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Thus this intervention is called for to provide relief to all including refugees, internally displaced persons, and the poverty-stricken.
“Clustering is generally defined as a process of firms and other actors co-locating within a concentrated geographical area, cooperating around a certain functional niche, and establishing close linkages and working alliances to improve their collective competitiveness… The importance of intensively interacting, geographically co-located activities, was recognized by geographers already in the 18th century but has been highlighted in analytical and normative economic literature since the last two decades. Policymakers have gradually tried to put it to practical use, and many public measures are now adopted or refined with reference to the cluster concept.”
- Jens Sorvik, co-author of the Cluster Policies Whitebook, the International Organization for Knowledge Economy and Enterprise Development (IKED), as quoted in dgExpertPerspective.
Clusters seem to be able to generate sets of benefits that help firms and regions to innovate and enhance competitiveness. At least three categories of common, partly inter-related benefits have been identified:
i) Enhanced Productivity
- Sharpened competition
- Enhanced specialization
- More knowledgeable customers
- Enhanced availability of specialized factor inputs
- Easier attraction and recruitment of a skilled labor force
ii) Improved Business Formation
- Deepening of seed and venture capital activities, resulting in greater competencies for handling risk in the formation of new ventures and cultivation of high-growth firms
- Personal knowledge replaces product references
- Virtual circles of new firm creation / spin-off activities /joint venture
- Effectiveness in mobilizing venture capital and human resources
iii) Improved Possibilities for Innovation
- Enhanced communication and display of opportunities for innovation
- Shortened start-up times of networks around new products and processes
- Early identification of technology trends
- Novel combinations of competencies
Cannot groups of refugees or internally displaced persons or the poverty stricken be treated as clusters? Do they not provide the ideal groups for interaction? Their very dire straits and critical needs make them eligible for all possible support on priority basis.
The functional niche for clusters can be expanded to include provision of essentials like beddings and clothes; construction of adequate shelter; provision of food and safe drinking water; disposal of solid and liquid waste and micro-enterprise for generating income.
Tall order, you say but this is possible through the use of eco-technology:
- For shelter by using Nader Khalili s Superadobe;
- Safe water through Media filtration such as alumina/cation-anion beds for fluoride filtration and or deionization
- Segregation of biodegradable and non-degradable solid waste at source;
- Rapid composting for biodegradable waste
- Treatment of liquid waste through bioaugmentation
- Conglomoculture for micro-enterprise
- A single Skills & Technology Transferring Center can be the hub for all subsequent interventions.
Shelter, the very first requirement is presently met by erecting a sea of canvass that hardly serves to meet the requirements of adequate shelter. Let us recapitulate the basic essentials of adequate shelter as enshrined in the United Nations vision:
1. Protection from the elements
2. Hygienic disposal of household and human waste
3. Sufficient space for health and privacy
4. Security of tenure and occupancy
5. Access to sufficient safe water
6. Affordability
7. Access to employment and to health and educational services
How is it possible to achieve as many of these standards as possible when even host countries are not able to provide them to their own populace despite prevailing peace? Let us begin with Permaculture. Before going into the details of constructing a progressive alternate it is essential to take into consideration those factors that are non-material. The first factor for planning an abode is location and orientation. Whereas location is often predetermined due to availability; inherent location defects can be overcome by means of correct orientation.
The second obvious step is construction of shelter. The concept of adobe housing is ancient and is still being used in many under-developed/ developing Countries. Inexpensive material and quick building have always been the hallmarks of such types of building. Insecurity of tenancy adds to the requirement of building an inexpensive and semi-permanent home. Crude and primitive, they nonetheless provide some features of climatic adaptation that are worth considering.
Advantages:
- Earthen walls gain and lose heat slowly
- Material readily available, usually free of cost
- Quick drying/ fast building
Disadvantages:
- Roofing gains and loses heat rapidly
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