Malawi Youth Development Center Promotes Construction of Environmentally Friendly Houses
As one way of reducing the effects of climate change, Rumphi based Roscher Youth Development Centre (RYDC) is promoting construction of environmentally friendly houses in disaster prone areas of the country.
RYDC Executive Director Moir Walita Mkandawire said his organisation is promoting the construction of earth bag houses which use sacks filled with soil or sand as building blocks with barbed wire holding them together to save remaining trees.
He said the concept will be supportive considering that human activities such as construction using burnt bricks costs a lot of trees thereby causing disasters such as floods and hailstorms.
“The construction of earth bag houses concept will assist in conserving the environment by curbing wanton cutting down of trees, which are mostly used in baking bricks.
“We have seen that burnt bricks have consumed a lot of trees in most areas of the country this has led to regular occurrence of natural disasters like floods and droughts,” Mkandawire explained.
He made the observations Thursday during daylong training on construction of earth bag houses that drew together chiefs and members of the Area Development Committee from Traditional Authority Kilupula in Karonga district.
CIFOR