July 2017 I left my 9-5 job of being a full time Lecturer, and founded Ecohub (Pty) Ltd, a startup that innovatively uses plastic waste combined with other additives to produce affordable, architect designed flat pack ecobricks to build ecohouses. As the only Founder, I took a risk and sold my house, I sold my house on a vision to “build houses” and chase my dream, my dream of being a disruptor, an innovator and an award winner social Entrepreneur driven by purpose and fueled by passion with solutions to world housing problems. By profession, I am a Registered Architect with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture, a Bachelor of Architecture with Honours and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Architecture with a local and international work career spanning over 15years.
Ecohub is inspired by a local squatter settlement of note, Old Naledi, Gaborone, Botswana. (Naledi, a Setswana word meaning a Star and to Ecohub (Pty) Ltd, it means a ray of hope for decent affordable housing for all. Old Naledi highlights the toll of social pressures associated with rapid urbanization and the struggles with decent affordable housing, poverty and challenges by the urban poor. Old Naledi residents are not isolated and are part of the billions globally living in slums, in poverty and in shacks -“inadequate shelter”.
By 2030, UN-HABITAT estimates an additional 3 billion people, about 40 percent of the world’s population, will need access to housing. As the population grows, so does the environmental pollution. Landfills are overflowing with plastic waste that is harming the environment and contributing to global warming and climate change. An epidemic that has become threatening to human life and according to Austin Habitat 2018 , about one in four people live in conditions that harm their health, safety,
prosperity and opportunities.
During this difficult time of social, climate change and economic challenges, the despair is within the poor living in shacks, unemployed and/or homeless. In the wake of COVID19, we have appreciated the imperativeness of a HOME, staying at HOME and social distancing but what if there is no HOME? A basic human need. It is during this time our innovation becomes pertinent. Our innovation is premised on an inclusive direct triple impact environmental, social and economic impact within the low income communities. Enthused by Old Naledi residents and their ingenious makeshift architecture, our mission is to house humanity, create economic employment opportunities, restore HUMAN DIGNITY and end “shacks” while protecting the environment from plastic waste pollution. From a shack to a decent affordable house. #No more shacks
We have innovately engineered Ecobricks made from composite of recycled plastic with various additives. The ecobricks are non-load bearing, flat-pack, strong, fire resistant and versatile. The ecobricks interlock with no need for adhesives and stack up braced with structural framing. The innovation is designed to ENGAGE US, EDUCATE US, INSPIRE US AND ENABLE OPPORTUNITIES throughout its value chain to help our country aggressively reduce its carbon foot print as it goes green and strives to deliver the UN sustainable goals 1,9,11,13 (SDG’S.)
COVID-19 virus, has not only affected Old Naledi, this fatal, unforgiving VICIOUS VIRUS has ADVERSELY CHANGED our way of life, our way of living and way of learning. With stringent measures having to be introduced and adhered to curb its spread, this has overwhelmed the government, stretched its facilities as it succumbs to the effects of the pandemic.
FEBRUARY 2021 Ecohub (Pty) Ltd was officially launched together with the piloting of Botswana’s 1st Eco-classroom to answer our government’s call for additional classrooms that are more COVID-19 friendly and PAVE THE WAY to the start of Botswana’s future green buildings. MAY 2021 we delivered our 2nd pilot being our first ecohouse. We demolished two (2) shacks and replaced them with one (1) eco house with two (2) rooms, assembled in five (5) full days.
Although our innovation is primarily oriented towards the low income communities living in “shacks” we are also open to the general public.
