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CARIBBEAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ANNUAL REPORT 2017
TRAINING DOMINICANS TO BUILD BACK BETTER
In Dominica, a man attempts to rebuild a roof destroyed during Hurricane Maria.
On September 21, 2017, Hurricane Maria swept through Dominica with category five winds of nearly 160 mph damaging or destroying 90% of the island’s structures. Following the devastation, stakeholders called for in-depth reviews of building practices, and the Government of Dominica, with plans of rebuilding stronger than before, commenced resilient construction. Through funding from CDB, 234 Dominicans, 40% of them women, are now more equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to construct homes that can better withstand hurricanes. They have completed the Rapid Training of Artisans programme, a learning experience
which taught them how to efficiently and economically repair and rebuild roofs and timber-framed walls in accordance with building codes. Artisans in each of Dominica’s 10 parishes participated in the programme, which follows a similar one implemented with notable results in Grenada immediately after Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Lessons learned will be applied to future interventions in CDB’s other BMCs, which have been affected by, and are vulnerable to hurricanes. The programme was implemented through the CTCS Network.