Strengthening community resilience through safe housing in Nepal

Nepal is located in one of the most seismically active regions of the world. Still, over half of all buildings in the country do not meet safe housing standards. Together with Build Up Nepal, we work to empower rural entrepreneurs and communities to build safe, affordable homes and resilient incomes.

Impact driven by strong local partnerships

Build Up Nepal was founded after the devastating 2015 earthquake in Nepal, which cost over 9,000 lives and is estimated to have wounded more than 15,000 people.

Engineers Without Borders Sweden (EWB-SWE) and Build Up Nepal (BUN) began working together in 2016. The collaboration has grown over time, most recently through a new initiative aimed at scaling the production of affordable, safe and eco-friendly bricks in Nepal.

Improvement of earth brick machines for affordable safe housing in Nepal

The aim is to empower local communities and bring employment opportunities to vulnerable rural areas. This is done by providing rural entrepreneurs with brick-making machines, training, and support to start and build micro-construction companies.

The micro-construction companies are often located amongst steep and remote parts of Nepal and therefore finding a mechanic with tools and parts can be a challenge. For autonomous productions, the brick-making machines must be reliable and easy to maintain by operators who are not familiar with equipment maintenance.

During the 2019/2020 dry season, a mechanical engineer from EWB worked on-site in Nepal to further develop the brick-making machine used by local entrepreneurs. From a distance, EWB-SWE has analyzed the composition of materials and the concrete mix, and plan for projects within the areas of brick quality control and quality processes.

Travel restrictions prompted the development of a remote support and construction service

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit at the beginning of 2020, our team of engineers developed a well-functioning remote support and construction service with Build Up Nepal. The method has worked well, focusing on providing training and guidance on creating CAD models and drawings of the machines. The aim is to use the method to move parts of the production of the machines to Nepal, thereby creating more local jobs and increasing the supply and accessibility of mould machines.

COVID-19 has prompted a reverse migration of Nepali migrant workers from around the world. The flow of remittances has stopped, and unemployment and under-employment is on the rise. Meanwhile, the brick industry in Nepal is booming, creating a unique opportunity to create jobs for low-income families and support a green recovery from COVID-19. Build Up Nepal are well-positioned to support this development.

Double mould machine

The most used machine by the micro-entrepreneurs is the double mould machine, which makes two interlocking bricks per cycle and is entirely manually operated. Solutions to solve the main issues with the double mould machine included a redesign of the main beam, shafts, lid support, handle attachment and locking latch.

The machines ergonomics were improved by shortening the frame and lowering the hopper, making it easier for operators to fill the hopper with raw materials. The lid mechanism was changed for automatic lid opening and closing while reducing the cycle time for manufacturing bricks and allowing the lid to be operated by one person instead of two. Finally, the hopper was optimized for more efficient filling of the mould box.

Hydraulic powered brick machines

The larger brick manufacturing sites use Hydraulic powered brick machines. One drawback with these machines is that they only produce two interlocking bricks per cycle. A new mould box was designed to add versatility to the machines, upgrading them to produce either two hexagonal pavement bricks or three regular shaped bricks. The new mould box enables brick making entrepreneurs to broaden their product range and improve their opportunities.

Mixer machine for raw materials

Raw materials need to be thoroughly mixed before being pressed to form bricks. This hand mixing process is labour intensive. The only available alternative is to purchase a powered pan mixer which is beyond the budget of the micro-entrepreneur. A low-cost but effective mixer machine would boost productivity and improve mix quality and brick strength. A simple prototype was developed and tested with some promising results.

EWB-SWE continues the partnership with BUN and is looking at improving the material consistency and brick quality control during manufacturing.

Project Partner

Build Up Nepal Engineering
Build Up Nepal Engineering (BUNE) is a social business dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs and communities to build safe, affordable homes, and resilient incomes.