‘Eco-homes’ made up of waste in Latin America
June 23rd, 2010 - 10:17 am ICT by IANSMexico City, June 23 (IANS/EFE) Plastic bottles, dead livestock and other wastes are used to build houses for poor as part of a climate conservation campaign in Latin America.
Glass and plastic bottles mixed with honey and sand can be turned into a decent accommodation. Such dwellings are called “ecological houses” because they are made of natural elements that cause no damage to the environment, said Ingrid Vaca Diez, a Bolivian environmentalist.
The project “Casas de Botellas” (Bottle Houses) is being carried out as an initiative to provide shelters to the poorest families in Latin America.
“Casas de Botellas” is a group effort in which people are taught how to construct their own houses and “give themselves and their families a decent place to live”, Ingrid Vaca said.
The bottles are stuck together with bricks, lime and cement, and are held with a kind of webbing to make the construction permanent. Other materials such as rods, tiles, glass, wooden frames and furniture are donated by companies, individuals and institutions.
“Each house represents a dream and wins more than a few smiles, which is my greatest satisfaction,” Vaca Diez said.
–IANS/EFE
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Tags: botellas, bricks, cement, dead livestock, decent accommodation, decent place, dwellings, ecological houses, environmentalist, glass and plastic bottles, group effort, june 23, latin america, lime, mexico city, natural elements, tiles, vaca diez, webbing, wooden frames