Diario las Américas Newspaper, September 30, 1956, Page 23

wiaggricelcciite ERR NS stad Sasa tnaeee esl 2. its own money to buy cement, nails, and other construction ma- terials. “We're neither thieves nor beggars, and just as anxious for progress as the next fellow,” de- elared the co-op’s vice-president, José Mosquera, a textile worker. Plans for the houses were drawn by a Colombian, Italo Daza; who had worked for the Popular Hous- ing Institute in Bogota. Perhaps the toughest job was persuading ‘people to trim their ambitions to fit their means. The houses would be small, and for reasons of economy built in rows. Each would contain the es- sential facilities for a family of six: two small bedrooms with clo- sets, a living-and-dining room, a kitchen, and a lavatory with show- er. There would be ample room in the back patio for a_brick-and- cement laundry and rying-and-ce- cement landry and drying section, plus a small garden. Another bed- room or two could be added in the alone. It obtained a mortgage from the Reconstruction Board’ covering the first 102 houses, and assumed responsibility for the regular monthly payment of seventy sucres (about $4.50) per house over the next twenty years. Later, the num- ber of dwellings would be increas- ed to two hundred. A year and a half passed. Not everything went smoothly, of course. ‘There were as always peo- ple who wanted everything at once and for nothing — particularly those who had joined the Cooper- ative after it was all set up, hoping to get in on the catch. Some mem- bers thought the houses too small, though the built-up space alone was three .times that of the average shack; others got discouraged and withdrew. “Good riddance,” said one deter- mined member, a washerwoman. “Now that building is going to start; some have. asked whether they could comeback, but I told Community hall played a critical garden without atering the basic structure of the house. Space-sav- ing closets and built-in shelves would reduce the need for furnitu- re. Privacy was a paramount re- quirement in the close quarters of row houses (six to ten dwellings in each row built in rectangles with the gardens in the center). Six- foot walls-around the patios help- ed, as did the facilities in each dwelling. (For most of the families it was the first time in their lives they had lived with running water) The rows of houses were planned for different levels, following the undulating ground, avoiding mo- notony and the blocking of the view. The price, including an im- ported kerosene stove, would be 15,948 sucres (about $950) for each house and its 150-square-yard loi. Naturally, the Cooperative could never have financed the houses role in bringing people together. them we were against it. We only want serious people in our cooper- ative. You can’t, fool around with these things.” The community hall proved in- valuable. There all problems were thrashed out, people grew to know one another,and visitors were re- ceived, “El galpén” — the shed a people called it affectionately. It became a symbol of what could be achieved if all pulled together. “The galpén was vital to the existence of the Cooperative,” Ma- nuel admits. “Without general dis- cussions, without social gatherings, lectures, classes, it is almost impos- sible to develop a plan for joint action and a spirit of fraternity in~ a place like Straw-mat Town, wheré a struggle to earn a modest living drags each one in a different direc- tion.” Classes were given to all board members on how to conduct a ER IAIAIAAAAI IAAI IIASA ASSIA SSIS IIASA IAA II AIA III ISI IAA AN. Points of View MUSIC IN HAITI MELCHIOR REPORTS some ideas of Madame Carmen Brouard, a talented Haitian pianist and mus- ic teacher, in the Haiti-Journal Port-au-Prince daily: “. ..We often speak of Haitian music without bothering to find out if, technically, it-really exists. A folk tune, whatever the country of origin, is only a primitive mani- festation (note that I hesitate to Say music). . .Music is an art and, as such;. . .has rules, history, and objectives. “From this viewpoint and with our composing at its present level, we can say that Haitian music hardly exists at all. We must study, not only to elevate our popular songs to the level of music — just as selection, analysis, and. rules have made literature out of lan- guage — but also to catch up with the countries that are ahead of us. “As far as I am concerned, there are no degradations in art; one is or is not a musician, . .Through study, sooner or later out country will rank among the most musical: in the world.. .As a teacher, I have eherished this dream for twenty years. I thought our efforts would be fruitful and that .. .true art would emerge much sooner, . .” “We have had to wait. . , and I feel we have lost a lot of time. The National Conservatory, just creat- SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, ed by Paul Maglorie’s government, is the result of individual efforts . . For one, the Haiti-Journal set up music contests, uffered prizes, and gave a home to a national com- poser, the late Ludovic Lamothe. In my opinion, the conservatory has not come too late to show us the job to be done. . .” 1956 bibl Of Mares yacius meeting. When Manuel mentioned the long history of the British Par- liament, one of the women éxcalim- ed: “Six hundred and sixty years and we never knew!” At a hint from Manuel the Co- operative sent an invitation toa Quito journalist well known for his column on social problems. “I can pay ‘the hotel bill myself,” the journalist declared, impressed. by what he had seen. “Please, don’t,” one of the board, members hastily replied. “It’s very little money di- vided among as many as we are, and you are our first overnight guest.” They also asked union leaders and the presidents of citizens’ groups from other districts to the galpén for informal conversations; as a result two more housing co- operatives have been formed, one of primary-school teachers, another of white-collar workers and small businessmen. “What we have tried to avoid,” Gloria explained, “is the notion that people -in Straw-mat Town are something apart, a separate work- ing-class district. This is why the Réconstruction Board let the Co- operative have plots in the Inga- hurco district, where until then there were only middle-class dwell- ings.” Igahurco residents were not very well pleased when they heard about the projected influx from Straw- mat Town, so they were’ im- mediately invited to the galpén to have a closer look at their future neighbors. “They are really quite decent people”, most of the visit- ors admitted after an exploratory chat. Some were even envious when they heard that the cooper- ative houses would cost only about half or a third as much as their own newly built houses. Naturally, theirs were larger; still, they were not twice as good. Building began on July 3, 1954, World Cooperative Day. The basic structure of concrete and brick is earthquake-resistant. Ingenious de- tails facilitate subsequent enlarge- ments and inside improvements. At present, the built-up area occupies sixty-five square yards, less than half of the lot. Window frames are of metal T-rods imported separate- ly and assembled in Ambato, a type that is cheaper and more durable than the customary hand-made wooden frames because of the gen- erally primitive working methods still employed by local carpenters. Easily available bamboo supports the ceiling. The asbestos-cement roof tiles came from Czechoslova- kia. All kinds of short cuts were necessary to reduce the initial cost. Thus closets were left doorless; curtains could be supplied by the house-owner. The idea was to give him an opportunity to work out de- tails according to his own taste and finances, thereby identifying him- self more closely with the build- ing. On the other hand, the kero- sene stove, far cleaner than wood or charcoal, was considered essen- tial. For several months Gloria or- ganized classes in cooking whole- some, tasty, but cheap dishes on the new type of stove. She used enamelware pots instead of the common earthenware or copper pans, and several women started saving to acquire their own sets, which dealers interested in the Co- operative offered at reduced prices. “We must also try,to get curtains and tablecloths,” Gloria decided. “Otherwise people will continue to HEMISPHERE eerie) cro) ot ae Model house was set up at the Quito Fair last year use old newspapers.” A local textile factory made bales of ‘suitable cloth and woolen blankets available at wholesale pri- ces. “Everybody wanted ‘those blankets,” Gloria said. “I was afraid people. would try to. sell them at a profit, but on my re- gular visits to the shacks I have seen them spread over the old beds as if they were precious heirlooms, or carefully wrapped in paper for use in the new house.” A chauffeur, who for a long time had been instinctively distrustful of the cooperative, made a special trip to Guano to buy one of its famous hand-knotted carpets for his sitting room. Several women bought plants in the Ambato mar- ket for their future gardens, A mechanic used bits of old iron to solder an elegant front door. There were also many ‘spontan- eous demonstrations of mutual aid. An old man who fell sick could not keep up the payment of his quotas and was in danger of losing his claims to a house. At one of the regular meetings, his sixteen-year- old son timidly begged the rest of the members to wait. A long dis- cussion ensued, one exception might lead to another; the law was the lawafor everyone. Finally, one member took off his hat and pass- ed it around. “Let’s pay his quotas ourselves so that the regulations may be respected!” Within five minutes 164 sucres had been col- lected from the crowd, many of whom did not have enought to eat themselves. The sick man’s son insisted that it be only a loan, and though the father was out of work for some time, he made an effort to repay at least part of it. The most eloquent demonstra- tion of self-denial occurred when the cooperative three times in succession refused to accept the houses as a gift. This was first sug- ested by some well-meaningmem- ———Membérs of housing co-op-await arrival_of Ecuadorean President José Maria Velasco Ibarra Neighbors help on moving day after old shack is torn down, bers of Congress. But the Coopera- tive dispatched telegrams to the legislators: “We are extremely grateful, but could never accept. Otherwise we would have to re- nounce the hope that our work could serve as a model for many other housing cooperatives. We would also dangerously weaken the financial position of the Recon- struction Board..Our monthly pay- ments should help the Board to back other efforts similar to our own, . .” As convincing proof of their sincerity, they hastened to pay the next installment of four thousand sucres. At the end of March the Presi- dent of Ecuador himself handed over the first 102 houses. Nobody was happier that day than Manuel and Gloria. Their faith in the peo- ple of Straw-mat Town had been fully justified. Yet they would have little chance to rest after three years of almost incessant struggle. Quite apart from the building of the second lot of houses to make up the full two hundred, their next job is to teach people how to live properly in the new environment, “What happens,” the sociologist will ask, “when you suddenly re- move a family from an overcrowd- ed slum to a_ three-room house with kitchen and bath, which the family must maintain ‘at its own expense?” The cooperative thought of that and asked the Ministry of Social Welfare to appoint a resi- dent social worker. There years from the day the cooperative was founded, the first hundred families moved in. Final success will, of course, depend on the residents’ capacity to create a genuinely democratic community, so essencial to the effective fune tioning of any cooperative. It would be a triumph indeed if in this re spect the washerwoman and _ the hawker and the textile worker were to become teachers of the rest.