In Uganda, affordable dirt floor alternatives are a huge boost to human health
Kinja, Uganda (AP) – Simon Tigawalana dreams of dirt flooring in a small house that has been in the past many years and accuses them of making their families sick. But in rural areas of one of the poorest countries in the world, it is simply out of reach to get them with concrete.
Then, a company called Eartenable approached him with another option: a clay-based land floor that could give him a durable, sealed floor for less than half the cost of concrete. Tigawalana now has new floors in both rooms and hopes to add it in the last room.
“I’m glad we now have a decent home that can also comfortably host tourists,” said Tigawalana, 16-year-old father. “Since we had a clay floor, my kids have stopped getting coughs and flu that used to be from dust when sweeping the dirt floor.”
Clay-based flooring in Uganda has been promoting and installing since 2017. In addition to eliminating dust that can irritate breathing, they also aim to reduce the invasion of jiggers (a parasitic infection that can irritate the skin), it is also worth mentioning that they can also promote clay floors in Uganda. The Uganda Ministry of Health said the sanitation caused by poor sanitation due to dirt flooring.
“Our flooring helps prevent pathogens and other diseases associated with dust flooring, as most of these homes cannot afford the care of the hospital,” said Noeline Mutesi, sales and marketing manager at EasteNable.
How to build floors
The first step in building a floor is to dig and smooth the ground. Then, Muram-local red clay rich in iron and alumina is mixed with sand and water and then compacted. After two weeks of drying, the Masons used wooden floats to smooth and further compact the surface. Next is the paste: apply fine clay to further smooth the surface and prepare for the final sealant, a flaxseed-based varnish that hardens it into a durable plastic resin.
Typical floors cost about 240,000 Ugandan shillings (about $65), Earth Enable says, about 70% cheaper than concrete. Buyers can pay in installments. Eastenable is a US-based nonprofit organization that operates for-profit subsidiaries in Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya and says any profit is invested in new markets and the startup costs of research and development.
Eastenable said it has installed about 5,000 floors in Uganda, more than 39,000 floors in Rwanda and 100 floors in Kenya. The company also performs wall plastering to help reduce the common dust, moisture and insect infestation in the dirt.
In Jinja, the company's plan employs more than 100 bricklayers within the community. Alex Wanda, the company's construction officer, said many people were boys who dropped out of school because they couldn't afford it.
“We focused on hiring these young country boys, and we trained the skills to build these soil layers to create jobs for them,” Wanda said in an interview.
About 42% of Ugandans live in extreme poverty. Its statistics bureau said the country's housing deficit is 2.6 million and is growing. The country needs to add 300,000 housing units each year to cover the deficit, mainly in rural areas where many Ugandans live, and housing quality and availability remain concerning.
More sustainable floors than concrete
The company also touted clay flooring as a more sustainable alternative to concrete, generating significant production carbon emissions in addition to more expensive concrete.
The cement industry is one of Uganda's largest contributors to emissions, with carbon dioxide of about 628,000 metric tons in 2023, with the highest record level. More broadly, buildings and buildings account for 37% of global emissions, according to the United Nations Environmental Program.
Like most of the rest of the world, Uganda has seen greater growth in extreme weather events, including climate change, including floods and prolonged droughts.
“A initiatives like this are crucial for global decarbonization efforts,” said Penina Atwine, project officer for Environmental Alert, a Uganda-based organization. “This innovative local solution addresses both climate change and can inspire similar approaches around the globe like Earthenable's model.”
“Living a better life” with cleaner floors
Rehema Namukose is in Budima Village, where most of the family’s savings are building houses. She couldn't afford a cleaner floor until she passed the pottery to pay for the installment of clay floor. She lives there with her three children and attributes the new floor to improving the health of her sick daughter.
She said: “It’s affordable for my family and it will help us maintain hygiene.
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