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Case Study: Angola
A typical example of this sort of project began in the
Angolan fishing village Equimina in 2012. The village
was selected by the government of Benguela Province
as a pilot programme to establish if it is possible to
build low-cost housing on a small budget without
compromising quality.
The Equimina development consists of 66 units intended
to replace the shacks that people of the area had occupied
until then. Each home was built to a design template
specifying three bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and living
area over an area of 104m
2
.
The initial project time was specified as six months.
However, alterations to the project plan along with the
time needed to recruit and train a local work force
extended this by around six weeks.
At its productive peak, the site employed almost
100 people, 70% of whom were from the local
community.
The local government has declared itself satisfied
with the result of the pilot programme and intends to
use Hydraform technology for most of the 1 240 houses
it needs to build in the province.
Rebuilding
a fishing village
Lower costs than is possible with traditional building techniques
have resulted in the Hydraform building system frequently being
used for social housing projects.
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