Lafarge Holcim is increasing its commitment to providing low-carbon and affordable housing solutions in Africa by adding further production capacity for its Durabric soil-stabilized bricks. As part of its 14Trees joint venture with CDC, the UK’s development finance institution, the new plant located in Malawi will industrialize Lafarge Holcim’s Durabric solution, the first soil-stabilized brick that is sold on a mass scale in sub-Saran Africa. 14Trees is now also being introduced in other African markets including Kenya and the Ivory Coast.

Milan Gutovic, Region Head Middle East Africa: “Today, less than 10 percent of the population in Africa can afford the cheapest newly built house. Lafarge Holcim, with its unique innovation capabilities, has developed a range of construction solutions to make houses more affordable for the majority while improving the environmental footprint of those buildings. With additional production capacities, we are now able to offer these solutions beyond Malawi and increase our positive contribution further.”

Durabric is one good example of efforts to make sustainable solutions to scale. Since 2016 14Trees has worked with the construction sector in Malawi, one of the poorest countries in Africa, to make Durabric the technology of choice in the country. Within the first three years of operations, 2 million bricks have been sold saving over 4,000 trees and avoiding over 15,000 tons of CO2 emissions.