19 / 48
‘It takes 720 kg of
recycled polystyrene to
build a 68 m² house. This
system reduces the use of
cement and concrete and
cuts the overall building
cost by up to 40 %.’
June 2016
every time,” says Snyman. As a result,
METT has been appointed as the pre-
ferred supplier to government after
officials visited the site of the new
Village of Hope to see first-hand the
buildingmethod. Construction plans
are currently underway to build four
factories in each province. This will
ensure that 68% of all schools, clin-
ics and houses built by 2018 will use
recycled materials.
Snyman adds that the design of
the first 32m² house has already been
approved and costs R28 000. “This is
an affordable construction option
that enables government to provide
the poorest of the poor with houses.
However, thismethod of construction
can be used across the residential
sector. We were recently providing
material for a 1 600m² designer home
in Bela-Bela, as well as triple storey
designer homes in the Fourways area,
north of Sandton.”
The Village of Hope will accom-
modate 1 000 orphans from the
NorthWest province when it officially
opens in January 2017. The home
will provide long term foster care,
giving children a sense of belonging
in a homely environment andmodel-
ling the project on an African village
lifestyle. “The houses will be built in
clusters surrounding a communal
play area. Each home will have a fully
trained house mother, who will be
responsible for looking after up to six
children through the Department of
Social Welfare.”
Once completed, the project will
consist of a fully equipped nursery
school, early childhood develop-
ment centre, primary school, high
school and various on the job training
facilities for agriculture. Other build-
ings on the site include an outreach
clinic, internet café, safe haven for
abused women and children, and
a satellite police station. It will also
include sporting grounds, 10 ha gar-
dens designed by leading landscape
architects and a special agricultural
training centre for emerging black
farmers. All of these facilities are
currently being constructed or fin-
ished off.
Long termplans for the Village are
enough tomake a person’s head spin
as Snyman lists an impressive array
of corporates who have taken on the
Village of Hope as a Corporate Social
Investment project.
“These will be flagship projects
and will be replicated around the
country. Our aim is to ensure that we
are completely self-reliant aswe grow
our own food to feed the children,
educate them, and later on equip
them with skills that will allow them
to secure jobs in the future”.
Snyman concludes: “It is clear that
composite products offer a solution
for housing and social needs in our
country. It addresses the concept of
green building by usingmaterial from
the waste stream and reduces land-
fills. It also increases job opportuni-
ties for communities and provides
affordable construction costs. We
are excited about the tremendous
progress that has been made in the
construction of the Village of Hope.”
■
Housing