Report 2 (of 5): A Clean Conversion - South Africa

Introduction

Almost every town and city in the developing areas of South Africa are surrounded by growing shanties and squatter areas. Indeed, in many cities, the areas of informal housing far exceed the size of the formal city. The people in these informal settlements do not have the assets necessary to gain formal access to land, building materials and housing rights. Adequate shelter is a basic need for a growing number of people and it requires new solutions to address the problem.

Cape Town is a beautiful city, situated on Table Bay at the foot of Table Mountain. It is the seaport capital of Cape Province and, after Durban and Richard’s Bay, it is the third busiest port in South Africa. There are a lot of settlements and shanties growing around Cape Town where people are living without adequate housing and infrastructure. In a country where the majority of the population still lives in inadequate housing, any form of building using locally available materials at costs lower than conventional building methods is beneficial to the residents of the settlements.

Shipping Containers

Shipping containers are designed to strict shipping standards for transporting goods on ocean crossings.

Uses for Converted Shipping Containers

This means that shipping companies have a steady supply of old containers that they no longer require but which are still structurally sound. These old containers are often sold to brokers who will then resell them to companies to be used in a variety of different ways. They have been used as small electrical generator stations, water purification stations, telecommunication cells, laboratories, portable medical rooms, underwater repair chambers, shops, community halls and they can even be used to store class B explosives. However, most often they are used by builders and farmers as secure storage space.

Creative Solutions

The port at Cape Town has plenty of spare shipping containers and BP Community Affairs decided that they could be used as a starting point for improving the living conditions of the poorer people in the area. One shipping company, Safmarine, the South African Merchant Navy, donates all their redundant containers to Creative Solutions, a company in Cape Town which was set up by Wayne Wagner, to convert the shipping containers into livable spaces.

Creative Solutions has now made almost 4000 conversions for local shops and hairdressers, nursery schools and community centres. One such conversion was carried out for Christine Mlumbi.

Luthando Education Centre

Luthando Education Centre was set up by Christine some ten years ago and now takes 238 children aged from between 0 and 6 years old. She obtained the containers for the school about six years ago and is very happy with the improvement in the school building. Previously, there was one large room that was used by everybody but now there are more rooms and the children can be separated into smaller groups with other children of their own age which helps both the teachers and the pupils.

Fires within the squatter areas are quite common but now it is safer for the children in the school because the buildings will not burn down. Due to the insulation, the children can now stay cooler in the summer and warm in cold weather. This means that it is possible to reduce the fuel needs of the school and therefore, reduce the running costs. The roof does not leak or make a noise when it rains.

Converting the Shipping Containers

Conversions of the shipping containers are paid for by local businesses. The first step is to lay the foundations in exactly the same way that they would be laid for a conventional building. Before the containers are craned into position, any walls that need to be removed from them are cut so that they can be combined to produce bigger spaces or adjoining rooms. Once the containers are in their correct position they are bolted together. Using bolts to fix the containers together means that the option remains to move the containers at a later stage if required.

Work is also carried out on the interior of the container. The walls are clad with insulation and a wooden floor is laid down. Holes are cut into the new structure to create windows and doors for the converted container. A conventional roof is constructed over the containers and bolted into place. Gutters are fitted and pathways are made to the doors before the whole building is painted.

Creative Solutions carry out as much conversion work as required, in order for the containers to be appropriately modified for their new use. The company is prepared to lay carpets, fit kitchens and they can even provide a lawn. It just depends on how much money is available and how much the local community want to do for themselves.

Cost

Using the converted containers as material for buildings is about two thirds cheaper than using the more traditional materials for constructing buildings. Furthermore, the converted containers provide a perfectly sound structural building.

The ultimate beneficiaries of this project are the residents of Cape Town who now have secure and pleasant buildings to work and live in.

For further information, please contact:
 

Intermediate Technology would like to thank BP Community Affairs for the information they provided on the conversion of shipping containers.

Further reading from ITDG Development Bookshop

Don't Throw It All Away
This new edition of Friends of the Earth's popular recycling guide examines the 'throwaway society' and offers positive solutions to its waste problem. It explains what is thrown away, why so much of it is produced, and the environmental problems this causes. And it offers practical suggestions for how to help the planet by reducing the amount of waste you and your family produce.
£4.99 1998 46pp pb (Friends of the Earth) ISBN 1857502000

Green Home: How to make your world a better place
Karen Christensen
A comprehensive, accessible and lively introduction to all aspects of green home-making.
£9.99 1995 326pp (Piatkus Books) ISBN 0749914602

Plastic Waste: Options for small-scale resource recovery
Inge Lardinois
Plastic Waste documents recycling activities in cities in economically less developed countries. The publication describes how plastic waste is reprocessed in informal small-scale enterprises and turned into end products or semi-manufactured products ready for use by formal industries. Attention is paid to the various technologies used in plastic recycling. Financial aspects, marketability of products, environmental problems occupational health and government policies are also dealt with.
£11.50 1995 112pp (TOOL) ISBN 9070857340

Reuse, Repair, Recycle: A mine of creative ideas for thrifty living
Jan McHarry
An up-to-date source book on how to reduce and recycle, how to create new from old, and how to help fights the Great Waste Problem of the present age.
£7.99 1993 288pp (Gaia Books) ISBN 1856750450
 

TVE/ Practical Action gratefully acknowledge support for the HANDS ON programmes from the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), the European Commission (EC), the UN Foundation and UNDP/The Equator Initiative in collaboration with the Government of Canada, IDRC, IUCN, BrasilConnects and the Nature Conservancy.