Final Report: Testing Scale Models for Healthy and Affordable Flooring

The organization's core objective of replacing dirt floors with healthier alternatives remained unchanged throughout the project. EarthEnable successfully implemented its micro-franchise model, scaling from 5 districts in 2018 to 38 districts in 2022 across Rwanda and Eastern Uganda. The model empowers community-based masons to become earthen construction entrepreneurs and independently build housing products in their communities. The project's evaluation efforts were carried out with a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) in three phases: Phase 1 (House Identification), Phase 2 (Biological Plausibility Study), and Phase 3 (Behavioral Change). Phase 2 confirmed a significant reduction in children's exposure to dust indoors and re-infection with hookworms. Phase 3 was disrupted by COVID-19 and not completed; however, qualitative behavioral change findings from another study demonstrated positive behavior changes associated with replacing dirt floors. Between 2018 and 2022, EarthEnable positively transformed the living conditions of 18,533 households and 2,862 Early Childhood Development centers, benefiting 132,953 individuals, including 51,320 children. The organization aims to capitalize on this momentum to catalyze an affordable and sustainable earthen housing industry in Africa. Plans involve expanding to new regions, establishing strategic partnerships, and training more local masons as earthen construction entrepreneurs. EarthEnable's flagship flooring product is 80% more affordable and emits 96% less CO2 compared to concrete. The organization has also developed earthen plasters and improved adobe blocks, and is piloting an affordable and sustainable full house for families living in extremely unsafe and unhealthy housing conditions. The project's main goals were to assess the health impact, organically expand, and experiment and test different scale models in Rwanda, Uganda, and other countries. The organization's fiscal year organizational target was to impact 115,773 people between 2018 and 2022. Over this period, EarthEnable transformed the living conditions for 18,553 households and 2,566 Early Childhood Development centers, positively impacting 132,953 people, including 51,320 children in ECDs. Looking ahead, EarthEnable plans to leverage this momentum to catalyze an affordable and sustainable earthen housing industry in Africa, scaling to new geographical contexts, forming strategic partnerships, and training more local masons into earthen construction entrepreneurs. EarthEnable's products are made from local natural materials that can be found everywhere, making the solution easily replicable. The organization was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Nyamata, Rwanda. Currently, EarthEnable operates in Rwanda, Uganda, and recently launched in Kenya. The project's extension for two additional years allowed the organization to continue making a lasting impact on the lives of thousands of individuals by providing them with healthier and more sustainable housing options.