In Uganda a low-cost alternative to dirt floors gains ground

In Uganda, low-cost, clay-based earthen floors are a cleaner alternative to dirt floors and cheaper and more eco-friendly than concrete.

Transcript

00:00Cleaning the floor is always a chore but these days it's not quite as

00:10unappealing as it used to be for 80 year old Sanya Nakangwa.

00:14The old dirt floor she used to have wasn't as nice and smooth or as cool and unlike the new one

00:23it attracted a variety of unwelcome guests that gave her rashes and other health issues.

00:28Before the floor was fixed there were fleas and it was dusty when you swept the floor you

00:36would have trouble breathing. Sanya Nakangwa lives in Jinja district in eastern Uganda in a lot of

00:44houses here the floor is simply the bare ground. Earth Enable is a social enterprise focused on

00:51straightforward but effective solutions for healthier homes like their eco floor first the

00:56team add the bottom layer made of a red gravely soil called muram which is then compacted.

01:03After a second layer comprising clay sand and water a fine screed is applied to smoothen the surface and

01:14prepare it for a flax oil based sealant. The resulting floor is more hygienic and environmentally friendlier

01:21than cement options where energy intensive production means huge co2 emissions in Uganda alone over 600,000 tons

01:29per year. By us using these locally available materials like this cement the muram and clay we

01:35get to reduce on the carbon emissions that would have come as a result of using cement. The eco floor is

01:43around 70% cheaper than the cement version and has now been installed in over 5000 homes in the region.

01:49But just how big is the potential for the entire country? I would be interested to find out or to

01:56inquire from Enable if this product can be scaled up and taken to even middle-income households or

02:02developers who are doing mass housing in urban settings because right now new construction is

02:09happening a lot of construction is happening in urban centers. Senya Nakangwa is certainly convinced

02:15her new Enable earth floor has made a simple but vital change to her life.

02:20Now there are no more parasites that could bite my grandchildren and we don't get any illnesses

02:31because the air we are breathing is a lot fresher.