Eco-friendly low-cost houses built in Witsand could be built in Haiti

Athenkosi Mvane

01 February 2013

Eco-friendly and energy efficient low-cost housing which are being built in the Witsand informal settlement in Atlantis could also be built in Haiti. 

The South African developed model is being exported to Haiti to help build eco-friendly houses there.  Similar houses have been built in Gugulethu, Kimberley in the Northern Cape and in Johannesburg.

 The Witsand informal settlement pilot project is being funded by the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements. 

City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements Ernest Sonnenberg said the houses are built in a way that they have a large overhang on the northern side.

“During the winter months, when the sun is more towards the north you get more sunlight in; during the summer months the sun is more direct across the house, the overhang allows for shade and therefore have a cooler house inside” Sonnenberg said.