Habitat and World Vision Join Forces in Nepal to Help Fire-stricken Community * * * * HFH Nepal Program Almost Halves Cost Of A Habitat Home

October 4, 2005

Adding foundations, supports and plastering of concrete mean this new Habitat house is both durable and fire-resistant

BIRATNAGAR, 4th October 2005: Twenty-five houses of a 48-house project have been completed as part of a partnership between Habitat for Humanity and World Vision International in a village in eastern Nepal.

The remaining homes are expected to be finished at the end of this month.

Other partners in the project include Plan International, the Rural Reconstruction Network of Nepal (RRNN) and the Biratnagar government.

The project is helping families in the village of Yadav Tol near Biratnagar airport. Their homes were destroyed in a fire in April. Although no one was killed, many families also lost their annual supply of wheat in the fire. The families have since been living in temporary sheds covered with plastic sheeting.

Combining the old with the new: Traditional woven bamboo walls provide the frame for a new house in the village of Tadav Tol in Eastern Nepal.

The original agreement between Habitat and World Vision was to work with the poorest of the fire victims to build 48 one-room houses of about 160 square feet each at a cost of US342 per house. However, when Plan International and the Nepal partners joined the project, their contributions meant each house could more than double in size, to 350 sq. ft. for about US900 per house.