You know when you think you have this great idea, and get all pumped up about it, and start working on it, and then right in the middle, you look at what you're doing and you're totally lost? Your main idea seems meaningless. You've lost all direction. You have no idea how to proceed. Well, that's where I am with my thesis proposal.
I had the idea to do something to help better the lives of rural women in Bangladesh. And as an architect, I decided it should have something to do with the built environment. So I went there, and talked to a bunch of women, and looked at their homes, and how they live. And what did I come up with? A lot of problems and not a lot of resources.
Because the women I talked to are working with at least one NGO, if not more, they were all pretty much educated about the health and sanitary issues. Most had access to clean water, and they understood the importance of using it. So if they couldn't afford a tube well for themselves they would seek one out instead of using water from a contaminated pond. Most owned or had access to a latrine, and knew the importance of keeping it clean.
The state of their houses varied from flimsy straw huts to sturdy brick buildings with solid roofs. They had problems with rodents, cold weather, having to rebuild every year after the monsoon, etc. But each family had different problems, or degree of problems, so there's no easy way of finding a cookie cutter solution for them. Each family would have to have a separate solution tailored to their needs. Not something that lends itself to being the subject to a thesis statement.
The one solution that seemed to work for everyone to improve their living condition was having more money. Once a family was able to save money, they were able to build a secure house. But being a mostly agricultural based society, incomes related to crops are not 100% dependable year after year. And for those who don't own any farm land, not all that profitable.
So I started thinking that if they had some sort of building product that could be made on site, used to improve their homes, and sold to generate income, that would kill two birds with one stone. Right now brick yards are popping up all over the country, burning the forests for fuel, filling the air with smoke, digging up valuable land for the bricks (which are often sold to India), and creates a dangerous work environment for its laborers. There's got to be a more humane and ecological solution.
I heard of a company that makes roof tiles out of concrete, but used jute instead of rebar as reinforcement. Sounds great, only the product wasn't well received due to lack of strength. While I was traveling I saw a billboard for another local cement company that advertised 100% fly ash free cement - the strongest cement available in the country! Only, from what I've researched, using fly ash as an additive not only helps to remove a dangerous substance from the atmosphere by collecting it and putting it to good use, it actually strengthens the cement bond. False advertising at it's best!
But it brings up a very important point - everyone is skeptical of a new product (unless it's the newest release of an Apple iproduct), especially when it comes to the building industry. It takes time for new materials to be accepted. Not something most villagers have. I get the feeling that the ideas that become decent thesis statements aren't necessarily the same ideas that do the most good for the people they are trying to help. So now what?
I had the idea to do something to help better the lives of rural women in Bangladesh. And as an architect, I decided it should have something to do with the built environment. So I went there, and talked to a bunch of women, and looked at their homes, and how they live. And what did I come up with? A lot of problems and not a lot of resources.
Because the women I talked to are working with at least one NGO, if not more, they were all pretty much educated about the health and sanitary issues. Most had access to clean water, and they understood the importance of using it. So if they couldn't afford a tube well for themselves they would seek one out instead of using water from a contaminated pond. Most owned or had access to a latrine, and knew the importance of keeping it clean.
The state of their houses varied from flimsy straw huts to sturdy brick buildings with solid roofs. They had problems with rodents, cold weather, having to rebuild every year after the monsoon, etc. But each family had different problems, or degree of problems, so there's no easy way of finding a cookie cutter solution for them. Each family would have to have a separate solution tailored to their needs. Not something that lends itself to being the subject to a thesis statement.
The one solution that seemed to work for everyone to improve their living condition was having more money. Once a family was able to save money, they were able to build a secure house. But being a mostly agricultural based society, incomes related to crops are not 100% dependable year after year. And for those who don't own any farm land, not all that profitable.
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| Brickyard near Tarash, Bangladesh |
I heard of a company that makes roof tiles out of concrete, but used jute instead of rebar as reinforcement. Sounds great, only the product wasn't well received due to lack of strength. While I was traveling I saw a billboard for another local cement company that advertised 100% fly ash free cement - the strongest cement available in the country! Only, from what I've researched, using fly ash as an additive not only helps to remove a dangerous substance from the atmosphere by collecting it and putting it to good use, it actually strengthens the cement bond. False advertising at it's best!
But it brings up a very important point - everyone is skeptical of a new product (unless it's the newest release of an Apple iproduct), especially when it comes to the building industry. It takes time for new materials to be accepted. Not something most villagers have. I get the feeling that the ideas that become decent thesis statements aren't necessarily the same ideas that do the most good for the people they are trying to help. So now what?
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