In South Africa a proposal for modular, affordable housing involves filling a recyclable, lightweight plastic mould shaped into the form of a house with a government-approved mortar for the walls after the plumbing and electricity are installed, and the windows and doors are configured. The mortar dries within one day and the unit can then be assembled primarily by unskilled labor. Developed in 1986 by Hennie Botes, the Moladi building system employs steel reinforced, insulated panels which interlock, and are designed to withstand seismic and hurricane disruption, according to news24.com.
The Moladi modular components are manufactured in Port Elizabeth, the fifth largest city in South Africa, and shipped to 17 countries worldwide. The population in Africa is expected to hit two billion by 2050, almost twice the number anticipated by the UN in 2010; and there is already an estimated housing shortage in sub-Saharan Africa of 30 million units, which grows four million each year, as MHProNews has learned. ##
