Habitat Argentina Attended the Bioferia
The relationship between housing and sustainability may not be immediately obvious, and it is often considered more from the perspective of construction methods than from the contribution of adequate housing. However, at Habitat for Humanity Argentina, we believe that housing is a key ally both in mitigating the effects of climate change and in adapting to those that are already irreversible.
With this message, we participated in Bioferia, the largest sustainability festival in the country. Over the three-day event, more than 45,000 people — including families, students, and sustainability enthusiasts — visited the Palermo Racetrack.
The Self-Building Process
One of our proposals for the Bioferia was the presentation of a model showing the self-building process of a home in an underserved neighborhood. It demonstrated how this process is transformed through the intervention of Habitat Argentina.
Without technical assistance, the self-building process is often inefficient and yields unsatisfactory results. The resulting housing is inadequate, negatively impacting the health and development of families.
That’s why, for the past 23 years, we have supported self-managed housing processes in vulnerable neighborhoods. Solid roofs, safe electrical installations, cement floors, and protected bathrooms, among other improvements, contribute to people’s well-being.
Adequate Housing is Sustainable Housing
The inefficiency of inadequate housing translates into inefficient use of resources such as money, water, or sand during construction. It also leads to inefficient access to basic services: higher electricity consumption, reliance on bottled water instead of running water, and so on.
That’s why we maintain that adequate housing is sustainable housing, with a lower environmental impact. Through our water and sanitation project, the Los Grillos neighborhood is moving away from contaminated ditches thanks to the installation of biodigesters.
Water tanks reduce spending on bottled water and, in turn, generate less plastic waste. The calculator we presented at the Bioferia illustrates this situation.
Climate Migration
One of the consequences of the climate crisis is the migration of thousands of people forced to move to cities less affected by natural disasters.
In this context, housing becomes both a necessity and an ally. We must anticipate urban growth, manage it properly, and make the most of the arrival of hundreds of migrants.
A Resilient Home
Finally, we must also consider how to adapt to the consequences of climate change. A resilient home allows families to face new climate phenomena.
March 7 will go down in the history of Bahía Blanca. The flood affected the entire city. In the neighborhoods where we have been working, we are promoting a project to adapt homes to this new context through improvements to roofs and walls.
