HfH - Inhaca

From our observation, as we traveled around Inhaca, nearly the entire population lives in housing made from reeds.

The first house in Inhaca built by Habitat and nearing completion. This one is built of concrete block and plastered. The roof is galvanized iron. A separate structure holds the bath and toilet, but there is no running water available.

Another Habitat house used what they called "hydro-formed" block; in the U.S., it is called "rammed earth" construction.

Cement blocks have to be hauled from the mainland, but these blocks can be manufactured locally by the Habitat affiliate.

HFH-Moçambique Director of Operations, Bento Manhice, describes to Jerry the construction technique. No mortar is required while the wall is erected; the joints are tuck-pointed later.

HFH-Mozambique raised the money to purchase this hydraulic block-forming machine.

Some cement is mixed with local sand and minimal water. The block is produced under very high pressure in a mold that gives a well-formed shape so that they interlock precisely.

It has turned out that the type of sand suitable for this technique is in rather short supply on the island, so Bento and his colleagues continue to look for the optimum method for building simple, decent housing on Inhaca.