Clay House Project Overview
For welll over a decade the Clay House Project has followed a program of patient investment in order to bring the ancient technology of clay construction into the mainstream in Namibia. It has been a program composed of many different activities over the years, from demonstration buildings, pilot projects and networking with communities and authorities. A basis of mutual respect and cooperation pave the way for its current endeavor where people in a squatter area learn to build their houses from locally available clay. Its implications reach far beyond Orwetoveni.
The Clay House Project, with its current activities of the SODI-EU
project “Upgrading of squatter area – human development in Orwetoveni”,
is carving the way for future use of clay and other ecologically and
economically friendly building materials in Namibia.
The CHP is able to build upon a decade of pilot projects and model
houses, as well as the good reputation it enjoys with the people and
authorities. A basis of mutual respect and cooperation pave the way for
this ambitious endeavor where people learn to build their houses from
locally available clay. It has implications that reach far beyond
Orwetoveni, and the municipality of Otjiwarongo.
The education efforts are as important as the construction activities,
with students as well as apprentices from different Namibian towns,
construction workers from other municipalities and members of a
national grassroots organization, learning to build with clay.
Another contribution is a dry toilet system developed by the Clay
House Project. It is a viable alternative for the people in the
squatter area as they do not earn enough money to pay the monthly water
costs. Introduction of the dry toilet allows development of hitherto
un-serviced plots and provides the option of an alternative sanitation
system, especially important for Namibia which is a desert country with
scarce water resources.
The Building Advisory Service of the Clay House Project is a response to the interest shown by other towns and is extending into communities in northern and central Namibia. Not only does BAS provide planning, design and construction supervision to clients, it also provides opportunities for trainees from other towns to learn clay construction technology in a practical manner.
The high visible impact of the squatter upgrading program in Orwetoveni, a suburb of Otjiwarongo, attracts more and more community groups and municipalities that are seriously considering using clay as a building material. The current outreach of the Building Advisory Service is a response to this interest.
