Opportunities for affordable construction in Uganda using locally available materials

Abstract

Uganda, like many other countries in the Global South, is in dire need of affordable housing. According to the 2017 Uganda National Household Survey, the number of poor Ugandans increased from 6.6 million in 2012/13 to 10 million in 2017 (Twinoburyo 2018). Uganda's population growth is also the fourth highest in the world (The World Bank Group 2018). With the cost of manufacturing and purchasing construction materials like cement increasing due to scarcity of raw materials (Kamukama 2018), many Ugandans are unable to afford to construct homes. This thesis examines the possibilities of using bamboo and compressed stabilized earth blocks (CSEB) as a substitute for expensive and carbon-intensive cement-based construction materials. These low-cost building materials will allow more Ugandans to afford to construct houses and other larger buildings like schools. Low-cost indigenous materials are perceived as poor quality and inferior.

Therefore, this study looks to change the perception of using these building materials in Uganda. This research proposes new techniques of construction by looking at relevant low-cost construction precedents in the Global South. The integration of new building techniques using local materials should be a gradual process. An abrupt replacement of current construction materials like burned bricks could potentially deteriorate current construction conditions in Uganda (Hashemi et al. 2015). This research considers incorporating local materials like bamboo and CSEB with current construction materials like burned bricks and concrete as a potential solution. In this thesis, a comparative analysis is presented between structures designed with current versus the proposed local materials. The comparative analysis was designed and tested to fit within the constraints of affordability, reduced material usage, and embodied energy.

Another crucial concern is to what degree the general public would welcome the new technique. This thesis proposes solutions to change the general public's opinion on local materials. Keywords: Affordable, Bamboo, Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks, Construction