Sustainable Housing for Rural Families in Africa

The first NV healthcare building in Ghana

After over a year of preparation, work started at the beginning of February on the construction of a maternity clinic in Balungu (Bolgatanga region). This project, financed by the local NGO Peal Deng and approved by the regional Ministry of Health, represents a major stage in the development of AVN-Ghana’s programme: it is the first NV health centre to be built in the country since the start of the programme in 2014, the result of a fruitful collaboration between a civil society organisation and institutional agencies.

Moreover, the building site will help strengthen the local skills base, as five Ghanaian apprentices will benefit from complete on-site* training by a NV trainer mason from Burkina Faso.

The AVN team hopes that this will also serve as a local demonstration building, to promote the construction of other clinics and to generally improve health care in northern Ghana. The Peal Deng NGO is already planning the construction of two more maternity clinics in the Upper-East region for next season.

*The time scale for the construction has been extended by 30%, specifically to allow extra time for apprentice training.

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Benin: AVN’s national office inaugurated

AVN-Benin’s national office was inaugurated on March 30th at Djougou in the presence of institutional guests (local mayors, and representatives of the Ministère du cadre de vie et Développement Durable, and the Ministère de la Formation Professionnelle), technical actors (professional training centres, artisans’ collectives), NGO’s, and those involved in AVN’s programme.

In addition to being the base for AVN’s Donga branch, this new building will serve as a show house for the local region. The office has been designed as an example of a NV urban building, with low maintenance finishes. Through this technique, AVN hopes to win the adoption of the NV concept by local institutions, development actors, and construction firms.

Everyone invited to the inauguration appreciated the aesthetic qualities of the building, but were particularly impressed by how comfortably cool it was, as well as by the many local impacts generated by this type of construction: preservation of the environment, socio-economic development, job creation etc.

As well as showcasing the building, this event was an opportunity for AVN to explore potential collaboration leads with the participants. The Collectif des Artisans and the Centre de la Formation Professionnelle of Djougou, as well as the Direction Départementale de la Formation Professionnelle were very interested in AVN’s core training activities.

A second inauguration phase will be carried out in the the coming months, to target the local farmers’ organisations and gauge their interest in accompanying AVN in the promotion of the concept.

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AVN at the World Urban Forum

Cécilia Rinaudo, AVN Deputy Director, took part last February in the World Urban Forum 9 (WUF9), the first global meeting organised by UN-Habitat following the Habitat III Conference in Quito in 2016, at which the new urban agenda was adopted. Over 22,000 participants from 165 countries took part to exchange views and experiences on urban challenges.

At this meeting AVN and the Global Alliance for Buildings (GABC) organised an event on the theme of “eco-energy buildings with zero emissions for durable and non-polluting cities”; invited participants included Yves-Laurent Sapoval, advisor to the French Government’s Ministère de la transition écologique et solidaire and Ernest Dione, Coordinator at Senegal’s Ministère de l’environnement et du développement durable. Addressing many key issues around the crucial transformation of construction practices to ensure the resilience of towns and cities, the meeting was also an opportunity to present the results of AVN’s programme to a wider audience, stressing the importance of adapted housing issues for African populations.

In parallel, the UN Programme for the Environment (UNPE) invited Cécilia Rinaudo to an event on “ecological and durable housing for all”, in particular to address the related economic (affordable housing, job creation) and environmental (local materials, respect for the environment) dimensions.

This was an occasion to point out the various levers used by AVN to promote the long-lasting transformation of construction and housing practices in Africa, e.g.strong political backing and adoption, and the use of financial incentives (along the same lines as the tax credits for energy transition in France).

Finally, this international forum was a chance to initiate support and new contacts with NGO’s and institutional actors, and to renew others, such as with Mali’s Minister of Habitat et de l’Urbanisme , engaged in the promotion of the Nubian Vault with the Office Malien de l’Habitat.