Seasonal farm workers and their shelter problems

There has been a certain relationship between existence of humanity and architecture since the early ages. This relationship is linked with finding shelter and food, which have always been a part of human life and have been improving and increasing ever since. Before humans started to settle permanently, they had been changing the places of their shelters due to variable conditions. This made them migrant settlers. Being migrant settlers had an effect on their construction type and as a result mobile shelters became a part of their identity. Properties of mobile shelters are being portable, being flexible, being easy to install, and being affordable. These have been main characters of mobile architecture of today as well, and the relationship between migration and mobility still has an effect on shelters. Mobile and portable structures are as old as humanity itself. Migrant communities designed portable shelters because of the necessity to change places according to variable living conditions and tough elements. Mobile living forms were sometimes the migrants' shelter of preference, while at other times they were obligatory because of reasons like economic inadequacies, disasters or geographical features. One of the communities whose members live a mobile life style out of necessity is the seasonal farm worker community. Seasonal farm workers and their problems are facts that occur at many countries in the world. Millions of people in the world migrate from one place to the other during certain seasons to work as seasonal farm workers and this migration starts a mobility which has an effect on their shelters. Countries which have problems about seasonal farm workers are working to find a solution directly proportional to their developmant level. Non-governmental organisations like CAMPS in the USA are creating shelter camps for migrant seasonal farm workers and trying to make them to join in the social life. Nevertheless, shelter problems are still some of the biggest problems of seasonal farm workers all over the world. In Turkey, there aren't any permanent projects about shelter problems of seasonal farm workers; neither by the government, nor by any non-governmental organizations. Seasonal farm workers therefore build their shelters themselves, and these shelters usually mean tough living conditions. Education, health care, and children care are some of the problems of seasonal farm workers, but the most important one is the quality of their shelters. The government, the employers and all other actors in the agricultural sector must resolve to build more humane settlements for seasonal farm workers. In this study, shelter problems of seasonal farm workers are analyzed through a survey which was done at Gümüldür, İzmir; and some design criterias are suggestedd to solve social and shelter problems of farm workers. This study has been conducted with the use of descriptive, examplary methods and a field study. The process was summed up in seven chapters to determine the problem better. The first part of the study is the introduction chapter where the objective, the scope and the method of the study are defined. There are explanations about the objective of the study and after that objevtives and scopes are mentioned. In the last part of introduction chapter, the methodology of this research is mentioned which is used in the study. In the second chapter of the study, definitions and concepts are given. Mobility in architecture is defined and problems of being mobile are exposed. In this chapter, the history of immigration is explored and seasonal immigration is examined as the primary subject. Shelter problems of seasonal farm workers are the last definitions in this chapter. In this chapter the main target is to examine the main concepts of this thesis and create a transition to the next chapter about migration of seasonal farm workers. In the third chapter seasonal farm workers are identified with their family structures and properties. Also in this chapter, shelters of seasonal farm workers are examined with special regard to their characteristic properties. Some temporary solutions to the shelter problems of seasonal farm workers in various countries are the last subject of this chapter. In the fourth chapter of the study, shelter problems of seasonal farm workers are examined and other countries' approaches this problem are studied. Some examples of solutions to the shelter problems of seasonal farm workers in the United States of America, Canada, European countries and Asia are given. With the help of these examples we are able to see that different countries have different approaches in direct correlation with their levels of development. And while many countries make proposals to solve these problems, many of them never pass the planning stage and become a reality. In the fifth chapter of the study, research in Turkey is examined and examples of solution attempts are given. There are some proposals about these problems, but none of them are social and permanent. On the other hand, the farm workers' own solutions are generally weak in healthy life standards. In conclusion, we can say that the government must take action to create to create better, healthier settlement areas for these workers. In the sixth part of the study, conversations and surveys done with seasonal farm workers who were working at Gümüldür, Izmir are provided. Using this evidence, seasonal farm workers' shelter problems and effects on their lives are determined. After this field study, we can say that seasonal farm workers' shelters mostly lack of modern infrastructure, and their materials mostly aren't suitable for the climates of areas seasonal farm workers live in. These problems make farm workers' life very difficult – so in order to improve their living standards, their shelter problems must be solved. In the seventh and last chapter, the results of the dissertation are evaluated, and advisory design criteria are produced to conclude the thesis work. Designs that will be planned with respect to these criteria are intended to be successful in solving the aforementioned problems. In conclusion, it is aimed to find a way to help seasonal farm workers to live at better places. To find this solution, problem must be determined well and some design criterias like being suitable for climate conditions, substantiality, flexibility, mobility, easy assembling, etc. are must be used due to solve these problems to create better places for seasonal farm workers and their families.