Organization: Build Change

All Photos Our mission is to greatly reduce deaths, injuries and economic losses caused by housing collapses due to earthquakes in developing countries.

Focus Areas:	Technology, Disaster Relief, Economic Development, Education, Environment, Health, Human Rights, Poverty, Gender & Equality, Microfinance
Countries Served:	China Haiti Indonesia

Description of Services:
Build Change designs earthquake-resistant houses in developing countries and trains buiders, homeowners, engineers and government officials to build them. Build Change uses with low-cost, earthquake resistant construction methods that will continue to be used once we leave the village. We collect and spread best practices and lessons learned from post-disaster housing construction programs; bridge the gap between academic research and construction practice by identifying needs and developing appropriate training and construction manuals and work with the academic community to evaluate, develop and test innovative, low-cost methods for building and strengthening houses using locally available materials and skills.
History:
Build Change was seed funded with a 2004 Echoing Green Fellowship. Build Change was added to the Draper Richards Foundation portfolio of social entrepreneurs in 2006 and Ashoka-Lemelson fellowship in 2009. Build Change is a 2008 Tech Awards Laureate and winner of the Katherine M. Swanson Equality Category Cash Prize. Build Change was founded (as Center for Earthquake Resistant Houses) by a PhD earthquake engineer and brick mason after extensive field research on post-earthquake housing reconstruction programs in Bhuj, Killari, and Chamoli, India and Bam, Iran. Build Change's work has been featured by the New York Times, abcNEWS World News Tonight, Christian Science Monitor, BBC Website, and National Public Radio All Things Considered.
Accomplishments & Progress:
SICHUAN, CHINA (Aug. 2008-now): Build Change is working with local government and over 1,173 rural families to rebuild better following the May 12 earthquake. WEST SUMATRA, INDONESIA (Jan. 2008-now): After 2007 EQ, Build Change provided technical assistance and training to nearly 700 homeowners. No houses that met Build Change's minimum standard for safety were damaged in the 9/30/2009 EQ. ACEH, INDONESIA (2005 - 2007) Build Change built 33 houses by hiring and training local builders, improved the design and construction of over 4,200 houses built by partner organizations, trained over 130 builders in intensive, on-the-job training programs, and trained 245 technical high school students, increasing test scores by up to 50%.