Crees are constantly thinking of ways to improve life for their fellow human beings, it’s true. Here’s an excellent civil engineering idea that came to us from Bertie Wapachee of Nemaska. While sitting having supper on a recent visit to Montreal, he drew diagram to describe his Cluster Improvement Idea.
Right now, the roads are inside the clusters. What Bertie suggests is building the road around the cluster’s perimeter.
The way things are now, our kids have to dodge traffic. Mothers are constantly worried about their kids’ whereabouts, when they know people are out in the community drinking and possibly driving. They worry when they see a truck zooming by.
Now in the clusters, you have to look out at other peoples’ dusty and rusty trucks and cars. There is no common place to gather.
If the road were built around the outside of the cluster, you could turn the centre into a play area for kids. Put up meejewaps, picnic tables, have barbeques, a little skating rink in winter.
Sheds could be put on the other side of the outside road – to keep peoples’ stuff (i.e. junk etc) out of the centre of the cluster. Cars would be parked, out of sight and out of mind, behind the houses too – not in the cluster.
“Right now,” said Bertie. “We look at each others’ trucks and skidoos. Who has what.” So with the Wapachee Improved Cluster Idea (WICI for short), instead of looking at each others’ material posessions and coveting our neighbor’s asses, so to speak, we could be looking out, instead, for each others’children, family and cooking food together.
A cluster like this one would be family-oriented, safe, fun and relaxing for all ages.
If you have any good ideas you want to share – send them in.
