In the spring of 1994, the horrendous conditions in the refugee camps for people fleeing from the ethnic conflict in Rwanda was widelyreported. When the rainy season arrived in the autumn of the sameyear, a great number of refugees began suffering from pneumonia becausethe tents provided by the United Nations could not shut out the cold. Learning this, we proposed the construction of shelters using paper tubes to the UNHCR (the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). After due consultation between the UNHCR and us, we were asked to develop frames for shelters using paper tubes. We then produced three prototypes, experimented with their durability and waterproof performance, and made an on-the-spot inspection of three refugee camps in East Africa. We started producing these shelters from the autumn of 1995. We are planning to build 100 units in a refugee camp in Uganda, and carry out field tests and monitoring in order to put the shelters to more practical use.