Base Bahay plans to build 400 homes in Negros Occidental 

Base Bahay it plans to construct at least 400 houses using bamboo technology by the end of 2024, primarily in Negros Occidental province, according to a report by BusinessWorld.

The organization has completed around 180 socialized houses, Base Bahay Head of Technology Luis Felipe Lopez said in an interview on June 7.

“The trend is showing that probably 300 to 400 is the number that we’re going to get in the Philippines,” he also said.

The organization, which has established six bamboo supply facilities nationwide, said it focuses on providing sustainable, disaster-resilient, and environmentally friendly homes to poor families and disaster victims.

These homes are built using cement bamboo frame technology (CBFT), a method where a bamboo framework is covered with a thin layer of cement cladding to prevent decay, it said.

CBFT is accredited by the National Housing Authority’s Accreditation of Innovative Technologies for Housing.

Bamboo walls are elevated by 30, 40, and 50 centimeters to prevent contact with floods, Mr. Lopez said.

“We have been doing projects even in Metro Manila; we have 50 houses in Quezon City, in Bagong Silangan,” he added.

He said that the beneficiaries of The Bagong Silangan Kawayan Housing’s 25 single-story duplex units are families who previously resided in a dump site in Payatas and include members with disabilities.

“We have a livelihood component because they have a piece of land. They are producing vegetables for the food of all the families and the talipapa we built there also is to sell the excess of those vegetables,” he added.

Base also built houses for those affected by Typhoon Yolanda in the Visayas.

“The main idea is to build these houses maintenance-less. You don’t require any special maintenance, at least for the first 10 years. And then after 10 years, it’s the minimum maintenance as any conventional house,” Mr. Lopez said.