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01 July 2018

People standing outside house

Low-income earners in Guyana now have increasing access to decent homes, thanks to a housing project that is embracing the circular economy for economic, environmental, and social benefits. 

People standing outside house

The project, based in Linden, a mining community, uses the excesses from bauxite extraction which had previously been discarded as its primary building material. The community suffers from a housing deficit, and most affected are low-income earners with no access to commercial loans. 

According to Robert Cameron, owner of Linden Bricks, houses built with bauxite blocks have several benefits. The bauxite bricks can automatically interlock, making construction faster and more economical, as many of the traditional binding materials are no longer required. The houses are also cooler, as heat takes a longer time to penetrate the dense bricks. There is also no need to paint, as the brick is weatherproof and visually appealing. 

According to the Mayor, Wanaka Arindell, the amount of bauxite excess available in the Linden after more than a century of bauxite mining is enough raw material to have bricks manufactured for the entire country. 

 “The overburden is waste is of no value, but it has been said, ‘What is one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’,” said Remington Nelson, representative from the Ministry of Communities. 

Full story courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle: available here. 

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