ITM seeks business allies to support earthquake survivors with emergency solutions

ITM University in Medellín is turning its design workshops into an emergency production line for families displaced by the Aug. 10 earthquake.

Through its Center for Social Outreach and Department of Design, the university developed three prototypes after identifying urgent problems in affected areas. Temporary shelters faced inadequate sanitation, poor sleeping conditions caused by moisture from the ground, and longer-term risks of malnutrition.

The proposed response includes portable dry toilets designed to help prevent epidemics, folding beds raised above the ground to keep mattresses away from water, and a system for processing and packaging fruit and vegetable preserves. The food project aims to strengthen nutrition for children and adults in the shelters.

Trained students and teachers will assemble and mass-produce the modules through the ITM Volunteer Call. The first samples have already been built and tested at the Design Laboratory on the Robledo campus. Production can expand once the university gathers enough materials.

ITM is urgently seeking RH boards, pine strips, hardware, plastic tarpaulins, glass jars, lemons, vinegar and sugar. Companies, trade associations and individual donors can coordinate contributions through WhatsApp at 3008467708.