A few innovative examples of initiatives providing low-cost housing made their way across my desk in the last 24 hours, which I took as a sign that I should share them with the NB.net community. Some have been shared before, but are worth mentioning again.

The first is a South African company called Moladi, which utilizes a unique plastic injection molded technology to produce cast-in-place mortar structures. The process allows unskilled laborers to use indigenous materials to quickly and cheaply construct high standard permanent buildings that are earthquake, cyclone and tsunami resistant. With the intended purpose of "housing the nations", the construction technology addresses four key challenges embodied in the low cost housing shortages facing developing countries, namely: lack of resources, insufficient funds, shortage of skills, and time constraints.