Ghana housing project: design and construct sustainable home

As the site says: Open Source House (OS-House) is a non-profit organization that aims to provide better, more sustainable housing in low-income countries.

Designers, architects and those interested in modular and sustainable housing may be interested in this design competition at Open Source House.

The design competition starts on January 15th, 2010 and is open for team or individual participation. The challenge is to design a sustainable, flexible and locally embedded family house for a specific location in Ghana. The modular construction should be suitable for local implementation and affordable for its future owners. The winning design(s) will be built in Ghana. All information regarding the competition will be published on our website on January 15th.





4. Deadline and submission format.


May 17th, 2010. Before this date all designs must be submitted digitally. The design case, which will be published on the 15th of January, describes the format and drawings to be delivered. Contestants are asked to deliver designs considering all house components -foundation, structure, floor, facade, roof- and its set of connections



5. Pilot


The winning design(s) will be built in a pilot project in Ghana, to test the technical and economic feasibility as well as the social perception. Joining the competition is your chance to establish your name as an architect while witnessing your design being built and used by its new residents.

 6. The Open Source phase


To generate content for the OS-House platform we start with the Ghana design competition. However the aim of OS-House is to provide knowledge and choice. Therefore all submitted designs are published on the OS-House platform after the competition.


After this first competition and pilot project OS-House will continue to promote the implementation of more OS-Houses, challenge platform members to improve available designs, organize new competitions and stimulate local parties to take designs and adapt them to their local conditions. Our goal is to realize a 100.000 OS-Houses before the year 2020.

Download a free sample of our Travel Guide to Ghana see inside the travel guide before buying.

Food and vitamin supplements for life and travel in Ghana

Supplements can really help your energy levels and boost your immune system when traveling in developing countries. Here are a few of recommendations based on my experience. Let us know if you have some favourite strategy for keeping healthy on the road and which products or supplements you prefer.

Acidophilus powder.

This is “good bacteria” for your digestive system. It is excellent to prevent upset stomachs whether traveling or during normal life. You can buy it by the bottle as loose powder to be taken by the spoonful or in capsule form. Some require refrigeration is it’s a live culture but others have been formulated so as not to need refrigeration. It can also be found in some yoghurts, but my naturopath in Sydney explained that the powder form is way more effective than yoghurt from the supermarket (and she wasn’t selling the powder). In my experience, those designed to be chilled are more effective. I carried mine wrapped inside a freezer bag (like you use to chill beer) when I first came to Ghana and this kept the bottle chilled for a good 40 hours between home and my final destination.

Protein powder.

This helps ensure you get enough protein each day to support travel-weary muscles. Unlike acidophilus powder, this doesn’t need refrigeration, but it’s still important to get a good brand. Protein powder has little taste and you can add the recommended spoonfuls to plain water or juice or to oatmeal or a shake. Protein bars are also popular alternatives.

Liquid iron.

Iron gives you energy. When you don’t get enough of it in the diet you can really begin to feel tired. If you get malaria, your iron levels will drop even more.

Fortunately, you can buy liquid iron in pharmacies in Ghana for between 2-9 Cedis. It’s called “blood tonic” and the more expensive, I noticed, the more effective. One good brand is called “Feroglobin”.

Chewable Vitamin C

If you take these in combination with liquid iron, the iron is more easily absorbed into your bloodstream. Incidentally, calcium inhibits the absorption of iron into the blood so don’t drink dairy before taking iron supplements (which is why I thought it was weird to see milk with iron supplements added to it—as a selling point!) You can also buy these in pharmacies for about 20 pesewas a strip or bring your own.

Top quality multi-vitamins

If you can get hold of a good all-round multi-vitamin you will also strengthen your immune system for the down times and maybe even avoid serious illness. I advise women to get tablets especially formulated for women to help during the monthly cycle.

I’ve been out of the developed world loop for several years now and would love to hear of any new health products for improving well being while traveling. Thanks in advance.

Download a free sample of our Travel Guide to Ghana see inside the guide before buying.

How dangerous is travel in Ghana?

This is my take on them, and please feel free to add your own stories or tips in the comments below:

1. Health—Mosquitoes: Malaria. I wrote a post about how it feels here. The bad news: it is ‘as common as catching a cold.’ The good news: it’s easy to do something about.

The standard rule is to take antimalarials for one month before arrival so your system can develop resistance, and one month after leaving. The month after leaving rule is to kill parasitic cycles that could develop into malaria over time, later.

One time, a volunteer friend was experiencing spontaneous sweats, fever, vomiting, tiredness, and diarrhea, so we were tested for malaria; her test was negative. The following day she was ill again so we visited a different clinic. She had a seizure during the consultation. She had severe malaria. So much for the test.

So, the moral is: a negative blood test may be wrong; it doesn’t guarantee you are malaria-free. If you are presenting the clinical symptoms, you should seek treatment. You can go to a hospital or clinic. They’ll test you. Even if negative.

Roughly speaking, about 1 in 5 volunteers I worked with got malaria. Some never got it, others, like me, got it regularly. We took the various brands: Doxy, Larium, and so on. None of them are perfect. We sprayed ourselves at night and slept under nets, but it only takes one bite. The good news, as I said, is that it’s easy to cure provided you do something about it when you notice the symptoms. Don’t worry, don’t freak out or panic, just act. If you wish to see a doctor, fine. It’s not a bad idea to keep a written record of medical visits.

Regarding general health and travel, see your travel doctor at least a month, preferably longer, before coming to Ghana and follow their advice on general and Africa-specific vaccinations (there is no malaria vaccine), and which antimalarial drugs would be best. For the record, it’s much cheaper to buy them here than it is in developed countries. I can buy a sheet of 10 doxy for one dollar. You might want to check the Centre for Disease Control’s latest updates for Ghana here to learn about malaria in detail and other mosquito-borne diseases and health issues in Ghana:

I’m looking forward to the day when a mosquito bite simply means an itchy bite.

Vehicles: Most nights I say a prayer of thanks for good health, friends and family, and that I haven’t been mangled in a horrible road accident. Indeed, I don’t practice any one religion, but the roads in Ghana have turned me into a practicing prayer. And I’m not picky about which God hears my trotro prayers. I had so many close-calls and passed so many serious accidents that I updated my will—that’s how bad it is. The Vice President, John Mahama, was on GTV yesterday morning at a community where a terrible dirt road was about to be paved. He said that the rutted road forces vehicles to drive at 20-30 km/hour and there has not been a single road accident there. But he lamented that once it’s tarred drivers will speed and he fears the ‘carnage’ that will occur. It was quite candid of him, and it gives you a sense of the gravity of the situation.

The Bad news: Taxis, trotros and buses are virtually unavoidable. The good news: There isn’t much good news on this one. I’m sorry. Drivers bribe officials to get licenced without sitting for a driving test and until that situation is brought under control, I can’t see it improving.

A few months ago on my trip to Accra, the STC (which I took because it gives the impression of being safe) driver fell asleep at the wheel and veered so close to an oncoming semi-trailer that the side mirror smashed off. On the way back from Accra, the STC driver over took on a blind rise over solid double lines into a row of oncoming cars and trucks that were forced to shift to the far right to make space for us on the wrong side of the road. I think most travelers in Ghana would attest that this standard of driving is quite normal. I have countless similar stories, mostly involving trotros, blind corners or hills, oncoming vehicles, rain, and high speeds.

Highway robbery along remote roads is becoming more common. I have not heard of physical threats occurring during the highway robberies, but I’d like to know if anyone has. It seems that as long as you hand your stuff over, you are not harmed. Don’t carry anything you don’t mind losing on trotro journeys.

If a driver is being careless, chances are Ghanaians will shout at them. Don’t be afraid to shout yourself. If worst comes to worst, you can always get off. I learnt to say ‘slow down’ in Twi and it works. Life seems cheap on Ghana’s roads, so if you value yours, speak up.

Crowd situations: Pick pocketing and stampeding are problems. There have been a few stampedes at football games over the years that resulted in many deaths. Please be careful if you’re attending a game or any event in large crowds like a concert where everyone might suddenly push to get in or out.

Pick-pockets are rife in crowded areas. I’ve seen it and heard about it. I kicked guys off me one day in a crowd and saw others do it plenty of times too. One sneaky thing thieves do is slash your bag straps or the underneath of your bag, so hold your bag tightly in crowds.

The ocean current and surf: While waves on Busua, Axim and a few other beaches I visited are much smaller, they are wildly unpredictable. You might pop up after ducking under a wave to find another one hitting you side on and pulling your legs in the opposite direction. You have to keep moving around to stay in a safe zone. The undertow and rips are fierce.

My friend, a strong swimmer, got caught in one rip, and struggled to get out of it. It seemed to shift and suddenly I was caught in it and I really struggled for 10 mins until I made it to the shore.

General places to avoid:

Kokrobite Beach is notorious for daylight and especially night time robberies. A bunch of small boys will surround you, pull a knife and demand your back pack. Even male acquaintances were robbed this way.

University: Like most campuses world-wide, don’t roam around at night unless you’re in a large group, definitely not alone or with just one other person.

Accra
Nima/Mamobey area at night. Be alert during the day. Pig Farm (yes, it’s a name) at night. Ashaiman at night. Kwame Nkrumah Circle area and Kaneshie by day and night for bag and phone snatching; don’t be alarmed, but don’t let anyone carry your bags and hold on tight. Osu main street at night.

Kumasi
Racecourse area at night. Kejetia trotro station and market area at night for bag and phone snatching and occasionally people physically trying to stop you. Just push them away and keep walking. Shout if you have to. I never had a problem there, but keep your wits about you.

Cape Coast
Along the beaches at night—just don’t do it unless you’re with body guards (not the guys who like to sweet talk girls at Oasis or any of those who approach travelers on the street. It’s a notorious area for robberies).
Around the Castles—the area and beaches around there are known for petty robberies.
Outside Oasis and the back roads that lead from Oasis to the town centre at night. Stick to Commercial Road: the long road that extends from the Castle past the crab and up to the market, but be careful around the Castle/Restaurant area at night.
Around the crab at night and Hacienda. You can have fun, but take care.
Kotakoraba taxi station at night—not too bad, but be careful.

Elmina:
Shell Elmina during festivals when all the young boys in the area converge to dance.
The SSNIT building past Shell on the right side of the highway at night is not a safe area. Elmina Castle area at night.

I have only been robbed twice in Ghana. My phone was pick-pocketed because I left it in an outer backpack pocket in Kaneshie. And I was robbed by three men when I least suspected it—in broad daylight in a taxi one morning heading to work along the highway from Elmina to Cape. In retrospect it was a set up, but I’d never experienced such a thing. I got mad, shouted a lot, hit them over the head (lame but it worked) and got my stuff back. It was a surreal experience (and another exciting chapter for the book). But I was lucky; try not to be in that situation in the first place.

The point is, if you don’t see a weapon, or you’re not physically threatened, don’t be afraid to fight back and shout and make a lot of noise. If other people are around, there’s a good chance they’ll come to your aid. Ghanaians detest thieves and people who break into other’s homes, uninvited, in particular.

Upper East and West
Comparatively, the Upper East and West Regions are less touristed and the hassle factor is virtually zero in towns compared with, say, Kumasi or Accra. However, you should keep your wits about you at night and traveling in remote areas.

Bawku:
It is a conflict zone and you enter Bawku at your own risk. However, the conflict occurs in bouts, weeks, sometimes months apart. Most times, if you’re just passing through you wouldn’t know there was a conflict. There is a heavy police and military presence if something should happen.

Between Mole and Larabanga:
It says so in the guide book and for a reason. That little stretch of road is a playground for thieves. Avoid it.

While all this may be scary, I’ve felt safer here than many other places in the world. Most Ghanaians hardly drink alcohol or smoke so alcohol fueled violence is barely an issue. Truly ugly, violent crime is far less common than in many capital cities in developed countries.

If you want to read more about health issues, I recommend the Travel Doctor in the UK for information.

The photo is licenced as free to use from Flickr.