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Green Enterprises for Green Homes
A lmost 25 per cent of the population in the India lacks adequa te housing. The
urban housing deficit estimates stand at 23 million units and the rural
deficit is over 40 million units. The construction of these units is an
energy and resource intensive process. Construction accounts for 22 per
cent of the national greenhouse gas emissions. A major share of the
burden is borne by the building materials alone. Cement, steel and
bricks are the largest and bulk consumption items in the Indian
construction industry.1
These are also the most energy guzzling.
The Challenges With the exponential growth in population, these numbers are only set to rise. Post-disaster reconstruction due to the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events as a consequence of climate change will also add to these numbers. In addition, the migration trends towards urban centres will skew the balance, creating a much larger urban housing deficit. About two-thirds of the world’s population will be located in urban areas by 2050, creating serious implications for the conservation of natural resources, according to the 2012 edition of the Nature’s Living Planet Report. However, a majority of this construction will occur at the so-called bottom of the pyramid. So, while the construction industry is booming, it is traditionally not positioned to cater to this immense demand. Particularly in rural areas and small and medium towns, where the majority of the current demand is housed, people either construct their own houses or take the assistance of individual contractors. Owning your own house is every person’s aspiration. The primary reason for this large deficit in housing stock is affordability. The 60 million families who do not own their own houses or live in temporary structures do so because they cannot afford to buy their own homes. Buying a house is a once in a life time investment. While urban spaces are flooded with home loan offers, these debt options are not available to rural and urban-informal populations. Lack of adequate credit history and worthiness and required paperwork act as major barriers in accessing the formal credit streams. There is also a lack of affordable options for appropriate techno-logies. Appropriate technology options do exist, but evidence of their spontaneous adoption is lacking. This is due to a multitude of reasons ranging from inadequate information regarding options and lack of consumer demand at the buyer’s end to inadequate incentives for entrepreneurs and lack of favourable market and non-market conditions at the supply end. Cumbersome regulatory procedures act as further barriers. However, there have been
instances of successful models that integrate the demand of housing with
green enterprises. A green enterprise is one that combines profitability
with environmental and social benefits to its workers and the society at
large. This approach dovetails the issues of lack of housing as well as
livelihood opportunities to provide a sustainable delivery model for
houses and building materials. As green enterprises, they take into
account environmental concerns such as energy efficiency, waste
utilisation, resource efficiency, etc. Energy Efficient Bricks The most commonly used building material is the red brick, primarily a product of an unorganised and informal sector. However, in order to fuel the construction boom, the sector directly employs 8 million people each season to produce over 170 million bricks in 150,000 units. Every year they use 350 million tonnes of fertile top soil and 24 million tonnes of coal, emitting 42 million tonnes CO 2. It is the single largest source of air pollution and also exerts a high pressure on natural resources like soil and coal. In addition to the environmental impact, there are serious social implications such as unsanitary and hazardous working conditions of the labourers. Rising energy prices, competing uses for limited resources, labour shortages and poor working conditions in the face of increasing demand are some of the ‘treats’ faced by the sector.Resource and energy efficient technologies like the Vertical Shaft Brick Kilns (VSBK) are certainly available. This is a small-scale enterprise that can be set up with a capital investment of as little as INR 25 lakhs. With a capacity of 8000-10,000 uniform bricks per day, the kiln offers a saving of over 30 per cent on fuel costs and emissions, establishing it as a green enterprise. There are about 150 such enterprises in different parts of the India today. The potential for setting up enterprises is vast. To cite an example, just one Indian state, say, Bihar needs over 7500 million bricks over the next five years just to meet the rural housing gap of 1.1 million dwellings per year. Potential savings of 2.8 million tonnes of CO 2 are possible while creating livelihoods for 0.35 million people by introducing cleaner production systems. |
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TARA Machines and Tech Services (TMTS) TARA Machines and Tech Services (TMTS) is a green enterprise that markets innovative green building solutions for micro, small and medium enterprises. Their vision is high quality, affordable, green building materials to meet the aspirations of millions of under-serviced home builders. TMTS was set up to meet the acute shortage of building materials in rural areas and small towns in the face of a growing market. The absence of credible business solutions for micro and small scale manufacturers to meet the yet unfulfilled demand was the driving force behind this enterprise. TMTS offers solutions for fly ash technologies, eco-kiln technologies, eco-concrete technologies and recycling technologies. They help set up green enterprises across the country which further contribute to the local economy in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.
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Waste Utilisation India produces around 175 million tonnes of ash annually from the generation of thermal power. With power production also slated to double by 2020, the amount of waste produced will be enormous. With lack of adequate disposal facilities, this magnitude of waste is going to be a national hazard with alarming consequences. In India, brick production is slated to double by 2020. In a business as usual scenario, this will mean a burden of 34 million tonnes of coal, emitting 300 million tonnes of CO2 every year – a significant contributor to climate change. It is estimated that around 750,000 hectares of agricultural land will be lost each year2. Utilisation of industrial wastes like fly ash in brick making overcomes the serious problem of over exploitation of natural resources such as soil and coal used in red brick clay firing. A single fly ash green enterprise can be set up for a capital investment on INR 15 lakhs while employing 15 unskilled workers. Apart from solving the twin issues of demand for building materials and safe disposal of industrial wastes, the enterprise has the potential to complement the country’s target of 25 per cent emission reduction by 2020. Odisha is poised to be a major hub for manufacturing industries, which will lead to the generation of enormous quantities of industrial wastes. The use of industrial wastes like fly ash, dolochar, etc., in brick production can potentially save over 4.6 million tonnes of CO 2 per year. Setting up 800 new units just to utilise the available fly ash will lead to the generation of over 15000 jobs for local people.Other products as Micro Concrete Roofing (MCR) Tiles can be taken up as micro enterprises with investments to the tune of INR 2-4 lakhs. MCR tiles are used as a cladding material for construction of sloping roofs. The MCR tiles edge above the conventional roof cladding material due to their structural strength and durability, cost effectiveness, lowest embodied energy – among other alternatives – and micro-scale entrepreneurial possibilities. Green Construction Apart from green enterprises for manufacture of appropriate building materials, green enterprises also exist that offer construction services. The Development Alternatives Group has facilitated the grouping of artisans into common interest groups under the TARA Karigar Mandal (TKM), to upgrade them from being just masons to contractors and go on to manage their own work. At present, there are more than 150 masons associated with TKM for undertaking construction projects of rural infrastructure. As a green enterprise, TKM provides eco-construction services to build houses and public buildings while enhancing the profitability of the masons due to skill upgradation. TARA Karigar Mandal will be registered as a Mutually Aided Cooperative Society with the Madhya Pradesh Government. TKM has been organising training programmes for new masons, and capacity building of trained masons for transition towards becoming supervisors. Group management trainings were also organised for TKM. TKM has also successfully bid for both private and government construction projects. TKM masons are trained in eco construction technologies and go on to provide service for housing and public building construction in Bundelkhand. The various construction material and methods which are being promoted by the TKM include roofing options like arch roof panel, funicular and plank and joist roof and walling options such as rat trap bond and compressed earth block masonry. The Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (MHT) was established by the Self Employed Women Association (SEWA) in 1994 with the overall objective of improving the housing and infrastructure conditions of the underprivileged women in the informal sector. MHT is involved in post-disaster reconstruction activities as well as building pucca homes and toilets for the rural population in collaboration with the State Government of Gujarat. They also help link their clients with financial institutes in order to access microfinance credit streams as well as government schemes and subsidies. TARA Nirman Kendras (TNK) is another social enterprise promoted by the Development Alternatives (DA) Group with a mandate to provide affordable green habitat solutions through the delivery of eco materials that have low-embodied energy, and utilise industrial waste, and affordable advisory support in order to create ecological and affordable built environments. TNK is committed to the creation of employment in the building materials and construction sector through skill enhancement of building artisans. Conclusion Small and micro enterprises that produce eco materials and provide eco construction services need to be supported. These enterprises have a sound basis of good science, economic realism and political acceptability. While a few of these enterprises have arisen spontaneously, the government needs to step in to promote them for improved all round progress of the artisans as well as their products. Fiscal facilitation by way of tax exemptions for eco-material production and supply must be provided. While the enterprise development may be in the purview of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, the products and services must be linked to all public programmes that lead to creation of rural housing, habitat infrastructure and public buildings, including Indira Awaas Yojna and public buildings in villages, district and block towns so as to promote their market. The popularisation of the eco materials must, therefore, be built into the awareness and communication budgets and terms of reference within the scope of the IAY / rural habitat programme. The government had pioneered the concept of building centres or Nirmitee Kendras and Nirman Kendras as institutions at the district level to promote locally relevant eco materials. Though many of these are currently defunct, those that are operational and successful indicate that being market oriented, responsive to local needs and possessing robust management practices ensure their success. These centres can be redefined as entrepreneurial building centres encouraging small and medium enterprise to adopt these technologies. q Kriti Nagrath Endnotes
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