¡Échale! a tu Casa is mobilising families to self-build housing that is affordable and sustainable, whilst generating employment and encouraging development in communities.
Millions of families in Latin America do not have proper housing. ¡Échale! a tu Casa strives to give these families a housing solution that is attainable and decent. At the same time, the organisation limits the environmental footprint of construction by using low-carbon earth blocks and equipping houses with green technologies such as rainwater harvesting, solar power, and wood-saving stoves.
¡Échale! a tu Casa believes that a key component to creating a social business is making the community the axis of the program.
Francesco Piazzesi – Founder and CEO, ¡Échale! a Tu Casa
Through education, workshops and technical assistance, the ¡Échale! a tu Casa program empowers communities to build energy-efficient houses made from locally sourced materials. By making communities a part of the solution, the program creates jobs, provides education and ensures that the housing solutions fulfil the needs of the communities.
Why you should care
Throughout Latin America, 59 million individuals are either homeless or live in dwellings that are unsuitable for habitation. To date, ¡Échale! a tu Casa has provided homes to more than 30,000 families and facilitated more than 150,000 home improvements benefiting approximately one million individuals.
How the Global Goals are addressed
Clean Water and Sanitation
The rainwater harvesting design features of the ¡Échale! homes reduce household water consumption by up to 20% according to the company.
Decent Work and Economic Growth
Using local materials and labor, this program stimulates local economic growth. ¡Échale! estimates that 200,000 people have gained temporary employment during their housing construction processes.
Sustainable Cities and Communities
¡Échale! helps to prevent the development and sprawl of slums in urban settlements by offering affordable and sustainable housing options for low-income families.
Climate Action
Various green innovations reduce energy consumption and the carbon footprint of the houses. These include solar heaters, solar lighting and building using locally sourced blocks made of 90% earth.
¡Echale! a tu Casa
¡Echale! a tu Casa is a Mexican company, which develops ecological houses.
Global Goals addressed