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Bernard Lefebvre
Joined: 02 Jun 2004
Posts: 20
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 Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 9:27 pm Post subject: Low Cost Housing |
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Low cost housing projects and programs should look to light industrialization in the production of building materials and in the house construction process itself, promote information and technology transfer for better sustainable development. Industrialization doesn’t necessarily mean high technology transfer but suppose a corresponding market segment so that the technology transferred can be amortized.
Low cost housing projects can be successful if they are rooted in the community, present innovative solutions to real problems, enable others to imitate it and build partnerships between the private and public sector. But mostly they need to address livelihood by making it possible for some people to earn a living and generate income from these projects.
Local populations should be involved in the production of building materials they will use and in the construction process itself. After all it is their houses that will be built. These projects should contribute locally to social and economic growth and not only serve as foreign markets as often criticized by opponent of globalization.
Those offering light industrialized solutions must be aware that they are only facilitors, filling a gap that must legitimate expectations and incubate new micro and small-scale enterprises giving access to technology, building capacity and propagating it through the raising of funds.
At Habitech, we have been addressing the problem of delivering low-cost housing by developing building material and construction techniques produced and used by unskilled labour which while lowering the cost of housing procure good and solid houses by setting up production facility, creating employment and generating income for local populations. Houses built this way undercut traditional and conventional construction system by as much as 30-50%.
I invite you to visit our web site: http://www.habitech-international.com |
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