In 1975 a 7.4-magnitude earthquake shook Tajikistan, flattening mud homes and killing up to 20,000 people, write ODI's Louise Ball and John Young in an opinion piece on Devex. A man named Borot lived in a house like no others in the village, write Louise Ball and John Young in an opinion piece on Devex. It was strong — the perfect example of an earthquake-resilient building using local materials. The house was built by Borot’s father and was the only house to survive the earthquake.
But after the earthquake, Borot set about building a new home for his family. When asked if he would build it like his father’s house he said, “I am not stupid. I will build my house the traditional way because I am not crazy like my father.” This year’s International Day for Disaster Reduction focused on traditional, indigenous and local knowledge. Borot’s story — told by Brian Tucker in “Pathways to earthquake resilience in China” — is just one example of why we must incorporate local knowledge into disaster risk reduction efforts.