By Wendy Williams
AN Andalucian based architects firm has launched a campaign to offer free homes to some of the world’s poorest people.
Green company Eco Vida has teamed up with the charity Practical Action to build homes for families living on the flood plains of Bangladesh.
In return for every luxury home built here in Spain, they build a ‘second’ home in Bangladesh which is one of the most flood prone areas of the world.
Last year alone, flooding killed over 700 people, damaged four million homes, and wiped out over a million hectares of crops.
Philip Gilmore, a spokesman for Eco Vida, said: “We had the idea we wanted to do something like this and when we discovered the work that Practical Action do, it all tied together.
“Our buildings save energy and help reduce the magnitude of climate change, and Practical Action is helping those at the sharp end of the changing climate.”
Practical Action, founded in 1966, works alongside poor communities in the developing world to help them use simple technologies to improve their lives and find practical solutions to the poverty they face.
Stephen Harvey, Head of Fundraising, at Practical Action said: “Like Eco Vida, Practical Action is passionate about offering
solutions that use appropriate technology to reduce exposure to disaster risk.
“Our flood proof homes in Bangladesh guard families against the effects of disastrous floods. Eco Vida, by lowering household CO2 emissions, is also helping reduce the risks from climate change.”
According to Eco Vida the homes they build reduce CO2 emissions from heating and cooling by as much as 80 per cent.
John Wolfendale, Eco Vida Director said: “Its just common sense, an energy efficient home is simply more comfortable to live in, the happy side effect is that you save energy, and you save money.”
