CUBIC CoverDec08.indd - Colliers

COLLIERS CARES
KIRINDA, A COMMUNITY REBUILT
With vision and compassion, Colliers International rebuilt the village of Kirinda
— winning awards for excellence in sustainable building and healing a
community torn by disaster BY SHERALYN TAY
THE CHAOS lasted mere minutes. But when
the devastating Boxing Day tsunami in 2004
– triggered by a massive undersea quake –
unleashed its deadly force on the coasts of
Asia, it wiped out entire towns and villages
in Indonesia, South India and Thailand, and
claimed an estimated quarter of a million lives.
The low-lying fishing town of Kirinda,
located on the southern end of Sri Lanka, was
defenceless against the 30-metre-high onslaught
of raging water and more than 200 of its people
perished in what is now called one of the
deadliest natural disasters in modern history.
But the residents of Kirinda have rebuilt their
town – and their lives – thanks to a generous
fund set up by Colliers International. Moved
by images of destruction and driven to reach
out to those whose lives had been so tragically
affected by the tsunami, Colliers International
announced the establishment of a US$1 million
trust just days after the disaster to design and
construct 67 homes for displaced families in
the community. At the helm was Philip Bay, the
Regional Director of Colliers Southeast Europe,
who had proposed the ambitious project.
Without a clear plan or professional track
record in disaster relief, but guided by a sense of
doing what was right, Bay flew to Sri Lanka and,
in consultation with the central government,
made the decision to help Kirinda, a minority
community of Malay Muslims in largely Buddhist
Sri Lanka. It was a move to ensure that help was
distributed evenly to all the victims.
In the same spirit, world-renowned Japanese
architect Shigeru Ban took on the project –
despite offers of 10 other projects – stating that
“it was for a smaller community and a minority
group in a more difficult situation”.
It was to be the beginning of a three-year
project that has won admiration and awards
for its high standards, sustainable masterplan
and holistic consideration of the community’s
needs. Working with the senior advisors of
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Colliers
Kirinda project has also become a benchmark for
other organisations, such as the United Nations,
the US Agency for International Development
(USAID) and numerous NGOs.
Far from hastily built emergency structures
to provide for the most basic of needs, Shigeru
Ban Architects – hailed by TIME magazine as one
of the Top 100 innovators of the 21st century
– designed sturdy and sustainable residences
suited to the needs and climate of the town and
its residents.
Researching the materials, styles and history
of residential construction in Sri Lanka, Shigeru
Ban Architects resolved to use traditional
practices suited to tropical climates. Each
spacious house has two bedrooms, two rooms
of living space, a roofed court, a kitchen and a
bathroom – ample space for the families of the
community. “I am so lucky to receive a mansion
like this,” said one resident, M.R. Riyvaldeen,
a fisherman whose house and boat were
completely destroyed in the floodwaters.
Created from natural and renewable material
that came from the community’s own tree
farms, wood from rubber trees, coconut palms
and teak, together with sun-dried earthen
blocks, the spacious and airy homes have been
built to breathe in the heat, making them
comfortable and liveable even in the searing
weather of the dry seasons. Previously without
power, running water or sanitation, the new
homes have hydro-electric energy, water and
septic tanks. The community even has bragging
rights to the first fully solar-powered street
lighting ever introduced in Asia.
Recognising the empowering value of
grassroots participation, the project team made
sure that Kirinda residents were actively involved
in the rebuilding process, holding five town hall
meetings to gain their feedback and insight, as
well as listen to concerns and needs. Because of
this personal relationship and communication,
the Colliers project is the only one to have
masterplanned the community based on original
property lines and according to genuine title
deeds. The village was also restored to its
original layout, with the mosque as the focal
point. Interior partitions were included in the
homes to allow gender separation according to
the level of religious orthodoxy of the families.
Villagers themselves pitched in to help in the
construction of the new homes.
Project Manager Anthony Benjamin also
noted, “While a majority of post-tsunami
projects were implemented away from the
original dwellings and relocated, Colliers’ Kirinda
project was done in the exact location, thereby
enabling the community to get back to their
day-to-day activities.”
More importantly, rather than just being a
one-off charity project, Colliers continues to
provide infrastructure facilities and sustainable
programmes, he added. To help the community
be more self-sufficient and resilient, Colliers has
implemented income-generating projects that
include the participation of the community’s
women. Microfinance has also been arranged to
seed fund small businesses.
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January 2009 |