2008 Equality Award Laureate
Hany El Miniawy, Appropriate Development, Architecture & Planning Technologies
| Laureate Country: Egypt |
| Project Countries: Algeria, Egypt |
| Website: http://www.ashoka.org/node/2990 |
| Video: 2008videos/Hany_El_Miniawy.mov |
Hany El Miniawy designs technology that allows low-income communities to move out of inhumane housing and into good quality, economical homes.
In impoverished communities, people cannot afford the high prices of cement and steel on the international market. Instead, they make due with perilous, makeshift homes.
Hany El Miniawy searches for local resources that allow people to construct their own secure, affordable houses. At each site, he begins by lab-testing the soil to find needed materials, such as stone and clay. Then he develops site-specific, environmentally-friendly formulas for making durable bricks. In collaboration with local master builders, he uses his discoveries, combined with local architectural heritage, to teach young people to build safe, inexpensive homes in their own communities.
