Dexter High School Interact Club to Create Housing for Disaster Victims

Dexter High School’s Interact Club is teaming up with the to produce a prototype for an easy-to-assemble, temporary or permanent house known as a sisal house for use in developing countries.

The goal of the project is to develop a way to create housing materials using natural fibers such as sisal plant fiber and resin, creating a fiberglass-like product. 

Members of the club, which operates under the umbrella of Rotary International, were introduced to the project by Dexter Rotarian Larry Courson.

“The hope is that this will become an ongoing international Rotary project to assist people in third-world countries, especially following a disaster” Courson said.

The sisal house will be used as emergency and intermediate shelter housing for  victims of floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters.  The house can be disassembled and re-used at another time or converted to permanent housing, Courson said.

The long-range goal is to provide the sisal houses through partner Rotary clubs around the world.

According to The Sisal House Project website, the initial startup cost for a sisal house ranges from $900 to $1,300, which includes the fiber, resin, fasteners and site preparation.

The first step in getting the project off the ground was to develop a logo.  The Dexter Rotary Club sponsored a logo contest in February in which more than 40 DHS graphics arts students competed. 

The students created their entries in a three-step process, consisting of initial drawings followed by more detailed drawings and a final entry submitted by each student for evaluation by representatives from the Dexter Rotary Club.  The representatives selected 10 finalists from the drawings and from there picked seniors Mike Spuller and Kyle Taveres, both 17.

Spuller and Taveres made final modifications and improvements to their drawings based on recommendations from their teacher, Dennis Stockwell.  The Rotary Club decided to use both logos and awarded the students with a first-place certificate and $25 cash prize.

The Interact Club is currently working on a model of the sisal house to present at the Rotary District Conference in Traverse City on April 29.

“This is a multi-year project,” Dexter Rotary president-elect Steve Feinman said.

For more information, visit the Dexter Rotary Club's website.