- This year's World Habitat Awards winners and finalists announced
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Posted 14.11.18
World Habitat: Article link
Winners
Affordable and safe housing for single mothers in Japan
Single mothers in Japan are being provided with a safe and stable home to live in, thanks to an innovative project that utilises some of the millions of vacant properties in the country.
It can be hard for single mothers to find an affordable place to live because it is difficult for women to work after having children in Japan and they are often assumed to be financially unstable.
Social stigma, lack of economic opportunities and sky-high living costs in cities like Tokyo mean the majority of single mothers and their children live below the poverty line.
Little Ones - a non-profit organisation established in 2008 to support the rising number of single parent families - works with property owners, estate agents and local government to acquire empty or abandoned homes.
The project has received national recognition for its work to eliminate housing poverty and has been identified as best practice in the management of Japan's vacant properties.
Pakistan Chulahs: The smokeless stoves empowering women and changing lives
A programme to build low-cost smokeless stoves is helping to improve women's health and alleviate poverty in rural Pakistan, where four in every five households lack access to a clean, safe cooking resource.
Smoke from traditional open-flame wood-burning stoves can cause serious respiratory infections and eye problems.
The Chulah programme teaches marginalised women to build a hygienic, sustainable, smokeless earthen stove - which not only improves their health but also empowers them to earn a living by marketing and building stoves in other villages.
The programme is run by the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan, which trains has trained 35 'Barefoot Village Entrepreneurs' (BVEs) to teach other women to build their own Chulahs out of mud bricks and lime.
Special Mention
Notes
The Awards were established in 1985 for the identification and the promotion of good habitat practices. They were initiated in 1987 as World Habitat contribution to the United Nations International Year of Shelter for the Homeless.
The above link also gives access to details of the other six finalists.
