Affordable Housing in Afghanistan – Model for Other Countries?

The BBC reports on a venture to build low-cost study homes in under-developed countries. The materials have been used for homes in the Dominican Republic and Alaska
Leading the project is the Washington-based Federation of American Scientists (FAS).

The organisation are particularly interested in finding new ways of making homes safer, and more efficient, especially for those across the globe who live in sub-standard housing.

“We got very interested in Afghanistan after seeing some of the devastation from earthquakes over there, and the fact that the US was about to rebuild a lot of housing over there,” said Henry Kelly, FAS president.

“So, we put a team together to see what we could do to focus on that particular market.”

The FAS set a challenge for the scientific community – design a house that is affordable, energy efficient, and earthquake-resistant.

That meant finding a cheap, lightweight material that could easily be adapted to the Afghan building style.

They found the answer in Florence, Alabama, in the shape of H H “Hoot” Haddock.

For more information and pictures visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3528716.stm

For a Forbes article on the same subject visit http://www.forbes.com/global/2004/0621/086_print.html