There are millions of refugees around the world who have no shelter, electricity or water. That should be a sobering thought as we look around at the luxuries of modern living that surround most of us. Thanks to our insatiable thirst for wars that never end, a large part of the world’s population has been uprooted from their homes and left to fend for themselves.
Designed by Abeer Seikaly, the tent of the future is a sturdy hut made from a weatherproof fabric attached to bendable, compressed plastic which can open to create vent holes and exits and seals. This strong, sturdy structure can fold up for easy storage and transportation,. It can also collect and heat rainwater using solar energy. The fabric also acts as a solar panel, converting sunlight into electricity to power lights at night or recharge electronic devices like cell phones and computers. The tent can be configured to exhaust hot air at the top in summer or retain heat in the winter.
The tent’s creator, Abeer Seikaly, came up with the concept for the tent of the future as part of the “Weaving a Home,” project, whose goal is to assist the millions of refugees driven from their homes due to the aftermath of global wars. The tents provide a means for those refugees to settle in a new land and provide them with a clean, sustainable home so they can “weave their lives” back together, according to Inquisitr.com.
The subject of shelter for refugees is also part of a major initiative by IKEA, the Swedish furniture manufacturer. It has created what it calls the Better Shelter, a transportable temporary home designed to provide shelter in harsh climates. It too has a solar panel to supply power to the unit. IKEA is making 10,000 of them for the United Nations Refugee Agency.
In Southeast Asia, the indigenous people have an expression that goes like this: “When the elephants fight, the grass gets trampled.” Refugees are the grass that gets trampled by warfare. While habitable homes for refugees are welcome, reducing the number of refugees in the world would be even more welcome.
