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From box to bed: This simple item is making life easier for Kumamoto earthquake victims

Meg Murphy Apr 28, 2016
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With the ability to withstand the weight of up to 20 people, this bed doesn’t mess around!

We’ve heard a lot about the recent devastating earthquake in Kumamoto, including various ways people are showing their support. While work is already underway to restore the region, it will still be some time until many of the hardest-hit areas are truly habitable again, and those who have had to flee their residences are now taking refuge in shelters until their homes are deemed safe enough to return to or alternate housing can be arranged.

Living in a shelter—though better than having no shelter at all—is not at all ideal for the long-term. As you can see in the video below, all that the disaster victims have to sleep on are thin mats and blankets on hard wooden floors. After days and weeks of sleeping in such conditions, you can imagine the aches and pains these people are waking up with each morning.

That’s where Japanese company J Pack has stepped in. Manufacturer of paper goods and cardboard packing since 1951, the company is providing beds to disaster victims made of the material they know best: cardboard.

The words “cardboard bed” may conjure up images of homelessness and living on the streets, but the beds provided by J Pack are really something else. They come delivered as a single box, but once assembled are the size of a real single bed, complete with storage space and partitions for privacy.

▼ Each bed comes as just a single box

▼ Inside the box is everything needed to build a bed

▼ Assemble each of the 24 small-sized boxes, taping the bottom and flipping over to insert a cardboard slab in at an angle.

▼ Tape the boxes closed (or leave them un-taped is using for storage) and fit four into each cardboard frame.

▼ Align six of the filled cardboard frames together and lay two flat boards on top.

▼ Lay a mat on top, and the bed is complete. Each bed comes with two screens for privacy.

▼ Personal belongings can be stored inside the base boxes, which are easily accessible by lifting the flat mattress board.

▼ These beds are seriously sturdy: they can withstand the weight of up to 20 people without collapsing.

A simple, everyday item like cardboard may not seem like much, but to those who have lost their houses and have had to part with many personal possessions, these cardboard beds make a world of difference, getting them up off the cold, hard floor and giving them a softer place to sleep, storage space for personal belongings, and even a little extra privacy. Plus, with most of their items already packed inside the boxes, moving back home or to alternate living quarters is easy, and the beds are fully recyclable once they are no longer needed.

These cardboard beds were used after the Tohoku earthquake back in 2011, and are proving themselves again this time with Kumamoto earthquake refugees. We hope they will all get their own beds back soon, but it’s nice to see they have a decent alternative in the meantime.

Sources: Sankei West, J Packs, YouTube/ ANNnewsCH
Images: J Packs (Top image edited by RocketNews24)