Housing in Southern Africa June 2016

Housing

‘It takes 720 kg of recycled polystyrene to build a 68 m² house. This system reduces the use of cement and concrete and cuts the overall building cost by up to 40 %.’ every time,” says Snyman. As a result, METT has been appointed as the pre- ferred supplier to government after officials visited the site of the new Village of Hope to see first-hand the buildingmethod. Construction plans are currently underway to build four factories in each province. This will ensure that 68% of all schools, clin- ics and houses built by 2018 will use recycled materials. Snyman adds that the design of the first 32m² house has already been approved and costs R28 000. “This is an affordable construction option that enables government to provide the poorest of the poor with houses. However, thismethod of construction can be used across the residential sector. We were recently providing material for a 1 600m² designer home in Bela-Bela, as well as triple storey designer homes in the Fourways area, north of Sandton.” The Village of Hope will accom- modate 1 000 orphans from the NorthWest province when it officially opens in January 2017. The home will provide long term foster care, giving children a sense of belonging in a homely environment andmodel- ling the project on an African village lifestyle. “The houses will be built in clusters surrounding a communal

play area. Each home will have a fully trained house mother, who will be responsible for looking after up to six children through the Department of Social Welfare.” Once completed, the project will consist of a fully equipped nursery school, early childhood develop- ment centre, primary school, high school and various on the job training facilities for agriculture. Other build- ings on the site include an outreach clinic, internet café, safe haven for abused women and children, and a satellite police station. It will also include sporting grounds, 10 ha gar- dens designed by leading landscape architects and a special agricultural training centre for emerging black farmers. All of these facilities are currently being constructed or fin- ished off. Long termplans for the Village are enough tomake a person’s head spin

as Snyman lists an impressive array of corporates who have taken on the Village of Hope as a Corporate Social Investment project. “These will be flagship projects and will be replicated around the country. Our aim is to ensure that we are completely self-reliant aswe grow our own food to feed the children, educate them, and later on equip them with skills that will allow them to secure jobs in the future”. Snyman concludes: “It is clear that composite products offer a solution for housing and social needs in our country. It addresses the concept of green building by usingmaterial from the waste stream and reduces land- fills. It also increases job opportuni- ties for communities and provides affordable construction costs. We are excited about the tremendous progress that has been made in the construction of the Village of Hope.” ■

June 2016