceling for Tuesday, but will be doing it on Friday instead!

Let me know if you can make it over to 3rd Ward on Friday to help... times to be announced, probably mid day.

DOMATIONS GLADLY ACCEPTED

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Domate!


We had a nice turnout for the screening of Poto Mitan this evening. Many new friends came out to support the project. We made about $370. Not alot of money, but every bit helps. Also, it was a rainy Sunday night in Brooklyn. Bike Powered smoothies were had by all! Spontaneous bouts of dancing were witnessed and some wonderful drumming by Makandal
Thank you to all who came out in the rain to support this project.

I started planning a huge benefit party to be held at the Gowanus Ballroom in a couple of weeks. Events like the one tonight are great for networking and connecting. But we need to do an all out crazy Brooklyn underground party to raise the roof. We will bring it.
We will make it interesting for y'all, we'll have a woman suspension artist there among other intriguing acts. More on that later.

We are gathering forces for the benefit on Thursday at Sugarland, we have such an amazing line up of artists showing their works. We will be adding some local Haitian artists to the line up tomorrow! There are also three wonderful musicians appearing at the benefit including Rachel Sage

I am still waiting for word from my metal fabricator as to when the struts will be ready to be packed. He had originally said today, but he ran into some troubles, I guess he broke an arbor press and then made another press out of two car jacks. I really wish I could get him into the motorcycle shop where Zack and I pressed the first batch on that hydraulic press. That worked fantastically.

So, all of you who are planning on helping, thanks and i will keep you posted on the exact time and date of the packing. We are looking at tuesday now, but we'll see tomorrow how John is doing with the presses.

We will be getting quotes tomorrow on the fabrication. We have some donated fabric coming in as well as the final prototype's dry run early this week. We might be able to fabricate the dome covers right in good old Brooklyn. Represent.

DONATE!

Haitians Without Shelter Ahead of Rains

Friday, April 23, 2010


Domes for Haiti Benefit: Screening of Poto Mitan and music by Makandal

Join us for an amazing night of Film, Music and Dance!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
7:00pm - 11:00pm
House of Yes
342 Maujer St.
Brooklyn, NY


Doors at 7pm
Film starting @ 7:30pm and drums @ 9pm.......we'll shake our booty till 10 or till we're done!
$5 - $200 sliding scale donation, no one turned away for lack of funds or fun.

*Amazing music provided by Makandal drummers, get ready to shake your booty! (http://www.makandal.org/)
*Courtney Sheetz will be mixing up some delicious Rum cocktails
*Domes for Haiti T-shirts, designed and printed by Lopi LaRoe
*Film screening of Poto Mitan: Haitian Women, Pillars of the Global Economy, made by Renée Renata Bergan just last year (http://potomitan.net/)




hey y'all! We have numbers. We need to raise $15,000
to complete this project!! Please come out and enjoy the benefit this weekend as well as the one on thursday night. If you want to see this project succeed, please take a moment and donate by clicking on one of the paypal buttons to your right.
If you do not like paypal but would like to donate anyway,
you can come to one of these events and hand me the money
OR Checks for tax-deductible contributions should be made out to our fiscal sponsor, Not An Alternative, Inc.. Please be sure to specify "Domes for Haiti" in the memo of the check.

They can be mailed to:

Not An Alternative
143 Newell St
Brooklyn, NY 11222


thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we will win!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Volunteer Opportunities

We are looking for some help for the upcoming benefits. We need a couple people to be on the merch table for the House of Yes on Sunday April 25th.
We are looking for a couple more people that night to do door and help with bike blended smoothies. If you can help, please email me at info@domesforhaiti.org

Also, we are still looking for more volunteers to help assist the packing work parties on monday and tuesday of next week. We will be at 3rd Ward. Check back for exact times, we are waiting to hear from our manufacturer about time of delivery so cant post the time yet.
Email me at the above address to volunteer.

In other news, we have added a tax deductible paypal button on the side bar. You can now donate through our fiscal sponsor. If you dont need tax write offs, though, you can still donate directly to us. If you want to donate but dont do paypal you can make a check out to our fiscal sponsor, Not An Alternative, Inc.. Please be sure to specify "Domes for Haiti" in the memo of the check.

They can be mailed to:

Not An Alternative
143 Newell St
Brooklyn, NY 11222


We are gearing up for the final phase of part one: Domes For Haiti with two benefits:

Domes for Haiti Benefit: Screening of Poto Mitan and music by Makandal

House of Yes
342 Maujer St
Brooklyn, NY
April 25th
Doors at 7pm
Things start shaking @ 7:30pm and go till 11.......or we're done!
$5 - $200 sliding scale donation, no one turned away for lack of funds or fun.

*Music provided by Makandal drummers, get ready to shake your booty! (http://www.makandal.org/)
*Band of Bicycles will be mixing up some delicious Haitian Rum smoothies(http://bandofbicycles.com/)
*Domes for Haiti T-shirts, designed and printed by Lopi LaRoe
*Film screening of Poto Mitan: Haitian Women, Pillars of the Global Economy, made by Renée Renata Bergan just last year (http://potomitan.net/)

******

The Geometry of Shelter: A benefit for Domes For Haiti
"There's no place like Domes"
Join us Thursday, April 29th for an evening of entertainment
This art auction / film screening / musical performance is only $5 to attend, and all proceeds go toward this groundbreaking project.

Come see the official unveiling of the Prototype that we will be sending!
Screening of recent footage from Haiti by filmmaker Courtney Sheetz
A silent art auction featuring many fine artist's work including:
Lopi LaRoe, Ben Mortimer, Immanent Disaster, Ryan O'Connor, Tianna Kennedy, Tony Bones, Tod Seelie, Angie Kaylor, A'yen Tran and many more to be announced!

Performances by piano-wielding singer/songwriters:
Dan Paul
and Brett Lord
Special Guest
OUTMusic Award Winner
Rachael Sage

8 to 10 pm
Sugarland
221 N 9th St
between Driggs and Roebling
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Friday, April 16, 2010

Art

We will be needing volunteers to help pack 700 struts to get them ready for shipping on Monday April 26th and Tuesday April 27th. In Bushwick. The time will depend on when the bulk of the volunteers are available. Please contact me at info@domesforhaiti.org with your availability and we will get this done together!

Upcoming events:

Poto Mitan: Haitian Women Pillars of the Global Economy

Sunday, April 25, 2010, 7:00 pm

Benefit screening for Domes for Haiti

House of Yes
342 Maujer St.
Brooklyn, NY

Suggested donation $10-$20

Special Rum drinks, Silk screening and Haitian Dance!
More details to follow.


Geometry of Shelter: There's no place like Domes
A benefit for Domes for Haiti

April 29th at Sugarland in Williamsburg
featuring an art auction, prototype unveiling, dance performances, musical entertainment, film footage of Haiti, live silkscreening and dancing!


We are currently developing the second dome cover prototype with the art director from Duggal. We expect to start production on ten dome covers by mid week. We will reach our goal of ten domes by May 1st.

Phase two of the project still needs financial support. We are doing a tool drive as well.
Donations of tools can be sent to: Domes for Haiti c'o 3rd Ward 195 Morgan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11237

List of tools: metal shovels, metal rakes, post hole diggers, sledgehammers, pick axes and adjustable wrenches. We also could use some ratchet straps and shrink wrap for packaging the dome kits.

Thank you all for your generous support.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Dug all of it

Thanks to all the volunteers who have helped on this project so far: Serra, Larken, Allyse, Dena, Olivia, Will, Janna, Zack, Greg O, Brooke, Margaret, Jim, Christopher, Laura, Duncan, Elizabeth, David, Renee, Catie, Brett, Angie, Margie, Joe, John and Ryan. Thank you so very much.

I met with the owner of a large company whose factory is in the Brooklyn Navy Yards. He is a very intelligent older man who supports the green movement to the utmost. He is dedicated to using the most innovative green technology that is available. They are building a huge green house in the navy yard. He supports artistic expression. He is cool.
I think he likes my project. He gave his blessing for his Art Director to work with me on creating a prototype cover to see if it's economically feasible to fabricate the domes in his factory with his machines. I went the day before meeting with The Boss to the factory in BK NY and their RF Welder is enormous. They have auto cutting machines and huge printing machines. So now we have exactly what we needed for this project. An experienced builder and designer. Thanks! He will be working up our new pattern this week and we can hopefully get a dry run done on the prototype by monday, so that we can fabricate it, get all the kinks out of it, and then get a quote on what the job costs and start running it.

The frame struts for ten domes will be ready by the 25th of this month. I will be needing alot of help that week, packing stuff up to be shipped. If you have time on the 26th, 27th, 28th that would be a great help. Also, I am going to need a companion to drive the truck back from Miami for me after I bring the stuff down to be shipped.

I am also still looking for a Kreyol speaking film maker to document this journey to Haiti. We will pay your airfare and a small stipend in cash, if we raise enough at the benefits coming up.

So we are making the real prototype. The first one is, in all honesty, kind of a dud.
Sorry! I wasted a whole week on this pattern that just didn't work at all. I feel like an idiot. I wish the learning curve were not so steep on this.

It just sets us back in the whole process. I am keeping my sights on May 1st.

In other news, Eric Klein from Can do called me yesterday and we had a great talk. He offered to ship my domes for me from Miami on a cruise ship! But this buys us back some time because shipping the domes from Yonkers was going to take 18 days. From Miami it takes 2 days. So if I rent a truck and drive the stuff to Miami, I can fly from there. That cuts out some time, some of the time that I lost.

Also, funding. We need donations to buy tools to bring with the dome kits to Haiti. If you donate money through paypal, you can know that your money is going to purchase tools to bring to the people who are rebuilding in Haiti. We have been receiving on average about 1 donation a week and that is not enough to sustain jack. Please send in a donation today, even 20 bucks helps.

Thanks for reading.

Monday, April 12, 2010


We will be showing our prototype as part of an event being created by Xango at 3rd Ward for the 17th of April, this Saturday. Event details here: http://www.xango2012.com/index2.html

There are several benefits approaching. One of them is taking place at the House of Yes on the 25th of April.

Poto Mitan + Kanu Dance Theatre

a film screening followed by a dance performance
bike blended smoothies and beer will be served

Also, there will be another benefit at Sugarland the following week. The dates are still being determined I will announce it as soon as I know.

Sunday, April 11, 2010


this is the layout for gluing
we've been gluing for days...

not enough sleep
this is a window
dada
tada

stencil


we took the dome down to move it to 3rd Ward where we will be showing it as part of an event that is happening there on the 17th. Details soon!

I changed the pattern and am now shopping it around to find someone to manufacture 10 domes. The struts will be ready probably in a week. I will find out tomorrow the date of completion for that so I can announce it on here to get a bunch of volunteers to come help sort, color code and package the dome struts. Please email me if you want to help!
info@domesforhaiti.org

I will be visiting a factory in the brooklyn navy yards tomorrow to check out the machines and meet some people that maybe are going to be able to help us complete this phase of the project.

I still have no funding for this project. I haven't had time to write any grants. I have two people who said they are organizing fundraisers. My friend Jessi Klein is having an event on the 17th at 3rd Ward. They are going to give Domes For Haiti 10% of the bar after they make 6,000 bucks. That is what I am looking at for funding. Pretty spotty, at best.

If you have been following this project and would like to help make it succeed, please email me. I am exhausted. I need your help.

thanks for reading


Wednesday, April 7, 2010

dymaxion earth


This is Bucky Fuller's Dymaxion Map of the Earth

this is an electric cutter
Question. Do I write this blog in a slanted way, to encourage people to support this project? Should I act like everything is running along smoothly and I am having no roadblocks thrown at me at every corner? Or do I write it completely transparently and show all the difficulties and challenges I am facing along with the minor victories?

I'll go with the honest approach.

Project managing a project with no funding is not sustainable. I have not been able to work my regular job in two months. I am neglecting my health issues and basic survival to get this project done. Yesterday, walking to go pick up the truck, I was feeling like, what am I doing? Am I crazy? Do I think it's up to me to do the job a hundred NGO's and government organizations ought to be doing? I feel a little insane to be doing this with no funding.
There is a vague promise of funding on the horizon from Can do, but that is really phase two of this project. I am still trying to complete phase one. Ten domes by May 1st. This project will not quit, there is no way I am giving up now.

Also, I have help, but I need more help. I can't concurrently do the million things that need to happen on this project for it's success. I am getting some help. Brett, for example. Yesterday I went to where he works as a factory manager in the garment district to cut out the prototype. I borrowed Clyde and drove him to midtown. Clyde is Elizabeth's truck.
He is as strong as an ox and white like the white buffalo.

I am having some difficulty with this pattern, there are too many pieces which means too many seams which makes it not cost effective. It's composed of 5 pentagons connecting to form the sides and one pentagon on top with 10 equilateral triangles filling in on the top and sides, connecting the pentagons. We have a beautiful pattern that Catie made for us to my specs. It's gorgeous. But it has too many pieces to make it easily manufactured.

Brett with his boss Pat who kindly allowed us to utilize his factory for DOMES FOR HAITI
THANK YOU!

I had the same feeling while cutting out the pattern that I had when we were cutting and pressing and drilling the pipes for the first frame.
This is taking too long! That was my feeling, of being overwhelmed with the enormity of the task at hand. But I know that before when I had it, it was a temporary feeling, and now the whole job of fabricating the metal for the ten domes is being handled by professionals.
I know I can get the same thing for the covers. I just need a better design so that the manufacturer's see it as an easy task, one that they can do for free.


I am looking at the dymaxion earth model from buckminster fuller. I think I can adapt it to a dome cover pattern by cutting off the parts that complete the sphere. It looks do-able, I just need the measurements.

So now I have all the parts for one dome cut out, but I want to change the pattern to make it more cost effective. Do I go ahead and fabricate the cover we cut out anyway, just to have one finished to show people? But if it's not the pattern we are going to use anyway, isnt my time better spent perfecting the pattern? Why show people a prototype that wont ultimately be used for the project? Or do I go ahead and build it just to show progress?
I think I should just build the thing and work on a new design at the same time with my extra arms i had transplanted on my body last week.

I wrote an email to Asha at Pacific Domes asking her if she would lend me her pattern for a 2 frequency 17' dome. She has not responded.

smudge is the resident cat at the factory
I got a quote from a place upstate called "We Make Tents" that they could do the seaming for ten domes for 2,800 bucks. But that doesn't include the cutting. As we found out yesterday, the cutting is HARD to do even with all the tools in a factory. The table was not big enough, our pieces of vinyl were not big enough either. We had to cut out some of the pentagons in two halves. Same with the triangles. Recycling pieces of vinyl is not easy either. It's unruly as hell, nothing is the same size. It's not like rolling out a nice roll of fabric that you can zip snip zoom. No. It's horrible but true that most people that could recycle tons of materials dont because it is not time or cost effective. That is totally effed up.

Edwardo is a skilled cutter, he did a great job! Thanks!!

I am not going to pretend that this project is the product of a master genius project manager that waves her wand and things happen. It aint like that. I get baffled. There are things happening that I cant report on this blog. There are major set backs threatening us, but I dont want to write about it, because it might turn out a false alarm.

I am determined, however.

As I have not had any time to write grants or even complete a budget for this one, I am starting to think I may be able to complete all ten domes for virtually no money.
Donations are still trickling in, thanks Jen! My sister donated very generously to support this project. She lives in Alaska. Shout out to AK from BK!!

Bugz from Mutual Aid for Disaster Relief is putting together some tool drives to get the tools we need to send with the dome kits. That is a load off my mind. Please contact us if you'd like to donate tools, we have a quote from Pintchik Hardware for some cheap prices on the tools we requested. We are setting up a way for people to go buy tools from them at discounted rates. More later on that. Thanks Bugz!

Also from MADR we have been promised 2 airline ticket vouchers for myself and one crew member to travel to Haiti. I have to tell them the dates soon to insure we get them in time.
This is bluffing at a very high level. If I tell the airline companies the dates now, when i dont even know who is going to be fabricating the covers, or if my shipper has canceled on the project, it's a vote of confidence in myself and in this project's success. I've been saying May 1st all along, and I do think I can get them built by then, but it takes 18 days to ship them, (if our shipper isn't bailing on us, more on this later) so that means I ought to reserve the tickets for May 18th so I can be there in PaP to receive the domes.

Doing this project has required many leaps of faith for me. Imagine if anyone of the companies or organizations that have promised me their assistance to complete any one crucial aspect, suddenly changed their minds and backed out? One puzzle piece falling through the cracks like that could mean failure for the whole project. It really takes everyone's contribution to complete it. I am forced to trust virtual strangers that they will indeed do the thing they promised to do. This is stressful.

Turtle & Hughes delivered 3500 ft of conduit pipe to Laidman Fabrication this morning. They will be completing the dome frames by next week. This is a major victory and a huge load off my mind.

We'll be needing mad volunteers for the color coding, sorting and packing of the domes frames next week. If you want to make yourself available for that, please email me at info@domesforhaiti.org

Brett Lord, my savior and superhero
is putting together a benefit for the 23rd of April. We will let you know the details soon.....


Jessi Klein is going to be donating some proceeds of a fashion show/event she is creating for the 17th of April at 3rd Ward. We will be setting up the dome there for people to see.
more on that later.....

Funds we need: We need to bring at least 1,000 bucks to Haiti with us to hire people to prep sites. We could find volunteers to do this work, but we want to bring money into their economy intentionally. We also need funds to get the ten domes fabricated. It is going to be a rush job to get them all done in time.

I must complete phase one of this project to look to phase two. Stay focused. get shit done.

over and out. thanks for reading!

We need your financial support, whoever is reading this. Yes, you. Please donate today!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Wishes are Fishes

here is our current wish list:

100 - 200 nice organic cotton teeshirts to print our logo on to to sell to raise money
Video artist - to utilize some time lapse photos we have to make a short video with
Tensile Manufacturers to make the dome skins
A large metal fabrication shop to machine 10,500 ft of conduit pipe into struts for 30 domes (we've got the first batch of ten in the works, should be done end of next week)
Earth bags for waterproofing the base of the domes
Organizers to do benefit shows
Tools, refer to side bar for complete list of wanted tools
A truck
MONEY
A heavy duty dirt tamper

thanks y'all for all of your amazing contributions, both past and future.

Friday, April 2, 2010

We are planning a benefit for Domes For Haiti for the 23rd of April. Save the date in your calendar! Keep your eyes out for the details which will be announced here on the blog in a couple days.

This project is re-defining what I think of as DIY.
Usually, DIY, to me, means making stuff by hand, yourself. Although we made the first prototype by hand, we are actually farming out each part of the project to various people working in companies. It takes the individuals who are in the right position in their company or field to lend a hand in the way they can. These people, when they hear about our project they get excited to help and use their skill and expertise to make that particular puzzle piece happen. Like Catie, who is a pattern maker for a very large clothing designer who will go unnamed at the moment... she is creating a pattern for our dome covers to send to the various tensile structure manufacturers who like this project enough to donate some of their labor and materials for the job. Shout out to Catie Thank You. It's people like this that we love. People who know what it takes to get a job done properly and efficiently. Shout out to Brett, my friend who linked Catie up with this project too! Thanks Trans Corp.

We are working hard on finding as many manufacturers as possible to make the dome skins.
This has become like a contest to see how many domes we can send to Haiti. Originally I set my sights on just ten. Now I am looking at making ten and then making 30 or 40 more.
I think this is like the 100th monkey theory, or critical mass, once a certain amount of people hear about it, the more they will want to contribute, kind of like a giant ball of snow coming down the side of a mountain.

If you are a Tensile Structure Manufacturer and you like this project, you can help!
If you have any second quality fabrics lying around in your warehouse, it's time for spring cleaning. Utilize the fabric you were planning on throwing away, donate your labor to the project and bang out 10- 100 of these domes for us, your contribution could mean life or death to a person in Haiti, get a tax break and then get back to the business of making huge fancy tents for gala events. This would be amazing!!

The more I read about what transitional shelters are actually being offered and distributed in Haiti right now, the more baffled I become because I cannot find a single hurricane resistant structure being distributed to the population. I am on a google group called "sheltercluster Haiti 2010" and I have yet to see any hurricane resistant shelters being dispatched and dispersed on ground in Haiti. I see some tents being sent and a whole lot of tarps. These will blow away in an actual Hurricane. I am also seeing alot of hypothetical talk and what seems like alot of money being paid to people to theorize what ought to be done instead of actually doing it. In the meantime, there are people sitting under sheets tied to sticks, waiting for the aid to trickle in, millions of dollars have been raised for Haiti, yet where is the money?
There are what is called NFI: Non Food Items. These are packaged in kits to distribute to people. One of the boxes contains the following items:
3 Blankets, 1 Plastic Sheeting (4 x 5 m), 2 Women's Clothing 3 Plastic sleeping Mats

These are what are being distributed by the following organizaitons:
UNJLC, UNICEF, CARE, UNOCHA and UNHCR
some of them also might contain: - Tents, Tarps, Water Container, Cooking Sets, Hygeine
Kits, Mosquito Nets.

There are many other NGO's that are distributing these or they are currently in the pipeline on their way to Haiti. My point is not that these are not needed supplies, they are, however, none of these solutions address the need for Hurricane resistant shelter systems. A camping tent in a hurricane is useless for anything other than a nylon burrito wrap to wear as you fly through the air with all the other debris kind of like a human torpedo. Not even very stylish.
Our geodesic dome frames are made of steel and anchored to the earth with rebar and cement. Not only are they aerodynamic in shape, but the design of the interlocking triangles serve as a sort of screen to protect the inhabitants from most large flying debris, like a car, for example.
What's a camping tent going to protect your family from?? Why are we sending thousands of tents? They were supposed to be the emergency shelters. Where are the transitional shelters? The ones that can withstand hurricane force winds?

Here is a poster being distributed by the people who work for the various NGO's on ground who use this google group:
what the hell? How much did they spend on this poster?

And here is a proposed transitional shelter being offered by a company who is selling it for a mere $3,000 a pop, they are soliciting on the google group used by the ngo workers in Haiti. : Green Built.

I'm happy to be in a position where I can facilitate a real solution to the shelter crisis.
If what we do saves 100 lives, that is worth while. Even one life is worth it, but consider if many manufacturers got on this project how many hundreds or even thousands of people we could help???

email me today and let me know how you can contribute your specialty or goods to this project.

We are currently seeking grants as well as in kind donations. If you are a manufacturer and would like to donate your goods or services and join the growing list of awesome companies who have already contributed, please email me!!
We are a tax exempt project
info@domesforhaiti.org