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3.2 SHELTER TYPES AND MATERIALS
The NRC Burundi shelter programme has been running since 1997. It contributes to
the re-integration of returnees, to increasing primary school capacities through the
construction of classrooms, and to ensuring adequate housing and social infrastructure
for refugees and asylum seekers.
It targets Burundian returnees in the provinces of activity, as well as Congolese
refugees, vulnerable groups and asylum seekers.
The main shelter construction projects are:
houses for returnees, made of adobe and iron sheet roofing;
temporary classrooms with a wooden structure;
semi-permanent classrooms with an adobe structure;
permanent classrooms which have a reinforced concrete structure; and
school latrines temporary, semi-permanent and permanent.
Beneficiaries contribute to the various constructions through a number of ways, for
example, by providing mud bricks, by digging pits for house and latrine construction,
by collecting materials and/or by helping dig the foundations for services such as a
school.
Since 1997, approximately 13,000 shelters have been constructed for returnees and the
host population, in addition to more than 800 classrooms. In addition to construction
and repairs, sensitisation sessions facilitated by NRC social workers have been
conducted on various themes including Environment and Education .
Each family receives 50 tree saplings upon completion of their shelters. According to
NRC staff, the survival rate of these saplings is only 25 per cent. It is unclear however,
if the beneficiaries plant all of the 50 saplings or not. Direct observations suggest that
the land to the rear of each shelter is not large enough to accommodate the planting of
50 saplings, in addition to the planting of land for crops. NRC does not give fruit tree
saplings to the beneficiaries it gives Grevillea and nor does it consult with people
regarding the most appropriate tree species to plant. These issues contribute to what
may be regarded as a poor survival rate.
3.3 METHODOLOGY
Two main techniques were used for data collection. These were:
Meetings: These focused on the collection of background and current information
on the Burundian construction industry and materials, as well as local practices
and local environmental issues.
Meetings were held with the following:
o PARESI, Ministère de la Solidarité National de la Reconstruction.
o Boutique Metha, a local supplier.
o The Ministry of the Environment.
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