Beauty + Ruin

We are currently re-evaluating our fabric options for the dome covers to find an environmentally friendly and non-toxic alternative to PVC vinyl. The fabric needs to be completely waterproof and super strong for maximum wind resistance.

Please email me at info@domes for haiti dot org if you have any helpful suggestions along these lines.

We are also open to alternative methods of covering the domes. We'd like to find a local to Haiti resource to utilize.

The nature of this project is adaptation. As we discover new information, we adapt our vision to accommodate the best possible solutions.

We feel that utilizing PVC vinyl fabric does not keep with our environmental global consciousness. We would not want to bring more PVC into Haiti, which apparently is already rampant with this toxic, off gassing plastic.

Thanks to Jamie at 3rd Ward for pointing out this information to me.

We will take the best option for a fabric covering that is environmentally sound.

In other news, Save the Date! We are having a HUGE benefit for Domes for Haiti.

SATURDAY JUNE 5th

If we raise enough money to finish our domes, we will be using any surplus cash to bring into Haiti to hire people to prep sites. We would also love to help our partners, Grassroots United to pay shipping on an awesome converted school bus they have waiting in Miami to be shipped to PaP. The school bus is full of tools, shelters and needed supplies.
We are still searching for a SAILBOAT leaving from Miami in a few weeks to Jacmel.
Or other alternative means of shipping.

You are invited to: Beauty + Ruin

Saturday, June 5th at a Secret Location in Brooklyn. An exploration of art and performance within a broken landscape of geodesic structures, rag-tag lounges and out-sized sound-systems. We were originally planning on hosting this party this weekend, but as the performer list grew along with the excitement around it, we decided to move it to a better night with a bigger space. Expect a classic loft event featuring 13,000sqft. of live music, fire art, dangling beauties and cheap liquor. This is the first full-on Danger event in months, and the last for a while to come...
Full details will be released next week. All proceeds from this party will go to Domes for Haiti, building housing for victims of the Haiti earthquake.

check here after wed for details!!

http://www.thedanger.com/

Call for Volunteers

We are looking for volunteers next week, starting monday. We are assembling domes for the big benefit party that is coming up on June 5th. We are taking submissions for installation and performance ideas for the domes around the theme of Shelter, Hurricane, Mud, Debris, Chaos, Survival.

We are looking forward to hearing from you about when you are available to volunteer some time for this effort! We will be needing help all week to set up and build an amazing set for the event on the 5th.

info@domesforhaiti.org

Bike Fetish Day

We put a dome up on the street in Williamsburg for the Bike Fetish Day. It went up in 45 minutes with 5 people. I made a swing and we brought tee shirts, scarfs and Buckminster Fuller Books to sell to raise some money and spread the word about this project to try to find groups interested in doing fundraising for this project.
I updated the budget today to reflect the current totals;
Total Budget: $44,714
In Kind donations: $20,227
Online donations: $3,806
Benefit Events:$1,333
Grants: $800
Total Raised to date: $5,939
Total Needed to Complete Project: $18,548

bike fetish day was super fun. we got to see alot of bikes.

People had fun climbing on the dome.

Robyn won a new bike!

adorable children climbed on the dome.......


matching pink dresses are the new black




i had fun sewing the edges of the teeshirts with a serger at the House of Yes Make Fun Studios. I made the silkscreens at Bushwick Print Lab (which is actually in Queens, ha ha)


Brett was being very responsible.


When he wasn't too busy doing head stands on the top of the dome..

The Dome went down even faster than it went up! We had so many volunteers to help. Arielle, Lauren, Brett, and a bunch of other random people helped us take it down. Later Renee Renata showed up in her truck with a bunch of elves dressed in crazy costumes who helped us load all the gear into her truck to take it back to 3rd Ward, where they were having their 4th Birthday party.

This week I will be sending the dome frame to the manufacturer so that they can commence fabrication of the dome covers. I spoke with the sales rep and he told me it was ok that I didn't have all the money, he would go ahead and start making the domes if I gave him $5K which is a little less than 50% of the total cost. So, I am going to the bank tomorro to deposit the checks I have from our fiscal sponsor, NAA, and from Burners without Borders, and from a few private individuals... I have all the cash, as well, from the benefits we held.

It's exciting to be taking this step. After I send off this first payment, I hope you all will be generous in your support because we are going to need to raise $6,928 to pay COD for the dome covers. That does not include shipping which I have estimated will cost $600 for all the covers to be sent either to Miami or NYC.

Domes for Haiti needs to raise $18,548

We are still trying to locate an alternate shipping arrangement out of Miami to shorten the time until we can arrive on the ground in Haiti with ten geodesic domes to deliver.

If anyone knows of anyone at all that might have a cargo plane that has room for some shelters, we are looking for them. Please send any and all leads to me at info@domesforhaiti.org

The length of time it has to beat is 18 days. That is how long it takes from Yonkers. We have been generously offered free shipping by the AFYA Foundation which is located in Yonkers.
We appreciate their support, but we'd rather get it there in 2 days from Miami if possible.

We are also looking for installation artists to participate in the upcoming huge benefit party for DOMES FOR HAITI at 3rd Ward on the 5th of June

OPEN CALL

This is a call for artist participation in the last big Danger party being held at 3rd Ward.

This particular huge amazing & dangerous party is going to be a benefit for Domes For Haiti.

We are looking for a few solo artists to do an intervention on the second floor of 3rd Ward. Party date is June 5th. There will be marching bands, dj's bbq, booze, ariel performances and DOMES. Yes, you guessed it, geodesic.

We have a budget to support the installation artists in their endeavors. Keep in mind, its a benefit, so we encourage your generosity in order to make this party truly spectacular.

Three 17' domes will be erected in the space. We are looking for installations for these domes in the theme of Home, Shelter, Debris, Safety, Hurricane, Mud, Scavenging, Flood, Survival amidst chaos, etc etc,
you get the idea...
We are looking for artist's interpretation of this theme as installations inside of or on top of the domes.
Literally, anything, pretty much anything, goes. This is the last blow out in that space!!

We are looking for crew, people to help set up and for strike, you will be richly rewarded. Contact me at info@domesforhaiti.org with installation proposals and if you are interested in joining us in making this party a dome extravaganza to remember.

This is an open call. Everyone is welcome to participate.

Bike Fetish Day

Domes for Haiti is pleased to announce that we will be participating in Bike Fetish Day this Saturday the 22nd of May.

We are looking for volunteers to help us set the dome up at 10 am and then to take it down at around 6pm. We will be doing live silkscreening and bike blending smoothies!! If you would love to participate, please email me at info@domesforhaiti.org

The City Reliquary Museum & Civic Organization is proud to present
The 5th Annual Bicycle Fetish Day
This Saturday, May 22th 2009 from 12-6PM
On Havemeyer St. Btw. Grand St. & Metropolitan Ave.
In Williamsburgh, Brooklyn, NYC

Sunday after noon a group of us assembled one of the domes on the roof of the Bushwick Print Lab. It was a gorgeous day, perfect weather for building domes!! Thanks to everyone who showed up!!

Brooklyn News 12 came and interviewed a couple of us and filmed the process.
I dont have a link to their story yet, still waiting to hear back, but they aired the story twice yesterday!

JJ took probably 1000 photos, for us to make an animation with! Right now, all I have is a few that I took with my camera..... I will share the rest when I get them.

Brookyn loves You.



These simple objects can build a strong sturdy shelter in under 2 hours.







We are working diligently to raise the money to finish our project.
If we had the money a month ago we could already be housing kids in Haiti.
We are on stand by until we receive sufficient funds.
Please donate generously to our project.
If you would like to host a benefit in your community, please contact me at
info@domesforhaiti.org
If you'd like to set up a tool drive in your community please do!! The list of tools we are hoping to bring is a few posts back, take a look!
We are dreaming up ways to raise the money we need to complete this project.
Current total we've collected is just under $5K
We need at least $15K more!!!

"Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement by the U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Those principles include the following (excerpted):

National authorities have the primary duty and responsibility to provide protection and humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons;

All internally displaced persons have the right to an adequate standard of living;

Authorities shall provide internally displaced persons with food and potable water, basic shelter and clothing; essential medical services and sanitation;

Authorities concerned shall ensure [that] displaced children receive education which shall be free.

From the camp where he now lives, this time in the Champs de Mars park beside the decimated National Palace, Getro Nelio said, "I've been abandoned without any help. The Haitian state isn't doing anything for anyone. I have nothing. I just sit here with my two arms crossed."

excerpt from an op-ed piece on truth out dot com by Beverly Bell.

Wish List

If we had $10k in our hands today, we could have ten domes on the ground in Haiti, ready to be delivered and assembled on sites in THREE WEEKS!!
We literally have everything else in place, ready to go, we simply need the money to complete this project!! We could have completed it weeks ago with the proper funding!!!

Here is our WISH LIST:

10 Each: SHOVEL, METAL RAKE, SLEDGEHAMMER, PICKAXE, WHEEL BARROW, POST HOLE DIGGER & 2 ADJUSTABLE WRENCHES.

100 6FT STICKS OF REBAR

350 3/8"X2" HEX HEAD BOLTS, NUTS AND FLAT WASHERS (X2)

SHADE TARPS

FREE SHIPPING OUT OF MIAMI TO PAP (we currently have free shipping from Yonkers. It takes 18 days, we are trying to cut out excess time, it takes two days from Miami)

TENSILE STRUCTURE MANUFACTURER TO DONATE LABOR TO FABRICATE COVERS

USED OR NEW LAPTOP any size or flavor (team haiti needs it to document the second phase of the project on the ground in Haiti. We will donate any laptops to our beneficiaries in Haiti upon our departure)

Domes for Haiti is a completely grass roots effort. All of the donations we receive go directly to purchase tools to send with the dome kits, supplies to complete the domes and money to pay workers in Haiti a living wage to prep sites for the domes.

If you would like to help us in our efforts, but cant donate money. WE NEED YOUR HELP. How can YOU help? You might ask, well, here's some useful tasks you can do!

TOOL DRIVE compile a list of building suppliers and hardware stores in your area and start calling them and visiting them and asking for donations of tools and building supplies listed above. If you are not local to NYC, you can have them shipped to our warehouse!

Domes For Haiti c/o 3rd Ward

195 Morgan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11237

You can also help us alot by hosting a benefit for Domes For Haiti in your community! Or you could make a music compilation and put it up for sale on the internet like our friend Little John did!



info@domesforhaiti.org

If you'd like to donate money but don't do Paypal. 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

Good News

Haitians live in a tent city near the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
(UN Photo/Marco Dormino)

I just received an email that I am really very happy about!

Dear Lopi,
Thank you for submitting an application to the BWB Grant Program.
The Advisory Council was very impressed with your project, and we would like to offer you a partial award of $800.00.
Congratulations!
But beyond this, we would like to work with you to help raise awareness about the work you are doing by continuing to post your project on the BWB website. Hopefully this will help inspire people to get involved and raise the money you need to make your project a success.

Thank you for the leadership you are bringing to your community.
Sincerely,

Carmen

Carmen Mauk
Executive Director
Burners Without Borders


Thank You, Carmen and everyone else on the Advisory Council. Thanks for supporting the work we are doing!

Along with the money from the new DOMES FOR HAITI COMPILATION on Band Camp!!
(that brought in $260 so far in just 24 hours) Keep it coming!!

Our current grand total is: $4845.55

Electronic Music Artists Make Compilation to Benefit DFH!

We are so happy that our old friends in Santa Cruz California, Raindance Presents, has put together a compilation of 18 Electronic Music Artists tracks as a benefit for our project.
You can download individual tracks or the entire 15 track disc and all the proceeds go to supporting bringing shelter to Haiti!
Click here to check it out! http://domesforhaiti.bandcamp.com/

Artists featured:

Beats Antique, El Diablo, Freq Nasty vs. Heavyweight Dub Champion, Heyoka, I Catching and David Starfire, Ill Gates and Mycho, Ismael Guziel, Kraddy, Little John, Mochipet, Mr Rogers, Nanda, Patch , Timonkey, Zombie J

thanks to all the Artists and special shout out to Little John!!

World Vision photos

I am sometimes totally blown away by the generosity of the human spirit. It hit me yesterday when I was checking the totals for our donation paypal and found a $500 contribution from a person I have never met who lives on the other side of the country. This person, an artist much like me and many of my friends, probably doesn't have tons of money, yet he found it compelling enough to donate generously. It just hit me in the heart in just the right way, you know that feeling of gratitude that brings the water to your eyes. Thanks, Alan. And everyone else, even a $10 contribution helps!! Thank You Thank You THANK YOU!!!

I can't thank you people enough for your generosity and support for the kids in Haiti. The urgency of the situation is not going away, only getting more intense.
A friend pointed out to me last night that they will still need the domes next year, which is true, but the effectiveness of this project is really tied into a urgency because of the impending hurricane season. If we can up the trickle of donations to a flood to match the rains in Haiti, that would be AMAZING!

I welcome anyone to host a benefit for this project in their town. Please contact me at info@domesforhaiti.org to discuss details if you are thinking that would be fun for your community to participate in.

Our current GRAND TOTAL of All Donations from the benefits, art auction, checks in the mail and paypal donations is..... tootsie roll please................

$3,785.31

we need $11,215 more. just sayin' donate today

Global Support For Haiti NOW

We need very little money in the larger scheme of things. The Red Cross could easily throw us the crumbs from their banquet they are eating at the expense of the Haitian People. The mere crumbs from their plate could provide us with all the funding we need to do this very small project.

We are dreaming of a world where people share their resources so that all can live a dignified life without peril. We are dreaming of a world where people reach across national borders to assist other people in times of trouble.
We are dreaming of a way to raise this money. We have ideas. Some of our ideas are ridiculous, but that is how we deal with the stress. We make ourselves laugh at the absurdity of our hair brained ideas. Then, when we are done laughing, we go back to work, hammering out emails, calling strangers asking for favors. Not knowing how we will get the money together to pay the manufacturer to make the covers to shelter the kids. I tried to inspire the guy, the manufacturer to lower the price. He said a tax write off doesnt amount to much. I asked him to think about other non monetary rewards one receives from simply giving without thinking about receiving.

I guess that is what is really getting to me here. Unconditional love. That is what it takes. I dont know these kids in Haiti yet. I hope I can make their lives suck less. I just want to do something good before I die. If you can relate to anything I am saying, please donate today! or Yesterday if you have a time machine handy.

Domes for Haiti is so close to completing our goal to send ten domes to Haiti to shelter orphans. We have all of the struts needed to assemble ten domes completed and packed and stacked on palettes waiting to be shipped to Haiti. The project is on hold until we can receive the funding nessesary to complete the domes. They need covers to be completed. Our goal is to send along with ten domes, a tool kit consisting of a shovel, post hole digger, sledgehammer, pick axe, metal rake and two adjustable wrenches. We are also committed to hiring Haitian workers at a living wage to prep sites to build the domes on.

We are looking for Haiti based organizations to collaborate with and benefit. We would like to partner with like minded orgs in Haiti to raise the needed funds to get these shelters where they are needed in a timely manner.

The official amount of money we need to complete these goals is as follows:

Dome Covers = $14,195 plus shipping. Upon receipt of 50% of this total, our manufacturer, Eide Industries, will commence fabrication of the covers. They need 10 days to complete the covers.

Tools= 876$ will buy ten sets of the tools listed above at cost from Ace Hardare, Pintchik on Flatbush Ave

Labor= $3600 When we arrive in Haiti, we will be hiring a truck driver, a translator and workers to prep sites. We need cash on hand to support the economy in Haiti.

Please donate generously to our efforts. You can choose to donate directly to our project through clicking the "buy now" button or you can donate through our fiscal sponsor and receive a tax write off by clicking the "donate" button. Virtually all of the money collected will go to fulfilling the above costs. We are an all volunteer organization.

thanks for your support!!

Domes for Haiti is looking for an international shipping company who will ship our domes from Miami to PaP free of charge.

update

I got word back from Eide Industries, Inc.
They can get it done in 10 days for an additional $2900 to pay OT to their workers.
So that puts our current total at $11,295 + $2900+ $2000 for shipping = $16,195

We'd like to send some tools with each dome. For $1000 more I can send a good set of tools with each dome kit. That tool kit includes a shovel, a posthole digger, a metal rake, sledgehammer, pick axe and 2 adjustable wrenches.

Total to finish dome kits plus tools is $17,195.00

We currently have approx $3000. We will need a little cash on hand when we get there to hire Haitian workers to prep the dome sites.

If someone out there is reading this and might be thinking about donating a large amount of money, please do. If you want you can pay the manufacturer directly. Please contact me, Lopi at info@domesforhaiti.org and I will send you my phone number so you can ask me any questions you like. I will meet you in person. You are welcome to ask me any question you may have about our plan to bring shelter to Haiti.

DOMATE DOMATE DOMATE DOMATE DOMATE DOMATE DOMATE

DONATE!!!!

We finally got a real quote from a potential manufacturer. It looks great.For ten dome covers, they would charge us $11,928. This does not include shipping. They require us to send them one dome frame to use in the fabrication.

More than ever, NOW we need your monetary support. Please tell everyone you know about this project. We have no funding, we are depending on the support of individuals such as yourself to contribute generously!! For a $1,198 contribution, you can help us complete one dome which will house up to 20 kids!! If you have been meaning to donate to this effort, but haven't yet, TODAY is the DAY!

Struts All Packed Up and Ready to GO!

Yesterday we completed a major task. John Laidman from Laidman Fabrication in Greenpoint Brooklyn delivered the struts for us to pack up. John's company donated the labor to fabricate the metal for this project. Thanks John! It's businesses like his that care about doing more than just making money that are making this project possible. A rare individual, I wish there were more people in business like John who would be willing to stop their normal production at a loss to do a good deed. Thanks to all the shop guys, Kenny and all the rest who donated their time to making the struts!

THANK YOU!!!!

John delivered the finished struts to the loading dock at 3rd Ward, where we had set up a little dome packing factory for the day.

john and brett

Brett showed up and we got right to work, sorting out the struts to pack them up.

Olivia came to help pack it up

JJ & Ryan O'Connor came and did the pack it up.....

We counted out 35 longs and 30 shorts, shrink wrapped them in ten dome kits and piled them up on two palettes, ready to go.

Thanks to the pack it up crew. You really know how to ratchet strap a strut bundle.

This was a huge accomplishment. We now are totally set with the dome frames. This represents a major in kind donation. The metal was all donated by Turtle & Hughes at a value of $2,000 not including delivery. The fabrication would have cost $7,000
Thank you, so much for the generous support of our project.

I am currently hard at work trying to locate one manufacturer that will agree to fabricate the dome covers for our domes in a swift and timely manner. We need funding to get this done. Bare bones we need $7,000. To send tools with each kit we need an additional $1000
To bring money to hire Haitian workers to prep sites we need $5000. We'd be in awesome shape with $13,000. Not a huge sum. We can do it, with your help.

If you donate $100, you will be housing one orphan. For $1000 you can house 10.
Please spread the word, please donate generously to our project!!

THANK YOU FOR DOMATING

All Hands on Deck

Domes for Haiti needs your help, today, Monday, packing up struts to be shipped to Haiti.
We will be on the loading dock of 3rd Ward from noon until it's done. Bring gloves!

195 Morgan Ave Brooklyn 11237

More photos from Art Auction

This is cash from the last two benefits we held. This is $1,130! Photoshop would not let me edit it because it was federal notes. I promise I am not trying to print counterfeit money, just want to show people the grass roots effort in action. Dollars from individual people's pockets make up the entirety of our budget so far.

We made a total of $1205.oo at the Art Auction. However, some of the money is still outstanding. If you made the winning bid on a work of art, please respond to the email we sent out to arrange for delivery of works of art to the winning bidders. Thank you for bidding on work! Now let us deliver it to you and gather up the rest of the money for Domes For Haiti.

Flower Head.

Some happy attendees stand near a beautiful lamp made by A'yn Tran titled "Nest"

Morty's print of domes in Berlin, James's intricate painting of Bucky, Swoon Prints.....


Brett!!!

photos by Olivia Katz and JJ Hurvich