Since then, we know the traditional houses of Africa as the typical thatched-roof mud houses that have been abandoned for years since colonization.
Ghanaian modernized mud houses.
The Ghanaians seem to be working on making a comeback in mud-house designs.
Hive Earth, a contracting company based in Accra, Ghana, is actively working towards this.
Due to the housing challenges in Ghana, around 2 million new houses are needed in Ghana per year, but most of the construction is concentrated in the capital, Accra, where land is very expensive. Most of the people in Ghana have a relatively low salary, hence the need to build affordable housing using locally sourced materials such as; Sand gravel, gravel, clay, laterite and granite that are readily available in West Africa.
Their goal is to build houses that workers and the majority of Ghanaians and West Africans can afford.
They discovered the rammed earth technique which has been around for centuries, in fact parts of the Great Wall of China were built using rammed earth.
The rammed earth technique is just a mixture of laterite, clay and granite chips. They use 5% cement to join it, but they also do it with lime and thus offer nice and affordable homes.
Finally, due to the hot climate in Ghana and the need for air conditioning systems in homes, the company teamed up with some German engineers who gave them the idea for underground refrigeration systems. They dig about 8 feet or more to get to fresh air. underground. Then use a solar pump that is constantly bringing fresh air into the house. The solar pump costs around $300 that people need to pay and then not incur more additional bills due to air conditioning systems.
