Retrofit Support To Homeowners (RSH)
Client
Private Homeowners in Ramechhap District
Partner: Build Change
Project Period
September 2017 to December 2017
Project Area
Ramechhap
After the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) listed a large number of private homes and public buildings for retrofitting interventions than to fully demolish and rebuild. Some pilot works have shown that seismic retrofitting can be a cheaper option with substantial improvement in the seismic resistance capacity of the building. Additionally, seismic retrofitting is known to provide the following benefits:
- Improvement in the seismic performance of the building maintaining the original size of the building
- Preservation of the original external architecture of the building
Objective
The objective of this project is to provide technical support and develop additional understanding through application of new approaches in retrofitting to private homes. For this purpose, a pilot support home was selected in Ramechhap that was considered unsafe for occupation in current condition.
Key Activities
SW Nepal, in partnership with Build Change, an INGO, provided the retrofit services to Private Homeowners in Ramechaap district. The project coordinated the retrofit activities with the local level authorities, selected an appropriate house for interventions and provided engineering design and supervision and materials to fully retrofit the supported home.
Services Provided by SW Nepal
Scott Wilson Nepal provided the following specific services leading to full retrofit, learning and public awareness on the outputs of the project:
- Jointly with Build Change, identified appropriate home for retrofitting.
- SW Nepal covered costs of materials for retrofit works.
- Jointly with Build Change, provided technical assistance to homeowners to design safe houses, supervise construction, and train builders in earthquake-resilient construction practices.
- SW Nepal identified engineers – prioritizing from the local area from private sector and NGOs, and including NRA/DUDBC engineers – for capacity building on the ground knowledge on retrofitting uptake. These trained engineers participated in the seismic evaluation and retrofit process.