ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Peter Haas - Building activist
Inveterate tinkerer Peter Haas is the co-founder of AIDG, the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, which connect people to electricity, sanitation and clean water through a combination of business incubation, education, and outreach.

Why you should listen

In 2005, Peter Haas co-founded AIDG -- the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group -- an organization helping individuals and communities get affordable and environmentally sound access to electricity, sanitation and clean water through a combination of business incubation, education, and outreach. (Also on the board: TED Best-of-the-Web star Cat Laine.) Since co-founding AIDG, Haas has become an active voice for poverty issues, speaking at the World Bank, Harvard, MIT and other forums on technology, entrepreneurship and SME finance. He was named a TEDGlobal Fellow in 2009 and is now part of the three-year TED Senior Fellows program.

Before founding AIDG, Haas worked both in the information technology field and on an organic farm and horse ranch doing infrastructure improvement work. He tinkers in water systems, electrical systems, electronic systems, masonry, plumbing, biogas, irrigation, welding, metal casting and sustainable building.

More profile about the speaker
Peter Haas | Speaker | TED.com
TED Senior Fellows at TEDGlobal 2010

Peter Haas: When bad engineering makes a natural disaster even worse

Peter Haas: Dezas jeni Ayiti

Filmed:
370,231 views

"Ayiti pa te yon dezas natirèl," TED Fellow Peter Haas di: "Se te yon dezas jeni." Pandan peyi a ap rekonstwi apre tranbleman de tè an Janvye a, eske ansyen move pratik de konstwiksyon ap kreye yon lòt pwoblèm inatandi. Gwoup a Haas la, AIDG, ap ede mason an Ayiti yo aprann konstwiksyon modèn ak praktik jeni, pou rasanble brik pa brik yon peyi fò
- Building activist
Inveterate tinkerer Peter Haas is the co-founder of AIDG, the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, which connect people to electricity, sanitation and clean water through a combination of business incubation, education, and outreach. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
I learnedaprann about the HaitiAyiti earthquaketranbleman tè by SkypeSkype.
0
1000
3000
Mwen aprann de tranbleman de tè an Ayiti a sou Skype
00:19
My wifemadanm sentvoye me a messagemesaj,
1
4000
3000
Madanm mwen te voye yon mesaj pou mwen.
00:22
"WhoaWhoa, earthquaketranbleman tè,"
2
7000
2000
“Woy, tranbleman tè"
00:24
and then disappeareddisparèt for 25 minutesminit.
3
9000
3000
epi’l disparèt pou 25 minit
00:28
It was 25 minutesminit of absoluteabsoli terror
4
13000
3000
Se te 25 minit nan panik absoli
00:31
that thousandsdè milye of people acrossatravè the U.S. feltte santi.
5
16000
4000
ke milyè de moun nan Etazini te santi
00:36
I was afraid of a tsunamitsounami;
6
21000
3000
M te pè de tsounami.
00:39
what I didn't realizereyalize
7
24000
2000
S'am pa te reyalize
00:41
was there was a greaterpi gran terror in HaitiAyiti,
8
26000
3000
se te gen yon pi gran panik an Ayiti
00:44
and that was buildingbilding collapsetonbe.
9
29000
3000
epi kay yo t’ap kraze
00:47
We'veNou te gen all seen the photosfoto
10
32000
2000
Nou tout wè foto
00:49
of the collapsedtonbe buildingsbilding in HaitiAyiti.
11
34000
3000
kay kraze yo an Ayiti.
00:52
These are shotsvaksen my wifemadanm tookte pran
12
37000
2000
Sa yo se foto madanm mwen pran
00:54
a couplekoup daysjou after the quaketranbleman tè,
13
39000
2000
de twa jou apre tranbleman de tè a
00:56
while I was making my way throughnan the D.R. into the countrypeyi.
14
41000
3000
lè'm t’ap pase pa D.R. pou’m antre nan peyi a.
01:00
This is the nationalnasyonal palacepalè --
15
45000
2000
Sa se Palè Nasyonal la,
01:02
the equivalentekivalan of the WhiteBlan HouseKay.
16
47000
3000
Ekivalan de palè blanch Ameriken an
01:05
This is the largestpi gwo supermarketmakèt in the CaribbeanDes
17
50000
3000
Sa se pi gwo mache nan Karayib la
01:08
at peakpik shoppingfè makèt time.
18
53000
3000
gen anpil moun k’ap achte.
01:13
This is a nurses'enfimyè collegekolèj --
19
58000
2000
Sa se yon kolèj pou enfimyè.
01:15
there are 300 nursesenfimyè studyingetidye.
20
60000
3000
Gen 300 enfimyè k’ap etidye.
01:19
The generaljeneral hospitallopital right nextpwochen doorpòt
21
64000
2000
general la ki bò kote’l la
01:21
emergedparèt largelylajman unscathedan tach.
22
66000
3000
general la ki bò kote’l la.
01:24
This is the MinistryMinistè of EconomicsEkonomi and FinanceFinans.
23
69000
3000
Sa se Ministè Ekonomi ak Finans la.
01:30
We have all heardtande
24
75000
2000
Nou tout tande
01:32
about the tremendousfòmidab humanimen losspèt
25
77000
3000
anpil moun ki mouri
01:35
in the earthquaketranbleman tè in HaitiAyiti,
26
80000
2000
nan tranbleman tè an Ayiti a,
01:37
but we haven'tpa genyen heardtande enoughase
27
82000
3000
men nou pa tande anpil
01:40
about why all those liveslavi were lostpèdi.
28
85000
3000
de poukisa la vi moun sa yo te pèdi.
01:43
We haven'tpa genyen heardtande about
29
88000
2000
Nou pa tande de
01:45
why the buildingsbilding failedechwe.
30
90000
3000
poukisa kay yo kraze.
01:48
After all, it was the buildingsbilding,
31
93000
2000
Apre tout bagay, se te kay yo,
01:50
not the earthquaketranbleman tè,
32
95000
2000
se pa te tranbleman tè a
01:52
that killedtouye 220,000 people,
33
97000
3000
ki tiye 220,000 moun
01:55
that injuredblese 330,000,
34
100000
3000
blese 330,000,
01:58
that displaceddeplase 1.3 millionmilyon dola people,
35
103000
5000
deplase 1.3 milyon moun
02:04
that cutkoupe off foodmanje
36
109000
2000
ki koupe manje
02:06
and waterdlo and suppliesfouniti
37
111000
2000
ak dlo ak provizyon
02:08
for an entiretout nationnasyon.
38
113000
3000
pou tout on peyi
02:11
This is the largestpi gwo metropolitan-areazòn metwopolitèn disasterdezas
39
116000
5000
Sa se pi gran dezas nan zòn metwopoliten
02:16
in decadesdeseni,
40
121000
3000
nan deseni.
02:19
and it was not a naturalnatirèl disasterdezas --
41
124000
3000
Epi li pa te yon dezas natirèl.
02:22
it was a disasterdezas of engineeringjeni.
42
127000
3000
Se te yon dezas de jeni.
02:25
AIDGAIDG has workedte travay in HaitiAyiti
43
130000
2000
AIDG ap travay an Ayiti
02:27
sincedepi 2007,
44
132000
2000
depi 2007,
02:29
providingbay engineeringjeni and businessbiznis supportsipò
45
134000
2000
bay sipò biznis ak jeni
02:31
to smallti businessesbiznis yo.
46
136000
2000
pou ti biznis yo.
02:33
And after the quaketranbleman tè, we startedte kòmanse bringingpote in earthquaketranbleman tè engineersenjenyè
47
138000
4000
Apre tranbleman tè ta, nou kòmanse vini ak enjenyè ki spesyalize nan tranbleman tè
02:37
to figurefigi out why the buildingsbilding collapsedtonbe,
48
142000
2000
pou yo ka chèche konnen ki sa ki fè kay yo tonbe,
02:39
to examineegzamine what was safesan danje and what wasn'tpa t '.
49
144000
3000
pou yo ekzamine ki sa ki san danje, ki sa ki gen danje.
02:42
WorkingAp travay with MINUSTAHMINISTA A,
50
147000
3000
Pandan n’ap travay ak MINUSTAH,
02:45
whichki is the U.N. missionmisyon in HaitiAyiti,
51
150000
2000
ki se mission ONU in Ayiti,
02:47
with the MinistryMinistè of PublicPiblik WorksFè sa,
52
152000
2000
ansanm ak Ministè Travay Piblik,
02:49
with differentdiferan NGOsOng,
53
154000
2000
avèk diferan NGO,
02:51
we inspectedte enspekte over 1,500 buildingsbilding.
54
156000
3000
nou enspèkte 1500 kay.
02:55
We inspectedte enspekte schoolslekòl yo
55
160000
2000
Nou inspèkte lekòl
02:57
and privateprive residenciessite.
56
162000
2000
ansanm ak kay prive.
02:59
We inspectedte enspekte medicalmedikal centerssant
57
164000
2000
Nou inspèkte sant medical
03:01
and foodmanje warehousesdepo yo ye.
58
166000
2000
ak depo manje.
03:03
We inspectedte enspekte governmentgouvènman an buildingsbilding.
59
168000
2000
Nou enspèkte ofis gouvènman yo.
03:05
This is the MinistryMinistè of JusticeJistis.
60
170000
2000
Sa se Ministè Jistis.
03:07
BehindAn reta that doorpòt
61
172000
2000
Dèyè pòt sa
03:09
is the NationalNasyonal JudicialJidisyè ArchivesAchiv.
62
174000
3000
se Achiv Jistis Nasyonal la.
03:12
The fellowparèy in the doorpòt, AndreAndre FilitraultFilitrault --
63
177000
2000
Kanmarad ki nan pòt la, Andre Filitrault,
03:14
who'ski moun ki la the directordirektè
64
179000
2000
se direktè
03:16
of the CenterSant for InterdisciplinaryInterdisciplinaire EarthquakeTranbleman de tè EngineeringEnjenieri ResearchRechèch
65
181000
4000
Sant pou Rechèch Entèdisiplinè de Tranbleman de Tè
03:20
at the UniversityInivèsite of BuffaloBuffalo --
66
185000
3000
nan Univèsite de Buffalo
03:23
was examiningekzamine it to see if it was safesan danje
67
188000
2000
t’ap ekzamine’l pou’l wè si p’at gen danje
03:25
to recoverrefè the archivesachiv yo.
68
190000
2000
pou ka sove achiv la.
03:27
AndreAndre told me,
69
192000
2000
Andre di’m,
03:29
after seeing these buildingsbilding failfail
70
194000
2000
apre’l wè kay sa yo tonbe
03:31
again and again in the samemenm way,
71
196000
3000
menm jan chak fwa
03:34
that there is no newnouvo researchrechèch here.
72
199000
3000
pa gen nouvo rechèch.
03:37
There is nothing here that we don't know.
73
202000
3000
Pa gen anyen la nou pa konnen.
03:40
The failureechèk pointspwen were the samemenm:
74
205000
3000
Pwen echèk la toujou menm kote –
03:43
wallsmi yo and slabsdalles not tiedmare properlybyen into columnsKolòn --
75
208000
3000
mi ak beton yo pa mare byen nan kolòn yo--
03:46
that's a roofdo-kay slabSur hangingpandye off the buildingbilding --
76
211000
3000
sa se yon twati siman ki pandye sou bò kay la –
03:51
cantileveredkonsantre structuresestrikti,
77
216000
2000
eskriti kite sipòte yon sèl kote,
03:53
or structuresestrikti that were asymmetricasimetri,
78
218000
2000
eskriti ki pa te simetrik,
03:55
that shooka violentlyjete and camete vini down,
79
220000
2000
ki souke trè vyolan epi ki tonbe,
03:59
poorpòv buildingbilding materialsmateryèl,
80
224000
2000
move materyèl konstriksyon,
04:01
not enoughase concretekonkrè,
81
226000
2000
pa ase siman,
04:03
not enoughase compressionkonpwesyon in the blocksblòk,
82
228000
3000
pa ase konpresyon nan blòk yo,
04:07
rebarrebar that was smoothlis,
83
232000
2000
fè reyanfòsman ki te two lis,
04:09
rebarrebar that was exposedekspoze to the weathertan and had rustedrusted away.
84
234000
3000
fè reyanfòsman ki te ekspoze nan move tan epi ki rouye.
04:12
Now there's a solutionsolisyon
85
237000
3000
Konnye a gen yon solisyon
04:15
to all these problemspwoblèm.
86
240000
2000
pou tout pwoblèm say o.
04:17
And we know how to buildbati properlybyen.
87
242000
3000
Epi nou konnen kòman pou nou bati byen.
04:20
The proofprèv of this camete vini in ChileChili,
88
245000
3000
Prèv sa soti Chili,
04:23
almostprèske a monthmwa laterpita,
89
248000
3000
prèske yon mwa apre,
04:26
when 8.8 magnitudemayitid earthquaketranbleman tè
90
251000
3000
lè tranbleman de tè de 8.8 mayitid a
04:30
hitfrape ChileChili.
91
255000
2000
frape Chili.
04:32
That is 500 timesfwa
92
257000
2000
Sa se 500 fwa
04:34
the powerpouvwa of the 7.0
93
259000
2000
pi pisan ke 7.0
04:36
that hitfrape Port-au-PrincePort-au-Prince --
94
261000
3000
ki frape Port-au-Prince
04:39
500 timesfwa the powerpouvwa,
95
264000
2000
500 fwa pi pisan,
04:41
yetankò only underanba a thousandmil casualtiesviktim yo.
96
266000
3000
epi sèl mwens ke mil mouri.
04:46
AdjustedAjusté for populationpopilasyon an densitydansite,
97
271000
2000
Ajiste pou popilasyon dansite,
04:48
that is lessmwens than one percentpousan
98
273000
2000
sa se mwens ke yon pousan
04:50
of the impactenpak of the HaitianAyisyen an quaketranbleman tè.
99
275000
3000
enpak tranbleman tè Ayiti a.
04:54
What was the differencediferans
100
279000
2000
Se ki diferans
04:56
betweenant ChileChili and HaitiAyiti?
101
281000
3000
antre Chili ak Ayiti?
04:59
SeismicTranbleman tè standardsestanda
102
284000
2000
Estanda sismik
05:01
and confinednòmalman nan lizyè masonrymason,
103
286000
3000
ak masonnen fèmen,
05:04
where the buildingbilding actszak as a wholetout antye --
104
289000
2000
kote kay yo aji ansanm –
05:06
wallsmi yo and columnsKolòn
105
291000
2000
mi ak kolòn,
05:08
and roofstwati and slabsdalles
106
293000
2000
avèk twati ak beton
05:10
tiedmare togetheransanm to supportsipò eachchak other --
107
295000
3000
mare ansanm pou yo ka sipòte yo chak,
05:13
insteadolye of breakingkraze off into separatesepare membersmanm and failingfail.
108
298000
4000
autan ke yo kraze an moso manb epi tonbe.
05:18
If you look at this buildingbilding in ChileChili,
109
303000
3000
Si’w gade kay san an Chili,
05:21
it's rippedchire in halfmwatye,
110
306000
2000
li rache an mwatwe,
05:23
but it's not a pilepil of rubbledebri.
111
308000
3000
men li pa yon pil blòk kraze.
05:27
ChileansChileans have been buildingbilding with confinednòmalman nan lizyè masonrymason
112
312000
2000
Moun Chili yo t’ap bati ak masonnen fèmen
05:29
for decadesdeseni.
113
314000
2000
pou deseni.
05:32
Right now, AIDGAIDG is workingk ap travay with KPFFKPFF ConsultingKonsiltasyon EngineersEnjenyè,
114
317000
4000
Konnye a, AIDG ap travay ak KPFF Consulting Engineers,
05:36
ArchitectureAchitekti for HumanityImanite,
115
321000
2000
Architecture for Humanity,
05:38
to bringpote more confinednòmalman nan lizyè masonrymason trainingfòmasyon
116
323000
3000
pou pote plis entrenman masonnen fèmen
05:41
into HaitiAyiti.
117
326000
2000
an Ayiti.
05:45
This is XantusXantus DanielDanyèl;
118
330000
2000
Sa se Xantus Daniel.
05:47
he's a masonmason,
119
332000
2000
Li se yon mason,
05:49
just a generaljeneral constructionkonstriksyon workertravayè, not a foremanbòs,
120
334000
3000
jusk yon travayè konstriksyon jeneral, li pa yon kontremèt,
05:52
who tookte pran one of our trainingsantrènman.
121
337000
2000
ki pran yonn nan entrenman nou yo.
05:54
On his last jobtravay he was workingk ap travay with his bossbòs nan travay la,
122
339000
3000
Nan travay pase li ya, li t’ap travay ansanm avèk boss li,
05:57
and they startedte kòmanse pouringvide the columnsKolòn wrongmal.
123
342000
3000
epi yo t’ap kòmanse vide siman nan kolòn nan mal.
06:00
He tookte pran his bossbòs nan travay la asidesou kote,
124
345000
2000
Li pran boss li akote pou'l pale avèk li,
06:02
and he showedte montre him the materialsmateryèl on confinednòmalman nan lizyè masonrymason.
125
347000
3000
epi li montre’l materyel masonnen fèmen yo.
06:05
He showedte montre him, "You know, we don't have to do this wrongmal.
126
350000
3000
Li montre’l, “Ou konnen, nou pa bezwen fè sa mal.
06:08
It won'tpa pral costpri us any more
127
353000
2000
Li p’ap koute nou pi chè
06:10
to do it the right way."
128
355000
3000
pou nou fèl byen.”
06:13
And they redidredid that buildingbilding.
129
358000
2000
Epi yo refè kay la.
06:15
They tiedmare the rebarrebar right,
130
360000
2000
Yo mare fè poto yo byen.
06:17
they pouredvide the columnsKolòn right,
131
362000
2000
Yo vide siman nan kolòn nan byen.
06:19
and that buildingbilding will be safesan danje.
132
364000
2000
Epi kay sa ap vinn san danje.
06:21
And everychak buildingbilding
133
366000
2000
Epi tout lòt kay
06:23
that they buildbati going forwardpou pi devan
134
368000
2000
yo bati aprè sa
06:25
will be safesan danje.
135
370000
2000
ap vinn san danje.
06:28
To make sure these buildingsbilding are safesan danje,
136
373000
2000
Pou asire ke kay sa yo san danje,
06:30
it's not going to take policypolitik --
137
375000
3000
li pa’p pran lwa,
06:33
it's going to take reachingrive out
138
378000
2000
l’ap pran chèche pale
06:35
to the masons- on the ground
139
380000
3000
ak mason yo ki a tè a,
06:38
and helpingede them learnaprann the properonèt techniquesteknik.
140
383000
3000
epi ede yo aprann bon teknik.
06:43
Now there are manyanpil groupsgwoup yo doing this.
141
388000
2000
Konnye a gen anpil group k’ap fè sa.
06:45
And the fellowparèy in the vestbal there,
142
390000
2000
Kanmarad ki gen vès sou li a,
06:47
CraigCraig TotenToten,
143
392000
2000
Craig Toten,
06:49
he has pushedpouse forwardpou pi devan
144
394000
2000
t’ap pouse devan
06:51
to get documentationdokiman out to all the groupsgwoup yo that are doing this.
145
396000
3000
mete dokiman deyò pou tout moun k’ap fè sa.
06:55
ThroughPase HaitiAyiti RewiredRewired,
146
400000
2000
Atravè Haiti Rewired,
06:57
throughnan BuildKonstwi ChangeChanjman, ArchitectureAchitekti for HumanityImanite,
147
402000
3000
atravè Build Change, Architecture for Humanity,
07:00
AIDGAIDG,
148
405000
2000
AIDG,
07:02
there is the possibilityposibilite
149
407000
2000
gen yen posibilite
07:04
to reachrive out
150
409000
3000
pou chèch pale
07:07
to 30,000 -- 40,000 masons-
151
412000
3000
ak 30000, 40000 mason
07:10
acrossatravè the countrypeyi
152
415000
2000
atravè peyi a
07:12
and createkreye a movementmouvman of properonèt buildingbilding.
153
417000
3000
epi kreye yon movman pou bati byen.
07:17
If you reachrive out to the people on the ground
154
422000
2000
Si’w lonje men’w ba moun yo ki sou tè a
07:19
in this collaborativekolaborasyon way
155
424000
2000
nan mwayen kolaboratif sa
07:21
it's extremelytrè affordableabòdab.
156
426000
3000
li ekstrèmman abòdab.
07:24
For the billionsdè milya spentte pase on reconstructionrekonstriksyon an,
157
429000
4000
Pou tout milya k’ap depanse nan rekonstwiksyon an,
07:28
you can traintren masons-
158
433000
2000
ou ka antrene mason
07:30
for dollarsdola on everychak housekay
159
435000
2000
pou dola sou chak kay
07:32
that they endfen up buildingbilding over theiryo lifetimepou tout lavi.
160
437000
3000
yo vinn bati pandan y’ap viv.
07:37
UltimatelyAlafen, there are two waysfason
161
442000
2000
Finalman, gen 2 mwayen
07:39
that you can rebuildrebati HaitiAyiti;
162
444000
2000
ke ou ka rekonstwi Ayiti,
07:41
the way at the toptèt
163
446000
2000
mwayen ki kòmanse anwo a
07:43
is the way that Haiti'sAn Ayiti been buildingbilding for decadesdeseni.
164
448000
3000
se mwayen sa Ayiti te konstwi pou deseni.
07:46
The way at the toptèt
165
451000
2000
Mwayen sa a
07:48
is a poorlymal constructedkonstwi buildingbilding
166
453000
2000
se yon kay ki konstwi mal
07:50
that will failfail.
167
455000
2000
ki pral kraze.
07:52
The way at the bottomanba is a confinednòmalman nan lizyè masonrymason buildingbilding,
168
457000
3000
Mwayen anba a se yon kay ki konstwi ak masonnen fèmen,
07:55
where the wallsmi yo are tiedmare togetheransanm,
169
460000
2000
kote mi yo mare ansanm,
07:57
the buildingbilding is symmetricsimetrik,
170
462000
2000
kay la an simetri,
07:59
and it will standkanpe up to an earthquaketranbleman tè.
171
464000
3000
epi ka kanpe devan yon tranbleman tè.
08:02
For all the disasterdezas,
172
467000
2000
Pou tout dezas,
08:04
there is an opportunityopòtinite here
173
469000
3000
gen yon opòtinite la
08:07
to buildbati better houseskay
174
472000
2000
pou konstwi bi bon kay
08:09
for the nextpwochen generationjenerasyon,
175
474000
2000
pou lòt jenerasyon an,
08:11
so that when the nextpwochen earthquaketranbleman tè hitsfrape,
176
476000
3000
pou lè yon lòt tranbleman tè pase,
08:14
it is a disasterdezas --
177
479000
2000
li t’ap yon dezas
08:16
but not a tragedytrajedi.
178
481000
2000
otan ke yon trajedi.
08:19
(ApplauseAplodisman)
179
484000
4000
(Aplodisman)
Translated by Ed Maximus
Reviewed by Gardith Augustin-Hyppolite

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Peter Haas - Building activist
Inveterate tinkerer Peter Haas is the co-founder of AIDG, the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, which connect people to electricity, sanitation and clean water through a combination of business incubation, education, and outreach.

Why you should listen

In 2005, Peter Haas co-founded AIDG -- the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group -- an organization helping individuals and communities get affordable and environmentally sound access to electricity, sanitation and clean water through a combination of business incubation, education, and outreach. (Also on the board: TED Best-of-the-Web star Cat Laine.) Since co-founding AIDG, Haas has become an active voice for poverty issues, speaking at the World Bank, Harvard, MIT and other forums on technology, entrepreneurship and SME finance. He was named a TEDGlobal Fellow in 2009 and is now part of the three-year TED Senior Fellows program.

Before founding AIDG, Haas worked both in the information technology field and on an organic farm and horse ranch doing infrastructure improvement work. He tinkers in water systems, electrical systems, electronic systems, masonry, plumbing, biogas, irrigation, welding, metal casting and sustainable building.

More profile about the speaker
Peter Haas | Speaker | TED.com