Professor Chongrak Polprasert recently represented AIT at an official hand-over ceremony of new houses to fifty-six Asian tsunami-affected families living Nam Khen village, Phang-nga province, southern Thailand.
AIT, through the Habitech Center, has made a significant contribution to the design and implementation of the 56 houses, using the interlocking brick technology developed at AIT, which are low-cost, durable, energy-efficient and satisfactory to the household dwellers. The project is the initiative of the Habitech Center Manager, Mr. Gyanendra R. Sthapit and his colleagues.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Development and Human Security of Thailand, H.E. Paiboon Watanasiritham, presided over the donation ceremony on 14 July 2007, which included representatives of the European Union, Rotary International, government organizations, NGOs and about 2,000 local people affected by the tsunami.
The houses were designed and constructed as part of a project that saw various European and Thai stakeholders' pool resources and expertise to combine reconstruction and development with environmental protection. The event attracted European media and the story was featured on the European Union website at:
http://www.deltha.ec.europa.eu/news%202007/tsunami_EN.htm