A Sustainable Construction for Ethiopia: Integrating Local Resources for Affordable, Resilient and Sustainable Housing

Summary

It is estimated that 70% of the urban population in Ethiopia lives in very low-quality houses due to the high cost of construction materials together with their low income. At the same time, construction worldwide, one of the main resource-intensive, waste-intensive and greenhouse gas emission sectors, is facing a required transition to a greener and resource efficient industry. The proposed project ultimately targets to address these problems by contributing to: i) improve housing conditions of middle and low-income citizens of Ethiopia; ii) reduce the environmental impact of the construction industry. The project aims to develop alternatives for the current construction materials, with high cost and environmental impact, such as cement and steel based materials, by integrating natural renewable resources and “valorised” wastes, for the construction of affordable and sustainable houses.
Academia plays a vital role to support the development of solutions able to answer society and environment needs through research and training. Therefore, in this project the partnership between the Faculty of Engineering Technology of Hasselt University (FET-HU) and Jimma Institute of Technology of Jimma University (JIT-JU) will conduct research to explore the use of alternative resources in the production of construction materials and develop innovative combinations of materials for the efficient construction of affordable, resilient and sustainable houses. Simultaneously, the realisation of training courses and the integration of local researchers, PhD’s and MSc’s students in the project research activities will enhance JIT capacities to be a driver of development and implementation of sustainable alternatives for the construction sector in Ethiopia. Moreover, dissemination actions and events will involve external stakeholders and reach a broader public.

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