Over on the Domes for Haiti Blog, Lopi has posted pictures and stories about putting up the domes we built. It took them forever (more than a month!) to clear customs, but they have finally arrived! It was frustrating for everyone for the domes to be sitting there in storage without doing any good for anyone, and we are so glad to see that they are being used now.
The first dome goes up in this entry, right after they got through customs!
The second and third domes are in this entry!
Even more domes are constructed in the most recent entry here!
Please go and take a look – Lopi is doing amazing work in Haiti, and we are so glad to have been able to help by building the domes. All the pictures in this post are hers!
When we built the domes it was during a stretch of the hottest weather we have had in years. Certainly the hottest it has been since we moved in at this building – a huge loft on the second floor does not make for a cool environment. Building those domes when it was sometimes more than 90 degrees really helped us to appreciate what we were doing. 90 degrees is not unusual in Haiti.
The way the project began was a little bit funny. Matt had spoken with Lopi at length, and we had heard the words “Haiti” and “domes” floating around in conversation for future projects, but we (the makers) had not heard the plan directly. A box arrived full of colored-coded pipes, and Jay and Don set out to build this mysterious thing outside.
Once the pipes were together Matt and Xan took measurements and began to design the domes. Lopi let us know the specifics of what she wanted, and the plans went from there. We used sturdy, water-resistant Starfire cloth, which we use for many long-term projects.
The unusual shape of the frame made for an interesting design. There were oddly shaped panels (I hadn’t looked closely yet at the pipe structure outside), and triangular pieces of screen and glass. Once we got started building the dome, it all made sense. And then we made ten more! Our loft was a veritable dome factory for a little more than a week with everyone working on them together. We found a rhythm and made an assembly line, and tried to keep cool. It was really motivating to know that we were going to be making something that would really make a difference.
And now that they’ve made it through customs, they are! Lopi is working hard to make sure they go where they are needed the most, and thoroughly ensuring that they are working properly once they are set up.
