The RSK emergency shelter kit provides an opportunity for communities at risk to prepare for recurring hazards such as annual flash flooding.
We have demonstrated that, in an emergency, even the weaker fresh cut green bamboo can be used for the frame, making it affordable to even the poorest families . Myanmar Delta villagers have also shown how the roof frame can be thatched with palm leaves if a tarpaulin is not available.
No special skills are required and the kit can be prepared using only a machete or a saw. A tape measure is not required as pole overlap points are in simple proportion that can be estimated and then trimmed to the tarpaulin size.
Kits that are stored carefully and treated using traditional methods of preservation can last for many years. Eventually they can be recycled for use as livestock shelters or used for biofuel.
RSK shelter preparedness training Myanmar delta village 2016
In 2018 in trials with MSF in Kutapolong refugee camp we demonstrated how two of the 8ft frame poles and the tarpaulin in the RSK kit can be made into a stretcher for carrying debilitated individuals or possessions.