PRIME Minister Imran Khan promised to build houses for the poor in his election campaign. He has taken steps to honour his pledge. Economists say constructing houses is the best way to kick-start an economy.

John Maynard Keynes propounded his general theory to boost effective demand and create full employment; Adolf Hitler created autobahns, and Franklin D Roosevelt presented his new deal. But this was in Europe and America, which had idle skilled labour.

Our poor need modern skills and knowledge to build low-cost housing using carbon-free and waste-free methods as well as utilise traditional heritage and renewable materials.

A Pakistani non-government organisation, Barefoot Entrepreneurs, has done pioneering work in this field. It has built approximately 50,000 houses in 250 villages costing Rs13,000 per unit. These houses are earthquake-proof and rain and flood resistant. These houses are equipped with smokeless stoves, an eco toilet shared by two families, one hand pump catering to five families and communal forests. If the cost for these facilities are added, the expense comes to about Rs30,000 per housing unit.

Foreign NGOs and local contractors who build a similar facility at ten times the cost asked the NED Engineering University to examine this eco housing project. The university tests found these houses could withstand an earthquake of twice the intensity that hit Kobe. A model house was put on display at universities abroad, including London and Melbourne, and received awards.

The federal and provincial governments need to come up with a short and long-term strategy to invest and train Pakistani manpower and utilise domestic technologies to build earthquake and flood resistant structures financed by local capital. This is the only solution to Pakistan’s housing woes.

Suhail Zaheer Lari

Karachi

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2019