Recyclable loofah homes

Can you imagine living in a house made out of loofah? Better still, these house panels made out of loofah, also known as patola, can also be recycled. Loofah, a plant originally from Asia, easily grows and is available in abundance in Paraguay. If harvested before it is completely ripe, loofah can be eaten. Left to ripen and dry out, loofah is then processed until a fibrous sponge remains, which can be sold as a cosmetic product, also to manufacture mats, slippers and insoles.

Lest you think this is all just hype, the prototype of the loofah home is already available in Paraguay and apparently the panels are very cheap to produce, and are durable, light and waterproof.

These loofah and plastic waste-made recyclable homes are the brainchild of Elsa Zaldivar and industrial engineer Pedro Padros who are hoping to create the homes in Paraguay where there is a need for 400,000 homes annually to house some two million poor people or a third of the country’s entire population. Previously, the recyclable panels were primarily made of plastic waste and loofah but more recently, bamboo and jute are being experimented to add to the loofah homes. Jute is a fibre that comes from the bark of an East Indian plant, also used to make sacks, mats and rope.

Zaldivar is a 2008 Laureate of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, whereby 10 awards are presented every year to men and women worldwide whose projects contribute greatly to their field, communities and the world.

The prototypes of Zaldivar’s recyclable homes are funded by a foundation through the Rolex Awards. She says agencies and the Paraguayan government have expressed keen interest in her work, but she prefers to experiment further before proposing construction on a larger scale.

“The recyclable panels are constantly being tested and improved,” says Zaldivar, adding that two houses are currently being built using bamboo, jute, plastic waste and loofah, while experiments are still carried out combining loofah with other components for use as plaster and adding thickness and insulation for the panels.


Currently, it costs about US$4 (RM14) per sq m of the panel and Zaldivar expects the cost to drop as the experiments to improve and make these panels wider and stronger continue. More importantly, with the success in putting plastic waste to good use, these panels are environmentally friendly. For a house, or a living space, with a built-up of 583 sq ft, the materials would cost about US$1,200, she says. The panels can also be used for roofing and furniture, and if they break or wear out, they can be recycled into new panels. Colour can also be included in the panel’s plastic mix at the time of fabrication.

For an idea of what these cheaply-produced homes would mean to Paraguay, consider this: By day, the poor live in open spaces, in the porch or under the hot sun. Come nightfall, they would cuddle up in boxes, which they call home. The country’s poverty level stood at 42% in 2005, but Zaldivar believes it has increased significantly since.

Labour and materials, such as bamboo and loofahs, are contributed by the locals. Zaldivar would like to develop a system where the poor can construct their own houses. She says the materials will be economical, as so little is required to be bought in order for the poor to construct their own houses.

On expected lifespan of these recyclable materials, Zaldivar says while she does not know definitely, it is expected to last over 20 years. “It is a new material — the first plates/panels are more than five years — but we must see how it reacts when exposed to sunlight on a permanent basis,” she says.

It all started in 1992 when Zaldivar worked with rural communities who live in poor conditions under the Department of Caaguaza in Paraguay. She then started working with 15 women farmers cultivating vegetables, such as loofah (sponges), as an income. These sponges, which previously were only for home use and not for sale, are now distributed locally and to countries such as Canada and Germany.

She then began looking for other uses for loofah and met Padros who had developed the technology of producing plates/panels from vegetables. Besides, every one-third of loofahs cultivated are of inferior quality and she was searching for ways to utilise these loofah waste.

Together, the duo developed a plate of different types of vegetable fibres mixed with plastic waste. Zaldivar believes these recyclable panels would be able to replace wood, and thus diminish deforestation.

Asuncion-born Zaldivar says those who have seen the panels or prototype homes — they include professionals, architects and peasants — are impressed and believe it will be very good for the entire, or at least part of, a house. We are used to wood and bricks, and Zaldivar believes that while it is definitely a challenge, this ecological solution could be one of the ways to preserve and heal the planet.




This article appeared in City & Country Special Focus, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 760, June 22 - 28, 2009.