One Brick at a Time is a brick-making business creating 10 full-time jobs every year in Bergnek, South Africa. The bricks serve different purposes: They are sold to building wholesalers to generate income; this income is then used to build homes and a health care facility for hundreds of communities in the area of Bergnek.
After the Land Reform Act was passed in 1997, 3500 people in the local region around Bergnek lost their jobs and housing on the farms and were relocated far away from the nearest town (28 miles away) without access to primary resources or any jobs. In this remote location, 3500 had to live in only 250 houses without access to food, education and basic health care. One Brick at Time solves this issue for the entire community.
By producing bricks for supply to wholesalers, we expect to see employment in the community of Bergnek increase by 5% (90 jobs), over the year following the establishment of the business and related businesses. Due to brick selling, the community will be able to build houses for 600 people at a cost 30% less than what the regional government offered for the same job. The houses in the community are also built from clay bricks, which are made for tough weather in South Africa.
One Brick at a Time focuses on 3 main goals: increasing employment by 5% every year, building 100 houses a year, and giving free health care to hundreds of families in the community. With One Brick at a Time, the community will become sustainable and grow throughout the efforts of the population and will provide a long-term source of income.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
