EarthEnable

Reducing the Incidence of Disease with Low-Cost Flooring

Fast Facts

Location:

Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya

Sponsored by:

Kirk Holmes

Grant Years:

2014, 2015, 2016

Category:

Health, Job Skills

Website:

earthenable.org

How EarthEnable Is Making a Difference

EarthEnable delivers healthy, affordable and sustainable housing solutions, beginning with low-cost, durable earthen flooring that improves living conditions for families in East Africa.

Work of EarthEnable

  • Manufactures and installs earthen floors, using locally-sourced materials and a proprietary flax-oil sealant that cost significantly less than concrete and reduce health risks from unsanitary floors.
  • Trains and engages local masons and sales professionals to build a sustainable, community-driven flooring enterprise model in Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya.
  • Is expanding to develop a full line of home-construction components (such as walls, plasters and paints); offer appropriate housing finance models; and support neighborhood infrastructure improvement to scale affordable healthy homes.
  • Fosters market-based growth by partnering with local micro-finance institutions, cooperative networks and governments to make quality, healthy homes accessible to low-income families.
  • Measures health and environmental outcomes such as parasite reduction and carbon emission savings, and uses data to refine product, scale operations, and influence policy and building standards.

Initiatives Supported by Project Redwood

2014:  $20,000 to develop marketing materials and train local masons to install floors in Rwanda.

2015:  $25,000 to scale operations in Rwanda.

2016:  $30,000 to support the launch of a new value version of the flooring that will be half the cost of previous products.