When 8 bamboo poles are overlapped in this special arrangement and lashed together, a heavy load bearing
"roof panel" is formed.
It is this award winning use of a central self- supporting reciprocal frame that provides the exceptional strength, efficiency and versatility of the RSK shelter kit.
In 2004 families displaced by the Jajarkot earthquake in Nepal were shown by our trained RSK team how to use this roof to build their own RSK shelters. This was highly successful and fully embraced by the two communities.
In 2005 we have ambitious goals to scale up the use of RSK shelter kits in Nepal, and also to introduce the special features of the urban RSK. We need a partner/ partners to expedite this.
With this in mind I have set out my personal views of how this could be achieved below. I have set it out in two related phases; disaster preparedness and disaster response.
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Costing less than USD $5 for the complete bamboo frame, communities at risk can now afford to make and store their own 9 pole Emergency RSK kit. No special tools or skills are needed. When it is needed they can carry it to a safe location and assemble their own shelter.
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After training our local partners in Myanmar in 2016 they partnered UNICEF in 2020 to train 60 villages in the Ayewaddy delta how to build RSK shelters. It is this precedent of training of trainers (ToT) that we can see working well in Nepal.
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If tarpaulins are not immediately available families can thatch the load bearing roof.
families building this simple kit can also upgrade their emergency, when further bamboo becomes available, to the standard RSK without dismantling the roof.
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Myanmar Delta villages at risk of annual floods practice thatching emergency RSK shelter frame with Red Cross Photo S.Halbert 2016
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In any disaster just assembling the RSK roof frame on the ground is an important step. We have recently shown on deployments how these frames can be mass produced and stacked in piles. Families can then collect their roof frame and carry it to where they can use it. Its simplest use could be to carry out a temporary repair to a damaged or destroyed roof.
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3. INSTRUCTIONS FOR ASSEMBLY ARE SIMPLE
Only the roof frame assembly is demonstrated to a community as all further steps use traditional methods. ​
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For very large scale disasters, where even standard relief tarpaulins are limited, the emergency RSK has many advantages that can make it the shelter of choice. It can be built on slopes that are unsuitable for tents and also support salvaged materials if necessary.
This shelter is simply an RSK roof frame supported by two bamboo props and it can be built by a family in less than one hour. We have shown how families are able to improve headroom by lifting the lower edge of the frame onto short stakes ( or low walls).
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The emergency RSK
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The standard RSK is the unit of shelter which achieves a dignified living space that is healthier and safer to live in. Standard relief tarpaulins determine its floor space but the bamboo frame can be built larger if required. Its inbuilt, adjustable and much improved ventilation has serious health benefits especially in overcrowded camps. Being able to lower the wind profile of the shelter within minutes to the severe storm option is an integral safety feature of this shelter.
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The urban RSK
The urban RSK
9. Roof frame adaptability
The roof frame can be lifted up onto any available support, including stones and mud walls, to improve the living space.
10. The shelter is easy to upgrade
The same roof frame that a family uses for this shelter can later be lifted up onto 4 posts to make a standard RSK shelter when further bamboo becomes available.
11. The complete kit is easily carried.
This mobility is important when families are having to move rapidly away from hazards such as flash floods.
12. The kit has a stretcher option.
A simple stretcher can be made from the kit parts to carry disabled individuals or possessions.
13. Storm shelter safety option.
In very severe storms the roof of this shelter can be lowered within minutes to the low wind profile or "storm shelter". This unique feature provides an opportunity to save the shelter and help secure the welfare of the occupants.
14. Fire safety improved.
The more combustible split bamboo and cane lattice roofs of conventional shelters are replaced in this shelter with less combustible complete bamboo poles.
15. The shelter is designed to meet
Sphere standards.
From initial development right through to deploying, monitoring and evaluating the humanitarian benefits of the RSK shelter.