Accra, Ghana – At a building web site on the outskirts of Accra, the spirited determine of Eric Kwaku Gyimah directs the flurry of exercise.
Clad in sturdy work boots caked with mud from the ground, his worn denims bear the marks of many hours spent amid the concrete and metal and a high-visibility vest drapes over his shoulders.
Amid stacks of delivery containers and the hum of heavy equipment, his voice rises above the noise, issuing directives to his workers.
For him, that is greater than only a building web site; right here, discarded delivery containers are reworked into eco-friendly houses, providing a possible resolution to the West African nation’s housing disaster.
“That is greater than a enterprise; it’s a motion,” he declares.
Ghana’s housing disaster has been constructing for a while. The Ghana Statistical Service has reported that roughly six million of Ghana’s 33 million inhabitants are in pressing want of housing.
A few of these persons are homeless however most live in dangerously overcrowded slums which have grown up over time on the sting of Ghana’s bigger cities. The inhabitants residing in slums surged from 5.5 million in 2017 to eight.8 million by 2020, the latest depend by the United Nations.
One cause for that is fast urbanisation, pushed by each rural-to-urban migration and pure inhabitants progress. As extra folks transfer to city areas looking for financial alternatives, the demand for housing surpasses the obtainable provide, resulting in the proliferation of casual settlements and slums.
Moreover, financial challenges and restricted entry to financing have hindered many Ghanaians from shopping for or constructing houses.
This new enterprise goals not solely to handle the fast want for housing, but in addition to current a extra reasonably priced and sustainable residing mannequin.
“As we confront Ghana’s staggering housing deficit, it’s crucial to supply greater than mere constructions; we should current a imaginative and prescient for sustainable residing,” Gyimah says.
“We aren’t solely offering shelter but in addition saving the surroundings for the longer term era. Whereas paving the way in which for sustainable residing fashions, we aspire to create a long-lasting influence, one house at a time.”
The delivery of an concept
Rising up with 17 siblings in Akim Swedru – 180km (112 miles) from the capital, Accra – in jap Ghana, Gyimah says he dreamed of turning into both a banker or an artist.
However Gyimah’s curiosity in sustainability was deeply rooted in his upbringing in a area recognized for its rainforests, streams, hills and rivers. He noticed the fast deforestation and destruction of wildlife habitats brought on by building and unlawful mining. So, regardless of having studied banking and finance, he determined to pursue his ardour for carpentry.
His journey into house design started with a easy concept; producing fashionable lodging for pets, particularly canines – “for them to stay a greater life”, he says. He shortly stepped as much as designing houses for folks when he was struck by the thought of reusing delivery containers.
“I settled on repurposing delivery containers, sometimes discarded after their maritime service life, into stylish and cozy residing areas for folks to stay in,” the daddy of three tells Al Jazeera.
Affordability is paramount if his enterprise is to have a hope of constructing any type of influence on Ghana’s want for housing. Due to this fact, his houses are primarily geared toward people and households looking for reasonably priced but sustainable residing options. The price of these houses varies relying on the design, with the only choices starting from $7,000 to $10,000. “This quantity is only for the construction, excluding furnishing,” he provides.
Extra advanced designs with absolutely fitted kitchens and loos, unfold over a number of storeys, price as a lot as $35,000, however, in contrast with a conventional bricks-and-mortar design, these houses nonetheless price an excellent deal much less.
In response to the Ghana Actual Property Builders Affiliation, it may possibly price between $50,000 to $70,000 to construct a brand new two-bedroom, bricks-and-mortar home.
In response to Ghana Property Centre, a one or two-bedroom home within the capital metropolis of Accra prices about $100,000. A delivery container house, against this, “is cost-effective as in comparison with the normal concrete constructions … We wish to make it doable for lots of people to personal houses in Ghana,” Gyimah says.
Against this to bricks and mortar, delivery container houses may be constructed shortly. Whereas quite simple delivery container house designs may be accomplished in a number of weeks, extra advanced layouts can take as much as a 12 months to construct.
“It’s not time-consuming,” he says. “On prime of it, the supplies utilized in constructing these delivery homes are eco-friendly. Finally, it’s cell. You’d have saved 30 % of what you’ll have spent on block buildings. It saves quite a lot of land house, too.”
“Beginning small with only one refurbished delivery container for my workplace in 2019 was just the start,” Gyimah says. Since then, the enterprise, IWoodz Creation, has grown, now using 25 native employees.
In addition to the 52 particular person houses it has constructed, the group additionally turns decommissioned delivery containers into shops, places of work and cafes.
To be able to use much less vitality, these houses use pure air flow by way of extra strategic placement of home windows and vents which dissipate warmth extra effectively, Gyimah explains, “decreasing the necessity for energy-intensive cooling programs like air conditioners”.
Too little, too late?
Gyimah’s strategy has been criticised by some, nonetheless. Whereas the environmental advantages are clear, planning consultants say options comparable to this may seemingly solely have a small impact on Ghana’s housing drawback. Additionally it is unclear how lengthy these kinds of houses will final, though Gyimah says they need to final in addition to standard homes do so long as they’re maintained correctly.
“Whereas repurposing delivery containers into houses might look like an progressive resolution to Ghana’s housing disaster, we should strategy it with warning,” Accra-based city planner Abrahim Sowah-Dei says. “Whereas these constructions supply a fast and cost-effective method to offer shelter, they could not essentially tackle the foundation causes of the housing scarcity.
“We should be sure that these container houses are built-in into complete city planning methods that prioritise long-term sustainability and neighborhood wellbeing.”
Housing activist Mohammed Awal, who advocates for reasonably priced housing and tenants’ rights in Ghana, stated container houses shouldn’t simply be a “low cost” possibility for poorer residents. “Container houses should meet sufficient requirements of security, consolation, and dignity for residents. Moreover, we should be sure that marginalised communities should not additional marginalised by relegating them to container housing options.”
Regardless of these considerations, Felix Asante, a 45-year-old married father of two younger youngsters, says he’s extraordinarily glad together with his household’s new three-bedroom, delivery container house.
He couldn’t have hoped to purchase a similar-sized bricks-and-mortar property on the price range he had, he says. “I spent near 40 % much less ($18,000) than if I had been doing the normal concrete home with the identical dimension and magnificence.”
The house has its personal small backyard, spacious residing space and quite a lot of pure mild, he provides, in addition to good insulation and photo voltaic panels for vitality.
Subsequent cease – serving to flood victims
In October 2023, the Akosombo dam, a hydroelectric dam which generates electrical energy for many of Ghana’s 16 areas in addition to for neighbouring Togo and Benin, burst.
Located on the Volta River within the Akosombo Gorge in southeastern Ghana, the dam is on Lake Volta, which was created when it was constructed.
When it ruptured final 12 months, devastating floods displaced greater than 40,000 folks, together with a big variety of youngsters, who’re among the many most susceptible in such conditions, as highlighted by the UN in Ghana. These floods not solely led to the lack of houses and belongings but in addition disrupted livelihoods and entry to important companies like training in three areas. Faculties in affected communities had been both destroyed or rendered inaccessible, halting training for a lot of youngsters who now depend on help from organisations and people for survival.
Moved by the plight of these affected by the flooding, Gyimah is exploring methods to leverage his enterprise to handle the urgent want for housing options for displaced victims. He envisions collaborating with catastrophe administration organisations to pioneer the development of cell and respectable housing options for displaced victims. He envisions these cell houses not simply as shelters, however as “symbols of resilience and hope” for these affected by pure disasters.
“I’m taking a look at setting up secure havens with the delivery containers in areas the place flooding is a matter. They’ll function non permanent shelters for displaced individuals, particularly girls and kids and even lecture rooms for youngsters in catastrophe conditions,” Gyimah stated.
