Clean, affordable, durable and environmentally friendly floors: This is EarthEnable

Many people sleep on dirt floors because they can’t afford anything else. This causes all kinds of health hazards. EarthEnable wants to change this.

EarthEnable

You probably have a bed at home and even if you don’t; chances are you have a clean concrete, wooden or some other kind of floor made of clean materials. But there are billions of people who don’t have any of that. They have to live and sleep on dirt floors, which is dangerous for their health. EarthEnable has created an alternative that can help many people.

Cheap and sustainable

In Rwanda, 80% of the people live on dirt floors. Dirt floors are unclean and cause parasitic infections, respiratory disease and diarrhoea. Diarrhoea is the leading cause of childhood death in Rwanda. More than 1.8 million people are killed by diarrhoea each year in Rwanda. Changing or upgrading their floor isn’t an option due to the costs. Concrete costs 300 dollars for a tiny home which is more than a year of savings for a lot of families.

But replacing a dirt floor with a clean floor can do wonders for your health. It reduces the chances of diarrhoea by 49% and parasitic infections by 78%.

Luckily, this upgrade is now more readily available thanks to the affordable and sustainable solution by EarthEnable. Their solution is 75% cheaper than cement, which makes it an accessible option for even the poorest communities. Not only is it cheaper, it’s also more sustainable than cement. And as cement makes up 5% of global carbon emissions, this difference really has an impact.

The floors are made from natural materials, compressed and then sealed with an oil-based varnish. They utilise natural materials and green construction techniques which cuts the potential carbon footprint by 90%.

Green challenge

Gayati Datar, the co-founder and CEO of EarthEnable explains that their goal is to enable everyone in the world to live on a healthy and affordable floor.

The natural floors are beautiful, durable and washable which means a healthy home environment for millions of people.

At the same time, it provides local employment. The company is committed to creating long-term solutions in Rwanda, which is why they teach local masons to install the earthen floor. This way they can go on and utilise their new skill for other jobs.

In 2017, EarthEnable won the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge. Their sustainable innovation won them 500,000 euros. Each year, the postcode lottery holds the green challenge where they search for the best green solution to problems we face in today’s society. Read here about the winners from previous years.