Building towards reconciliation.

• Author: Murray, Santiago
• Position: Housing programs for former Nicaraguan guerrillas

Under the philosophy that "a man with a roof over his head is a reconciled man," ex-members of the Nicaraguan Resistence (NR) are working with the Organization of American Studies (OAS) to build their own homes in former zones of conflict.

The self-help housing program is an innovation of the Managua-based OAS International Commission of Support and Verification (CIAV-OAS). This Commission was created in 1989 to oversee the disarmament and social reintegration of the ex-NR.

CIAV-OAS launched the program in April 1991 with two goals: to meet the housing crisis confronting post-war Nicaragua, and to generate employment in the production of building materials. The program targeted groups of potential beneficiaries who were highly motivated and showed organizational initiative.

"The government promised houses and land to all demobilized," said Pedro Gutierrez, former NR member. "But we were sleeping under trees, on kitchen floors and patios. The situation was critical." Gutierrez and others in his hometown of Ciudad Dario formed a group and petitioned the CIAV-OAS "to help us get what was fair."

Since the government had set aside funds to enable mayors to purchase and donate land to groups of demobilized citizens, the CIAV-OAS worked with mayors and 1,200 beneficiaries to designate 40 building sites nationwide.

Nelson Brown, a Nicaraguan architect at the National University of Engineering in Managua, brought his team of architects to the sites to custom design several basic plans, taking into consideration the regional architectural traditions and local materials available.

Project beneficiaries were involved from the start. On one preliminary field trip, former NR commander "Rabbit" came up with a solution for University engineers who wanted to teach homebuilders how to mark a site without the aid of levels and squares. The "Rabbit scissors" principle was to pin together two pieces of lumber that were each the length of the diagonals of the square house, and use them to mark what would be the corners of the house. This principle was later used in CIAV-OAS sites nationwide and incorporated in the University handbook on homebuilding.

In consultation with project participants, CIAV-OAS decided to build with bricks in areas where they were common; with stone or blocks above a wooden "miniskirt" half-wall in other areas; and to construct all-wood structures on stilts on the Caribbean coast. To reduce costs per house as well as provide skins and...