Cape Town, South Africa
Sustainable Solutions for the Housing Crisis
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An innovative housing solution
As a participant in the study abroad Panther Program, Empathic Global Leadership for Social Change: South Africa, I had the privilege of visiting UBU, which stands for Ubuhle Bakha Ubuhle, translating to "Beauty builds Beauty." UBU is a small company that has ingeniously addressed the housing crisis in South Africa through an innovative and sustainable approach. By repurposing old plastic bottles, they create a distinctive textile, sewing it into bags. The bags are then filled with sand and stacked within wooden frames to form the walls of future buildings. The wooden frames are constructed of wood and correlated iron. The completed stack of sandbags is visible in the bottom right. To achieve a traditional exterior appearance, the walls are finished with plaster or corrugated iron. The image to the right is a home constructed by the UBU team using this technology.
These sandbag homes are not only sustainable, but they also offer unmatched advantages. They are fireproof, bulletproof, and provide excellent thermal and acoustic insulation. Beyond these physical benefits, the cost of these homes is 40% lower compared to traditional brick constructions.
SWOT Analysis
My team and I were tasked with doing a SWOT analysis of UBU. In our analysis, we looked at the strengths of the design itself in addition to the company. The design stands out for its robustness and its inclusive approach, involving the entire community in the building process, even extending to the participation of young children. These design strengths seamlessly contribute to the overall strengths of the company. Similarly, the weaknesses identified in the design are intricately connected with the overall weaknesses of the company. Limitations in the design translate to restrictions in the types of projects UBU can undertake, and consequently impact the profits they can generate.
Our exploration of opportunities for UBU fell into three primary categories: community, technology, and development. The resilient design opens up myriad opportunities for growth within the communities of Cape Town and the entire nation. Despite the numerous opportunities, we also identified potential threats to UBU's operations. The key aspects of our SWOT analysis are detailed below.
