South Africa begins ambitious green building project

Designing a home so that it has environmentally friendly specifications is sometimes thought of as only an endeavor of the wealthy. However, a project in South Africa is attempting to change that stereotype, Engineering News reported.

In the western part of the country, the first 20 of a planned 411 green homes for low-income families are being built. Each house is complete with a two bedrooms, a bathroom, a combined living and dining room and a kitchen. According to researcher Llewellyn van Wyk, this is an important step forward in the eco-design movement.

"For the green building movement to have credibility, it must be able to develop benefits for the poorest of the poor," van Wyk told the news source.

Van Wyk focused primarily on eliminating as much waste as possible. For instance, he made sure the houses are properly insulated, especially the roof, which is often the biggest obstacle to overcome in making a house as energy efficient as possible.

For those who wish to go green in their own home, there are many options. One choice is to hang woven bamboo shades as a window treatment. Since bamboo is a sustainable resource, using it as decoration does not deplete the environment of resources.