Spot Improvement of Rural Roads Using a Local Resource‐ Based Approach: Case Studies from Asia and Africa

Rural roads in developing countries continue to be in poor condition despite multiple interventions. To provide access to markets, hospitals and schools for rural communities, capacity building has been conducted, enabling rural communities to participate in road projects. This process has included the transfer of Do‐nou technology, which is appropriate for spot improvement using a local resource‐based approach. The goal has been to transform the road projects implemented through community initiatives, maximizing their effectiveness and practicality, and thus improving the conditions of rural roads. Case studies have been conducted in Myanmar, the Philippines and Kenya. They demonstrate that spot improvement and the use of locally available materials can provide socioeconomic benefits to communities. Designs based on this approach have been developed for the construction of base courses, retaining walls and causeways. These designs can be applied over wide areas and modified to reflect the unique conditions of each project area. The experience gained in community mobilization and stakeholder involvement, which is essential in the proposed approach, can serve as a guide when applying the approach in new areas

DEMONSTRATION OF ROAD IMPROVEMENT BY LOCAL INHABITANTS AT THE BAYTSEMAL VILLAGE IN THE SOUTH OMO ZONE IN SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA

MNGD Special issue 02: Making Networks for Glocal DevelopmentThe SATREPS-MNGD Project implemented a demonstration of participatory road improvement with local inhabitants at the Baytsemal village in the South Omo Zone in Southern Ethiopia from November 25th, 2019 to December 9th, 2019. The activity lasted for 12 days. The first five days were for the preparation, including measuring, designing, and information sessions for the local inhabitants to build consensus on work plan, whereas the remainder for the actual implementation

Promotion of Community Initiative for Maintenance of Small Scale Infrastructures in Developing Countries

In this paper grass roots approach from civil engineering towards maintenance of infrastructures in developing countries are reported. The “Do-nou” (soilbags) technology was developed as appropriate technology and disseminated in Asia and Africa. The technology successfully promote to the community initiatives for maintenance of small scale infrastructures

PROJECT OVERVIEW: IMPROVING YEAR-ROUND ACCESSIBILITY BY LOCALIZING TECHNOLOGY

MNGD Special issue 01: Making Networks for Glocal Developmen

Evaluation of base course consisting of soil bags filled with fine-grained soil using the dynamic cone penetration test

In African countries, in order to improve the trafficability of earth and gravel road, locally available material-based and labour-based approach are regarded as one of the most practical measures. As one of the approaches, a base course reinforcement method using Do-nou, which is the Japanese term for soil bag, had been developed. In this study, the bearing capacity of base course built with Do-nou has been examined through the Dynamic Cone Penetration tests (DCP). The series of full-size driving tests have been conducted with varying base structures and compaction methods. The results of the DCP tests show that, only in the case of Do-nou reinforcement base with manual compaction, the strength distribution balance at the part of base course and subgrade within 800 mm in depth from surface was shifted from average to well after being subjected to traffic load. In the other two cases, the balance remained average. It presents that by reinforcing soil material with Do-nou bags, the base course compacted manually keeps the sufficient bearing capacity and well-balanced strength profile in depth comparing with those conventionally designed and constructed with equipment

Locally Available Geotextile for Maintaining Unpaved Roads in Developing Countries to Enhance Community Resilience

ICSDEC 2016 – Integrating Data Science, Construction and SustainabilityRoad authorities in developing countries recognize the need to maintain unpaved roads in rural areas using local resource based approaches rather than by attempting to meet international standards. The authors have developed a novel road maintenance technique, that we call “Do-nou”. Since 2006, we have demonstrated this technique in Asia, the Pacific, Africa and Latin America. Do-nou can be classified as a geotextile used to reinforce the shear strength of soil using only plastic crop bags, which are widely available in developing countries, and unskilled local labor. After some modification, the technique was also applied to the maintenance of unpaved roads on the clayey ground and to the construction of retaining walls for road embankment in flood-prone areas. It was demonstrated that it was practical for the communities to maintain unpaved roads in rural areas when equipped with the Do-nou technique, thereby enhancing community resilience. The Kenyan Government has recognized the Do-nou technique in its road strategy plan and has invested in training its youth on this technique for employment promotion

Analysis of embankment failure mechanism in reservoirs due to rainfall infiltration during heavy rainfall

Many heavy rain disasters have occurred in recent years in Japan. The maintenance of water storage facilities such as dams has become a global issue. The aim is to simulate the failure mechanism of reservoirs in which slip failure occurred on the downstream slope of the embankment due to the heavy rainfall in August 2019 in Japan. This study proposes a simulation method for evaluating embankment stability with respect to the fluctuations in the water level and the rainfall infiltration from the embankment surface using the two-dimensional saturated–unsaturated seepage flow simulation based on the finite element method. Moreover, the safety factors of the slip surface during heavy rain were calculated based on the simulated seepage line. By considering rainfall infiltration, the safety factor of the slip surface decreased significantly, and the occurrence of slip failure in the in-situ position could be reproduced. In conclusion, rainfall infiltration must be considered when evaluating the stability of a reservoir body during heavy rainfall