PROCESS

Your new home is “In the Bag”. Building your new home has never been easier, it’s all here. Professional building plans; how-to construction video; and downloadable e-book.

Global Housing Partners provides a simple and economical concrete bag system; that is low-tech and low-cost, and can be utilized by local village populations, to satisfy the need for a “do-it-yourself” method, to build rugged climate and earthquake resilient homes.

The concrete bag system is briefly presented as follows:

Discrete structural construction units comprising porous burlap or polypropylene sacks containing a dry premixed fill of aggregate, sand and cement are prepared in sufficient quantity required for the construction of the walls of the home.

A building structure is constructed by excavating suitable trenches for the foundation; filling the trenches to ground level with concrete and reinforcing steel to form foundation beams; arranging at least one course of the pre-filled sacks on the outer beams of the foundation; wetting the sacks of this course to set up; pouring a concrete slab floor within the confines of the outer foundation beam using the first course of sacks as a form; laying successive courses of sacks with staggered joints; wetting the sacks to set up; driving reinforcing steel through two levels of sacks on two foot intervals, continuing this process to complete the structural height of the walls of the building; incorporating door, window frames and utilities, at the appropriate locations in the walls as they are constructed; troweling or spraying a cement skin on the surfaces of the walls and adding a conventional roof.

The object of this SYSTEM therefore, is the elimination of the requirement for the high cost of skilled labor, wood forming and motorized construction equipment, which is normally required in the construction of building code compliant, reinforced concrete structures.

Global Housing Partners will select local, in-country partners who have the capability to supervise the willing participants, in the construction of their own home.

Global Housing Partners will provide to the selected partner, all of the assistance required for this effort in the form of drawings, DVDs, financing and onsite training by members of the GHP staff, if requested.

It is expected that the participants selected by the partner, will provide their own labor as “sweat equity”, in the construction and ownership, of their own home.

The concrete bag system provides the following:

• A simple construction process that can be followed utilizing the skill sets of the local villagers, allowing them to participate in the construction of their own earthquake resilient home, thereby providing “sweat equity”.
  
  
• All materials can be locally obtained. There are no requirements for any off- site manufacturing of components with the exception of doors and windows.
  
  
• This is not a prefabricated look-alike panelized box form of construction, nor is it a “cookie-cutter” architectural type of construction where “one size fits all”, nor is it a reinforced concrete frame with masonry infill construction requiring high costs and a long construction time.
  
  
• This SYSTEM can be adapted to most any type of architectural design, thereby creating an individuality and attractiveness to the villages, to suit individual tastes. This system truly lends itself to custom construction.
  
  
• Construction costs, using local labor and materials, have proven to be as much as 30% to 60% less than any locally competing system.
  
  
• Four local laborers with average construction skills can build a home ready for occupancy in 30 days or less.
  
  
• All local villagers can be employed in the building operations of any number of homes thereby relieving unemployment problems, and adding income to the villages.
  
  
• Provides a positive community involvement and a heightened sense of self- esteem for the villagers in the knowledge that they have built their own climate, and earthquake resilient homes.
  
  
• This SYSTEM allows the local villagers, with government funding and minor technical expertise, to rebuild their villages to today’s earthquake standards at a fraction of the conventional costs. A win-win situation for all concerned.
  
  
• Rapid response in the event of an earthquake, In that after the initial damage and rubble is cleared, construction can begin immediately with earthquake resilient homes coming on line within 30 days.
  
  
• Workmen trained in this SYSTEM can travel to other villages and train others in the building of homes for the homeless, or rebuilding of damaged structures.
  
  
• Funding for this SYSTEM could be as much as 60% less than conventional projects thereby allowing for a wider implementation of the program for the available funding.