Earthquake-affected carpenters get new tools in exchange for building shelter for needy families

Mohammed Ayaz of the village of Malot in Bagh District received $1,000 worth of tools, including this electric planer, to help him restart his carpentry business. He is constructing the shelter behind him for a widow who cannot build for herself. When the earthquake hit on Oct. 8, all the equipment Ayaz had collected over his 17-year career was buried in the rubble of his house

"We can do better quality work with these tools."

-- Carpenter Mohammed Anwar of Malot, comparing his new power tools to his old manual equipment

Left homeless by an Oct. 8 earthquake that measured 7.6 on the Richter scale, more than 10,000 families in Azad Kashmir's Bagh District received 10 corrugated iron sheets, plastic, nails and $100 worth of vouchers from USAID to build shelter from the winter snow. But 1,300 of those households, headed by widows, the disabled or the elderly, do not have a healthy adult male member who could build their shelters, nor could they afford to hire labor. At the same time, most area carpenters faced the loss of their businesses as they did not have the means to restock equipment buried in the earthquake.

To help vulnerable families build shelter and to stimulate eco-nomic activity at the village level, particularly as spring approaches and reconstruction begins, USAID provided 100 carpenters each with $1,000 worth of new woodworking tools in exchange for the promise that they would first use the tools to construct earthquake-safe shelters for 12 needy families in their area. The tools include electric circular saws, planers, clamps, drills and other equipment more durable than the carpenters owned before. In exchange, the carpenters signed an agreement, in the presence of a village representative, acknowledging they would give up the tools if they did not meet the terms of the contract by March 1.

Families who receive a shelter voucher from USAID partner GOAL can pick an approved carpenter from their area and one of two shelter designs that meets their needs. Carpenters receive 2,000 rupees ($33) per shelter. A quality control carpenter inspects each shelter for compliance with earthquake safety specifications. Non-compliant carpenters risk not being paid.

"This is very good help for us," said Mohammed Ayaz, a Malot carpenter who lost all his equipment in the quake. Malot's village representative, Mohammed Aftab, said the tool program trains tradesmen to build back their villages with safer designs.

This $100,000 USAID program equips skilled tradesmen with the tools and guidance necessary to immediately practice their trade better than before, helps hundreds of vulnerable households build safer shelter from the snow, and brings much-needed economic activity into local markets as carpenters spend their wages within their own areas.