Eco Moradia Housing Project
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EcoMoradia Project: Assembly Line Production
The most widely adopted concept of the past century for industrializing manufactured goods is now proving useful for EcoMoradia as well—a program focused on building eco-friendly homes in Tibagi, Paraná. The 19 workers of the Habita Tibagi Association, who produce eco-friendly bricks, are receiving training to speed up and increase production. Instructor Marcelo Cavalcante, a consultant for Sahara, a brick-press machinery company, is responsible for energizing the EcoMoradia team to meet their goal of building 300 homes in two and a half years.
Cavalcante travels from São Paulo to Tibagi three days a week—on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays—to teach techniques that bring more speed and efficiency to the production of soil-cement bricks, hybrid bricks, and the Bloco Brasileirinho. “The goal is to qualify the workforce on site, from the beginning of construction to the finishing touches,” he explains. “The project’s modular design, brick manufacturing, and house assembly all use distinct engineering techniques. The homes are modular and structured, meaning the bricks fit together like stacked pieces. The pillars, electrical wiring, and plumbing all run through holes in the bricks, which significantly reduces the time needed to build a home compared to traditional construction methods,” he adds.
EcoMoradia Project: Training and Innovation Accelerate Eco-Brick Production
The training began on August 20 and will continue through October, by which time the production line is expected to double its output—from 2,000 to 4,000 bricks per day. “New equipment, provided by the company, is being installed to support the workers,” says instructor Marcelo Cavalcante, adding that these machines and technologies are used worldwide for the construction of modular homes.
Sérgio Mafra, a member of the Habita Tibagi Association, reports that construction times have already decreased.
“We’ve gained more agility with the tips he shared with us, and that means we can build more houses in less time,” he says. The Association’s work began in March of this year. Since then, five homes have been built on public land for municipal infrastructure use, and another 14 are under construction in the Santa Paula neighborhood.
Bloco Brasileirinho and the Hybrid Brick
Another innovation within the EcoMoradia project is the machine that produces the brasileirinho—a concrete block with the same width and length as the eco-brick but with greater height, which allows for faster wall construction. There’s also the Hybrid Brick, made from clay, sand, gravel, and cement—a more cost-effective, reddish-toned option also used in home building.
Additionally, a special type of paving block is being produced for constructing streets and sidewalks, along with high-strength concrete tiles, which are more durable than ceramic ones. These concrete tiles can also be used for assembling the roofs of the homes.
Workers have already started producing these materials, which will first be used in the roads and walkways of the area where the 14 homes for Habita Tibagi members are being built—those who were selected in the first round of the Social Housing Program lottery.
Mayor Sinval Silva (PMDB), creator of the program, highlights the visual appeal of the paving:
“These sidewalks are more refined than those made of petit-pavé, and we’re proud to inaugurate the use of these new blocks in the new EcoMoradia village—it’s going to look really beautiful,” he states.
The first 14 houses of the EcoMoradia Program are in the finishing stages in the Santa Paula neighborhood. In the coming weeks, the long-awaited life change should happen for the workers building them. And next week, the dream of homeownership will come closer to reality for 50 residents of Vila São José who currently live in irregular, risky housing conditions. EcoMoradia will hold a lottery to select the program’s beneficiaries who will receive the new homes.
The recipients of the eco-friendly houses will pay for their homes, but the monthly payment will be around R$50, according to construction coordinator José Carlos Sales. “A finished house costs around R$5,400, well below the cost of houses from other popular housing programs.” The units are 36 m² and cost approximately R$150 per square meter, already equipped with low-cost solar water heaters. They can be built on land owned by the beneficiary or on areas provided by the City Hall.
Sinval highlights that EcoMoradia is one of the municipality’s programs based on sustainability. “It meets four of the Millennium Development Goals, targets established by the UN with the Eight Ways to Change the World.” The construction of houses with ecological bricks, recycled long-life packaging roof tiles, and wood from certified forests is low-cost, environmentally friendly, and uses cooperative labor. It meets the goals of ending hunger and poverty; gender equality and women’s empowerment; quality of life and respect for the environment; and everyone working toward development.