Make: Volume 93

FEATURES DIY Relief Tech

O

n January 12, 2010, at 4:53pm local time,

a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti,

about 15 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince. The

earthquake lasted less than 30 seconds. About

220,000 people were reportedly killed. Near the

epicenter 80–90% of buildings were destroyed

or critically damaged including hospitals, the

airport, seaport, and telecoms services. The

devastation was hard to imagine. Financial aid

poured in from around the world. And yet, three

years later little had substantially changed. Why?

Is it possible that the “top down” approach

of aiding underprivileged or severely damaged

communities doesn’t work? ...