what if we redesigned the tent?

I keep seeing the calls for donations.

Clothes.
Blankets.
Sleeping bags.
Tents.

And yes, people need all of those things.

But then I saw something that made me stop and think:

Why are we still putting people on the ground?

I recently came across a flat-lay hammock tent — basically a hammock and tent combined, but with a much flatter sleeping platform. It has a mosquito net, a waterproof rainfly and, most importantly, it gets the person up off the ground.

And I thought:

Why aren't we making more of these?

Imagine being in an outdoor camp and not having to sleep directly on cold, wet, muddy or uneven ground.

Imagine being able to pack your shelter up with your belongings and move it relatively easily.

Imagine a shelter that could be useful not only for someone experiencing homelessness, but also for emergency situations — floods, fires, earthquakes, evacuations, disaster response or backcountry emergencies.

And here's where I think our high-school students could come in.

Give them the problem.

Don't just tell them to collect donations.

Tell them:

DESIGN A BETTER TEMPORARY SHELTER.

Could you design something lightweight enough for one person to carry?

Something that folds or rolls into a manageable package?

Something elevated off the ground?

Something waterproof?

Something with insect protection?

Something that doesn't require complicated tools to assemble?

Something that can be repaired rather than thrown away?

And here's the big one:

Can you make it affordable?

The commercial version I found isn't cheap. I want one myself, but the price puts it out of reach for many people.

So what if that became the challenge?

The $100 Shelter Challenge.

High-school students. Engineering programs. Trades students. Outdoor companies. Designers. Inventors.

Take the basic idea and make it better.

Make it lighter.

Make it stronger.

Make it easier to carry.

Make it safer.

And, most importantly, make it affordable.

I'm not suggesting that an elevated hammock tent is a solution to homelessness. People need permanent, safe housing. A piece of camping equipment cannot replace a home.

But when people are already living outdoors, shouldn't we be asking whether there are better ways to protect them while they are there?

And there's something else I find interesting about the idea.

For thousands of years, human beings figured out how to make temporary shelter, travel lightly and adapt to the landscape.

We've become very good at building enormous structures.

Maybe we could also become better at designing small, portable shelter for people who have nowhere to put a house.

So instead of simply asking young people to donate another tent...

Let's ask them to invent the next one.

What would YOU design if you had to carry your entire shelter with you?

#homelessness #housing #design #innovation #shelter #students #engineering #emergencyresponse #humanrights #portablehousing #designchallenge