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 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 building web site; right here, discarded transport containers are remodeled into eco-friendly properties, providing a possible answer 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 reside 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 newest 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 individuals transfer to city areas looking for financial alternatives, the demand for housing surpasses the out there 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 properties.
This new enterprise goals not solely to handle the speedy want for housing, but additionally to current a extra reasonably priced 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’re not solely offering shelter but additionally saving the setting for the longer term era. Whereas paving the best way for sustainable dwelling fashions, we aspire to create a long-lasting influence, one house at a time.”
The beginning of an thought
Rising up with 17 siblings in Akim Swedru – 180km (112 miles) from the capital, Accra – in japanese 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 thought; producing trendy lodging for pets, particularly canine – “for them to dwell a greater life”, he says. He shortly stepped as much as designing properties for individuals when he was struck by the thought of reusing transport containers.
“I settled on repurposing transport containers, sometimes discarded after their maritime service life, into stylish and cozy dwelling areas for individuals to dwell 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 properties are primarily aimed toward people and households searching for reasonably priced but sustainable dwelling options. The price of these properties varies relying on the design, with the best 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 properties nonetheless price 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 transport container house, in contrast, “is cost-effective as in comparison with the normal concrete buildings … We need to make it attainable for lots of people to personal properties in Ghana,” Gyimah says.
In contrast to bricks and mortar, transport container properties may be constructed shortly. Whereas quite simple transport container house designs may 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. In the end, it’s cell. You’d have saved 30 p.c of what you’ll have spent on block buildings. It saves a variety of land house, too.”
“Beginning small with only one refurbished transport 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 properties it has constructed, the group additionally turns decommissioned transport containers into shops, places of work and cafes.
With a view to use much less power, these properties 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 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 similar to this may seemingly solely have a small impact on Ghana’s housing drawback. It’s also unclear how lengthy these types of properties 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 properties might look like an progressive answer to Ghana’s housing disaster, we should strategy it with warning,” Accra-based city planner Abrahim Sowah-Dei says. “Whereas these buildings provide a fast and cost-effective approach to supply shelter, they might not essentially handle the basis causes of the housing scarcity.
“We should be certain that these container properties are built-in into complete city planning methods that prioritise long-term sustainability and group wellbeing.”
Housing activist Mohammed Awal, who advocates for reasonably priced housing and tenants’ rights in Ghana, stated container properties shouldn’t simply be a “low cost” choice for poorer residents. “Container properties should meet ample requirements of security, consolation, and dignity for residents. Moreover, we should be certain that marginalised communities are usually not additional marginalised by relegating them to container housing options.”
Regardless of these issues, 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, transport 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 p.c much less ($18,000) than if I have been doing the normal concrete home with the identical measurement and magnificence.”
The house has its personal small backyard, spacious dwelling space and a variety of pure gentle, he provides, in addition to good insulation and photo voltaic panels for power.
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 individuals, together with a major variety of youngsters, 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 properties and belongings but additionally disrupted livelihoods and entry to important companies like schooling in three areas. Colleges in affected communities have been both destroyed or rendered inaccessible, halting schooling for a lot of youngsters 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 properties not simply as shelters, however as “symbols of resilience and hope” for these affected by pure disasters.
“I’m taking a look at establishing secure havens with the transport containers in areas the place flooding is a matter. They will function non permanent shelters for displaced individuals, particularly girls and kids and even school rooms for kids in catastrophe conditions,” Gyimah stated.
