Kathmandu Valley is ranked as the most seismically vulnerable city in the world according to a report of Geo Hazard International, 1999. On average, 80 percent of the casualties in the case of earthquakes happen due to unsafe buildings. Research shows that almost 90 percent of the buildings are non–engineered and entirely owner built. Annually, about 15,000 new buildings are constructed in the Kathmandu Valley, 13,000 of which are constructed without inputs from a trained engineer.
Currently, the most common technical advisor during building construction is a mason. However, few masons have received formal vocational training, and fewer still have been trained in earthquake resistant construction techniques. This means that most of the new construction in the valley lacks basic compliance to earthquake resistant construction techniques, contributing to earthquake vulnerability of buildings in Kathmandu Valley.
Ideally, all building construction has to be engineered. But considering the existing practice, this may take long to achieve. However, as an immediate measure, we must train existing masons on construction practices compliant with basic codes. At the same time, we must consider producing new masons with the knowledge of earthquake reduction construction technology. At present, very few masons in the valley have been trained in seismic-safe construction methods. In the past, training was imparted to the masons on a piecemeal basis. Lalitpur Municipality is the only valley municipality which has included masons’ training in its annual plan.[break]
In 2010, the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC) approved a training curriculum and manual for masons with technical inputs from a range of experts in the field. This manual is available in Nepali and English, and there are qualified trainers and an agreed five day training course that can produce certified masons if funds are available. To date, a small number of masons have been trained by UN agencies, NGOs and government bodies, but this has been sporadic, and on average has not totaled more than 100 trained masons in the valley per year. Further, most masons’ trainings currently occur outside of Kathmandu valley.
Although there is a 6 months long vocational training for masons provided by the government, the tendency is to become a mason through trial and error, or on experimental basis by assisting a head mason in a construction site. This means that if the head mason is untrained in earthquake risk reduction, the trainee also picks up the same incorrect skills and knowledge. Without proper recognition and formalization of masonry as a profession, this problem will persist.
Way Forward
The training of masons needs to be seen as a part of the process of achieving a completely code compliant construction. Hence, all actors of construction business like owners, masons, builders, engineers, manufacturers and suppliers, governments, financial institutions, media, and NGOs should be interlinked and made aware of their roles and responsibilities. A concerted effort and synergy can create a culture of safety, leading to more importance placed on better training for masons. The demand for trained masons has to come from the market. Prospective house owners and contractors should be aware of the advantages of hiring a trained mason for construction.
There are about 10,000-15,000 masons working in the valley, and most of them untrained. So, large scale training has to be incorporated in traditional modality, even though it is costly. For developing a roster where 30 percent masons are trained, we need to conduct at least 100 trainings in the valley and produce a threshold of 3,000 trained masons. With that quantity, we can straight away go for licensing systems for the masons in the municipality. Once the licensing system is activated, there will be a surge in the demand for training among remaining masons. The training agencies can then further train the remaining masons at nominal fees.
In Nepal, CTEVT is the only government institution that produces vocationally trained masons. Unfortunately, CTEVT has not added earthquake safe construction methodology to their existing training course so far. We need to support CTEVT in integrating earthquake reduction construction technology in its basic course, so as to create a sustainable supply of masons knowledgeable of earthquake risk reduction methods. This way, the upcoming masons will be a complete package.
Establishing a database, and linking trained masons to employment opportunities can help reduce their out-migration. Once the roster is established, we need to help them link up with development projects, such as the school construction projects under Flagship Area 1 of the Nepal Risk Reduction Consortium, to help fill the gap in local technical capacity. In addition, we should also increase the number of female masons trained. This not only supports gender equity, but recent informal surveys have shown that trained female masons are much more likely to continue working in their communities instead of migrating outside Nepal. Although currently many women work in the construction sector, most are employed at the lowest levels, and do not get the opportunity to act as masons. As such, there is a need to conduct a number of longer trainings specifically for women working in the construction industry to enable them to complete the full training curriculum.
Despite the continuous efforts to train existing masons in earthquake risk reduction techniques, their skill and knowledge is not reflected in their practices as expected. Furthermore, each year we are producing masons without basic know-how of earthquake resistant construction, and piling up the backlog of untrained masons, leading to a vicious cycle of non-sustainability. To overcome all these, a suitable strategy to cater to existing and upcoming masons needs to be developed. To implement the strategy, sectors involved in earthquake risk reduction need to be holistically mobilized so that a demand for trained masons can be created in all sectors. Consequently, the profession of trained masons will be formalized, and enough employment opportunities can be generated for these trained masons.
Author works with UNDP’s Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management Program
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