The government of Zimbabwe sees a role for hemp in construction after securing a $63 million line of credit from an African fund to develop eco-friendly buildings.
Earlier this year, Zimbabwe’s government announced a separate $377 million project to deal with a housing shortage by constructing affordable homes.
National Housing and Social Amenities Minister Daniel Garwe said the financing will help the country to meet its target of raising 220,000 housing units by 2025, indicating hempcrete, precast concrete slabs, reclaimed steel, and ferrock will be used in the initiative.
The country’s poor find it difficult to build homes because of the high cost of construction in Zimbabwe, which has the highest prices in the region for cement, leaving them to live in dwellings made of plastic, mud or clay.
More than 1.5 million Zimbabweans have been on a housing waiting list for homes, many of them for more than a decade. Promises for home building often come ahead of elections, which are set for next year.
The Shelter Afrique loan facility has been extended to CBZ Bank Limited, Banc ABC, ZB Financial Holdings, FBC Bank Ltd., and CABS for the construction of houses.
Full article here: https://hemptoday.net/hempcrete-seen-as-part-of-eco-friendly-solution-to-zimbabwes-housing-shortage/
