EQUIP FOUNDATION


COMMUNITY TRACK Our Vision The Need in India How we can help Who we have helped Who we would like to help You can help IndiaHouses rēp Community Track People Contact us	Our Vision Our desire is to see village communities in India transformed by providing needy people with neat, durable, hygienic housing, by creating employment opportunities and by training local entrepreneurs. We believe that housing enterprises are ideally suited to this endeavor. Our aim is to set up a series of community-based industries in villages throughout India. The communities will generate income from the construction of houses, classrooms, etc. They will also earn money from associated services and from the sale of housing components. The Need in India India has more than 1.1 Billion people and will soon be the world's most populous country. Chennai, Tamil Nadu
	More than 70% of people in India live in more than 550,000 villages. Many of the villagers lack adequate shelter and adequate sources of income.
	Widows are particularly needy because they are often neglected by their communities.
	Palm branch huts are the most common forms of shelter in villages in Southern India. . The palm branches have a useful life of about 3 years and it can typically take about 6 months for a villager to earn enough money to purchase new materials for his or her new roof.
	Poor people cannot afford to build more durable structures and their poverty is thus aggravated by their constant need to repair/re-roof their huts.
	Many of the villagers also lack valuable skills and have to rely on odd laboring jobs in nearby farms or towns for income. Our community projects are able to provide both short-term and long-term relief by addressing immediate needs for housing and providing new methods of generating income.
	How we can help New Houses & New Industries
	We have developed a new method of construction that uses precast wall panels and prefabricated roofing panels.
	With this method, we are able to build 15 ft x 15 ft, 2 roomed, houses for less than US$ 3,500.
	We are also teaching people how to build houses and encouraging workers to start small businesses.
	Who we have helped (Click here) We are currently completing our 9^th and 10^th houses and our first Factory / Community Center These are located in the vicinity of Pudupattinam, Tamil Nadu. (Roughly 70 km south of Chennai. - See Maps)
	Who we would like to help (Click here)
You can help	Sponsors We have funds for 6 of the 30 houses planned for 2009. We are seeking sponsors for the remaining 24 houses, a second Factory/Community Center and a vehicle for the second site. Each house will cost $3,500. The Factory building will cost $7,500 with molds, tools and equipment costing an additional $2,500. The vehicle will cost $5,000. Volunteers If you have skills or interest in construction, business, marketing, manufacturing, appropriate technologies, community development, communication and teaching, consider joining us for a 2-week or a 4-week venture. Email margie(at)cookbrothers.net- or call Rebecca at (650) 306 4100 for more information on opportunities for involvement in our projects.
Donations	To donate: Please mail your check made payable to: The Equip Foundation c/o The Institute 570 El Camino Real, #150-445 Redwood City, CA 94063 Please contact us for details if you would like to donate stock or if you would like to use PayPal or direct transfer of funds.
Home