Now that I’m back in Hispanic land, and trying to find local recycling schemes in Bolivia, you can imagine my wonder upon hearing about a little town with recycled houses. Yes that is correct, these are houses made almost entirely of non-reusable plastic and glass bottles of all brands, shapes and sizes.
Apparently this is a concept that has been adopted in a few South American countries to try and help people in poverty who have no home. Here in Bolivia the woman in charge is Ingrid Vaca Diez, who has made it her mission to help out the people in the town of Warnes, where she grew up. She depends entirely on donations, not just of bottles but also a few building bits and pieces necessary for a good foundation, and the houses are built with the help of volunteers and the town’s residents, also giving them a new skill for future work.
The houses themselves don’t take long to build once they have all the necessary things, only about 20 days, the preparation phase is the long one. It takes about three years to find the 30.000 glass and plastic bottles needed for each house. These are then filled with sand and glued shut. They then need to find all those building essentials like cement, wood for doors/frames, paint, floor tiles and metal rods for support, which unless donated have to be purchased. Building one of these houses costs an average of 8000 dollars per house, plus A LOT of time and effort.
It’s amazing to see a scheme like this, which not only helps people in poverty be able to have a decent home, but also by re-using all those bottles otherwise destined to landfill. At the moment there are more than half a dozen bottle houses in Warnes and a few scattered around other South American countries, which Ingrid has helped build, and according to her, there are many more to come.
To find out more about this project or to contact Ingrid Vaca Diez for any donations, check out her website: http://casasconbotellas.com/
Until next time... Smooches to all! xXx
