Low-cost housing:

MIPROMALO sensitizes Kumba population on use of local materials

- Provides compressor machines for earth blocks production

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba

Technicians from MIPROMALO demonstrating how compressed earth blocks are made

The population of kumba has been sensitized on the production and use of compressed earth blocks. This was during a three-day seminar-workshop holding on 19 to 21 December at the Kumba City Hall, organized by the Local Materials Promotion Authority, well known by its French acronym MIPROMALO.

                Resource persons at the workshop edified the population on the use of local earth to produce compressed blocks for construction of houses. The representative of the director of MIPROMALO alongside some technicians from the agency, used practical methods to demonstrate the sundry advantages of using compressed earth blocks to construct modern, low-cost houses.

                Officials of MIPROMALO said studies have revealed that the earth in the entire southwest region is quite suitable for producing compressed blocks, further revealing that houses constructed with earth blocks are cheaper, more durable and conducive than those built with cement blocks. They noted for instance that such houses are cooler during the hot dry seasons and cannot be penetrated by bullets, as opposed to cement blocks.

Because of these objective advantages, government has recommended the use of local materials for the construction of schools and other government structures in the country.

                MIPROMALO has constructed some stalls in Kumba II council area, and a building at the Kumba city council, to demonstrate the workability of local earth in construction. The Ekondo-Titi council and councils in the Bakassi area have also adopted local earth for construction of their official structures, it was revealed.

                In order to be at the service of the public at all times, MIPROMALO has trained technicians to give training to other persons on the local materials technology.  Machines for production of compressed earth blocks have been provided at the Kumba city council for use by the population.

                In his closing remarks at the seminar workshop, the representative of the government delegate to the Kumba city council, Epie Paul, called on the public to make adequate use of the knowledge gathered and also make use of the machine put at the disposal of the council in order to construct earth-block houses in the future.

                Apart from compressed earth bricks, MIPROMALO also educated the population on the use of fired clay bricks, micro-concrete roof tiles, granito-concrete floor tiles, refractory bricks, dimension stones and pottery and fine ceramics amongst other current research and development products.