The destacamento in Las Malvinas as of July 1, 2014. Walls consist of traditional cement blocks as well as alternative coconut husk, newspaper, sawdust, and "Soviet" blocks.

The project to build a small destacamento (police outpost) in the community of Las Malvinas was decided upon by members of the community as a priority for the Practivistas program to assist in during the months of May-July 2014. By working with the community to construct this destacamento, the community of Las Malvinas, which is far from the urban center and impoverished, will be provided police officers by the government, which will hopefully increase community safety.

Background[edit | edit source]

The project to build a small destacamento has been at minimum several years in the making in the community of Las Malvinas. It had been brought up by residents of the community prior to 2014, but other projects, such as the construction of a small pharmacy, had taken priority. In the months of May through July, 2014 the destacamento was on the list of projects to be started by members of the community and the Practivistas. During a community meeting, the criteria (which are displayed below) were formulated and the search began for a suitable spot to begin construction. This spot was found along a section of one of the main roads through town. This area provides a great deal of accessibility. The destacamento will be built using some relatively environmentally friendly fibercrete blocks (also discussed below), but the idea of using an old shipping container was also evaluated. The minimum goal for the project in 2014 is to build the foundation and the platform on which the rest of the destacamento can be built. This goal was to be met by July 5, 2014.

Objective[edit | edit source]

The community of Las Malvinas is looking to decrease crime by constructing a destacamento. The objective of this project was to design and construct a destacamento using alternative blocks created by the block team. The block team created alternative cement blocks by using coconut husks, sawdust, rice ash, and newspaper mixed with cement.

Criteria[edit | edit source]

This section includes the aspects that the group and community members decided to use for the project. The criteria and constraints were chosen based on how the project will be planned and evaluated. The criteria and weight ranking help determine how much effort will be invested for each different aspect.

Criteria Constraints Weight (0-10)
Aesthetics Must be aesthetically pleasing 8
Comfort Structure is able to withstand high temperatures without becoming excessively hot 9
Economical Must be within program budget range 4
Replicable Community members must be able to replicate design 7
Durable Must be long lasting and able to withstand potential natural disasters 10
Security Must be secure from potential burglary 8
Sustainable Materials used are environmentally friendly and sustainable 10

Literature Review[edit | edit source]

See our Literature Review for relevant research completed for this project.

Final Design[edit | edit source]

The final design was created with guidance from local police officers, community members, and traditional destacamento designs. The foundation was dug three feet deep all the way around and filled with rebar before being filled with concrete. The middle trench is used as support for the middle wall. The first room was designed to be bigger than the back room as it will serve as an entry and lobby for police officers stationed in Las Malvinas. The smaller back room will contain a holding cell as well as a bathroom.

Budget[edit | edit source]

This is the cost of materials for the foundation of the destacamento and the first layers of blocks for the walls. Prices are listed in Dominican Pesos.

Material Quantity Unit price (RD$) Total (RD$)
Rebar 30 bars (20ft each) 280 8,400
Cement bags 25 280 7,000
Gravel 10m3 200 2,000
Sand 10m3 280 2,800
Traditional cement blocks 315 16 5,040
Total Cost $25,240.00

Timeline[edit | edit source]

Here is a timeline of events associated with the research, design, and construction of the Las Malvinas destacamento.

Task Date Proposed Date Completed
Complete literature review 06/06/14 06/07/14
Establish site location 06/06/14 06/13/14
Start digging foundation 06/06/14 06/14/14
Design destacamento 06/13/14 06/15/14
Finish budget 06/13/14 06/15/14
Locate supplies 06/13/14 06/15/14
Purchase supplies 06/15/14 06/20/14
Finish digging foundation 06/20/14 06/20/14
Level ground 06/20/14 06/21/14
Finish tying rebar 06/22/14 06/24/14
Pour concrete for foundation 06/21/14 06/24/14
Lay brick 06/22/14 07/01/14
Finish foundation 06/23/14 07/01/14
Lay bricks for walls 06/25/14 07/01/14

Construction[edit | edit source]

1

Mark where to dig foundation.

2

Dig foundation.

3

Tie rebar into forms for the foundation.

4

Tie rebar into forms for the foundation.

5

Place rebar forms into trenches dug for foundation.

6

Pour concrete into foundation to the level of the rebar forms.

7

Lay bricks and fill in the gaps with cement.

8

Lay bricks and fill in the gaps with cement.

Team[edit | edit source]

The destacamento team with honorary members Jason and Anthony. Left to right: Noe Martinez, Jason McMack, Robert Woodke, Eric Bloom,Sophia Yamas, Anthony Avila

References[edit | edit source]


See Literature Review

FA info icon.svg Angle down icon.svg Page data
Authors Eric, Robert Woodke, Sophia Yamas, Noe Martinez
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
Related 1 subpages, 36 pages link here
Impact 497 page views
Created June 6, 2014 by Robert Woodke
Modified June 9, 2023 by StandardWikitext bot
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