Head of TRADA International, Lionel Jayanetti, was interviewed on BBC 2’s Newsnight on 6 January 2005 discussing the company’s earthquake-proof building system in the context of the tsunami disaster in Asia.
The interview with Mr Jayanetti formed part of the programme’s opening report and centred on the Jakarta summit, discussing the needs for short-term aid and long-term reconstruction in the countries devastated by the tsunami. The relevance of TRADA International’s recent work, particularly the UK Department for International Development (DFID)-sponsored projects on timber pole and bamboo construction in Sri Lanka and India, has been brought into sharp focus by the disaster and the company is working with DFID and others to support the reconstruction efforts.
TRADA International has been involved in development projects funded by DFID for the past 20 years. Its aims are to develop programmes which promote and support sustainable livelihoods, and to increase the access of the poor to safe, secure, durable and affordable shelter.
In February last year a bamboo-based building system developed by TRADA International in partnership with the Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute (IPIRTI) withstood a series of full-scale earthquake resistance tests carried out in collaboration with the Central Power Research Institute (CPRI) in Bangalore. Film clips of the testing were shown on Newsnight.
The test building resisted seven repetitions of a typical Zone 5 earthquake, the highest in India and equivalent to 7 on the Richter scale, as well as a replication of the notorious Japanese Kobe earthquake (Richter 7.8), without any damage whatsoever.
On the Newsnight programme Mr Jayanetti stressed that a key aspect of the company’s work was in training local people in the building system, to create safe and affordable housing using local resources. This approach promotes the use where appropriate of timber poles, a by-product of good plantation forestry practice, and bamboo, the fastest growing woody plant on the planet.
For further information contact TRADA International on 01494 569600, or email
Head of TRADA International, Lionel Jayanetti, was interviewed on BBC 2’s Newsnight on 6 January 2005 discussing the company’s earthquake-proof building system in the context of the tsunami disaster in Asia.