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Fred Wall, a member of Mennonite Economic Development Associates and owner of Western Profiles Ltd., Winnipeg, hopes that a $12,000 investment will convince Jamaicans to buy a house made of recycled plastic. Western Profiles Recycling built two of his recycled PVC houses in Jamaica in just over a week.
Wall had developed a model of a small backyard shed of recycled plastic. Ron Braun, former head of MEDA's international economic division, suggested he consider adapting the idea to combat a housing shortage in the Third World.
The design of the "Jamaican house" was based on a sketch by LeRoy Troyer, an architect from Indiana. Troyer, former chair of MEDA, is involved in Habitat for Humanity. He faxed the sketch to Wall while working on a Habitat project in Jamaica.
The 16 by 20-foot prototype is similar in size to many low-end Jamaican homes. It is made by assembling hollow tongue-and-groove PVC 2x8 planks that are fastened with screws into a frame. Wall says the PVC is weather resistant, high-impact material (not bullet-proof, however) that holds its finish and strength without any maintenance, does not need paint or stain and never rots or warps. It is seen as an ideal material for tropical countries because it resists termites, rodents and ultraviolet degradation. The hollow plank can be filled with concrete for strength or styrofoam for insulation.
The houses are lightweight (about 4000 pounds) and can be build in remote areas. When completed, they are easily transportable by a pickup and small trailer. As a test, one of the houses in Jamaica was built on a concrete pad and the other on a mobile pad. One is being used as an office at Kingston Mennonite Church.
The base cost, including shipping, is about $3,500 US. If constructed from virgin plastic the cost would be considerably higher.
Jamaica is the first testing ground. Wall is confident his plastic houses will sell in Jamaica and in other parts of the world where many people live in huts made of cardboard, wire and scraps of wood, covered with a tin roof.--Wally Kroeker, MEDA
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