Sandbags

Enactus Cairo University builds low-cost, sustainable Earth Bag buildings that provide an alternative to traditional housing during housing shortages. The main focus of building Earth Bag houses is to provide suitable homes for homeless populations by utilizing Earth Bags, which have many economic, environmental and social advantages.

In addition to providing shelter for the homeless, the organization is also aiming to decrease the unemployment rate by teaching the Bedouin youth the craft of building Earth Bag houses.

Constructing a fully functioning house using sandbags is done using sediment material that is extracted from the earth. Using readily available materials from the ground is significantly less expensive than building a traditional concrete house, while it also reduces pollution and saves time, as an Earth Bag house can be fully constructed in approximately 15 days.

This use of Earth Bags (sandbags) is both an old and and new application. Sandbags have long been used particularly by the military to create strong, protective barriers, as well as for flood control. These applications carry over to housing construction. The sandbags create substantial walls, allowing them to resist severe weather, bullets, earthquakes and floods.

The proportion of populations living in rural areas has continued to decrease as people move to the cities in search of employment and a higher standard of living.

However, there is a discrepancy between the supply of labor from rural areas and the demand for work in urban centers. This imbalance leads to unemployment, poverty and homelessness. Enactus Cairo University's sandbag construction method can be used as a solution to this problem.

Publicly available: yes
Countries where available: Worldwide
Price range (USD): Free
Offered or can be licensed for local manufacture: Yes

Weight: 7 kg/ bag