The Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami devastated the coastal communities of northern Japan on March 11, 2011

The region experienced the largest earthquake in over 140 years. Soon after, a massive 10 meter high tsunami slammed onto Japan's coast, causing immeasurable human suffering and physical damage

Since the earthquake Architecture for Humanity have been working closely with local architects and community leaders to respond to the immediate needs on the ground and to develop long-term sustainable construction projects.

Funds raised through this project will fund specific grants through Architecture for Humanity's Build Back Better Tohoku program. These grants will provide funding to nonprofits and small businesses, employ local laborers and artisans, and provide building materials required reconstruction in Tohoku region. The specific grants will be chosen through a Request for Proposals processes and the recipients will demonstrate that their specific request echoes the most important needs of the local community.

According to Dunn & Bradstreet, in a report published on April 5, 2011, “the earthquake and tsunami had the potential to impact 86,418 businesses with the majority located in the prefectures most impacted by the disaster.” There were also very daunting predications about estimated impact on the workforce. Again, according to Dunn & Bradstreet “Conservative estimates suggest potential impact to 311,934 employees.” This data was gathered across 715 industries.

Community member details not available yet.

Direct Impact of Your Project

As we are focusing on ‘urban acupuncture’ projects that will stimulate the reclamation of most economies in the villages we are working with there will be a wide array of beneficiaries. Community Groups and small businesses will directly benefit but the families and children living in and around these businesses will be significantly impacted as well.

Extended Impact on Your Partner Community

Many villages and communities in the Tohoku Region were almost completely wiped away by the tsunami. This rebuilding project will impact these community members and act as a catalyst for the long-term reconstruction that will be done by Architecture for Humanity, but by other entities as well.