Might transport containers be the reply to Ghana’s housing disaster? | Housing

Accra, Ghana – At a development website 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 transport 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 development website; right here, discarded transport 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 dwelling in slums surged from 5.5 million in 2017 to eight.8 million by 2020, the latest rely 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 accessible 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 additionally to current a extra inexpensive and sustainable dwelling mannequin.

“As we confront Ghana’s staggering housing deficit, it’s crucial to supply greater than mere buildings; we should current a imaginative and prescient for sustainable dwelling,” Gyimah says.

“We aren’t solely offering shelter but additionally saving the surroundings for the longer term technology. Whereas paving the way in which for sustainable dwelling 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 changing 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 attributable to development 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 trendy lodging for pets, particularly canine – “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 concept of reusing transport containers.

“I settled on repurposing transport containers, sometimes discarded after their maritime service life, into stylish and cozy dwelling 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 creating any kind of influence on Ghana’s want for housing. Due to this fact, his houses are primarily geared toward people and households looking for inexpensive but sustainable dwelling 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 complicated designs with totally fitted kitchens and bogs, 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 a great deal much less.

In accordance with the Ghana Actual Property Builders Affiliation, it could price between $50,000 to $70,000 to construct a brand new two-bedroom, bricks-and-mortar home.

In accordance with Ghana Property Centre, a one or two-bedroom home within the capital metropolis of Accra prices about $100,000. A transport container house, in contrast, “is cost-effective as in comparison with the standard concrete buildings … We wish to make it attainable for lots of people to personal houses in Ghana,” Gyimah says.

In contrast to bricks and mortar, transport container houses will be constructed shortly. Whereas quite simple transport container house designs will be accomplished in a couple of weeks, extra complicated 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 transport homes are eco-friendly. Finally, it’s cell. You’d have saved 30 p.c of what you’d have spent on block buildings. It saves numerous land house, too.”

“Beginning small with only one refurbished transport container for my workplace in 2019 was only the start,” Gyimah says. Since then, the enterprise, IWoodz Creation, has grown, now using 25 native workers.

In addition to the 52 particular person houses it has constructed, the group additionally turns decommissioned transport containers into shops, places of work and cafes.

So as 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, “lowering the necessity for energy-intensive cooling techniques like air conditioners”.

Too little, too late?

Gyimah’s strategy has been criticised by some, nevertheless. Whereas the environmental advantages are clear, planning consultants say options resembling 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 transport containers into houses might seem to be an progressive resolution to Ghana’s housing disaster, we should strategy it with warning,” Accra-based city planner Abrahim Sowah-Dei says. “Whereas these buildings supply a fast and cost-effective manner to offer shelter, they might not essentially deal with the basis 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 inexpensive housing and tenants’ rights in Ghana, stated container houses shouldn’t simply be a “low-cost” choice for poorer residents. “Container houses should meet satisfactory requirements of security, consolation, and dignity for residents. Moreover, we should be sure that marginalised communities will not be additional marginalised by relegating them to container housing options.”

Regardless of these considerations, Felix Asante, a 45-year-old married father of two younger kids, says he’s extraordinarily blissful along with his household’s new three-bedroom, transport container house.

He couldn’t have hoped to purchase a similar-sized bricks-and-mortar property on the funds he had, he says. “I spent near 40 p.c much less ($18,000) than if I have been doing the standard concrete home with the identical dimension and elegance.”

The house has its personal small backyard, spacious dwelling space and numerous 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 major variety of kids, who’re among the many most weak in such conditions, as highlighted by the UN in Ghana. These floods not solely led to the lack of houses and belongings but additionally disrupted livelihoods and entry to important companies like training in three areas. Faculties in affected communities have been both destroyed or rendered inaccessible, halting training for a lot of kids who now depend on assist 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 first rate 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 establishing protected havens with the transport containers in areas the place flooding is a matter. They’ll function momentary shelters for displaced individuals, particularly girls and kids and even school rooms for youngsters in catastrophe conditions,” Gyimah stated.