We are excited to announce that EarthEnable, a Design for Extreme Affordability project from 2013, won the prestigious sustainability competition, Green Challenge, out of 515 entries on September 14, 2017. As the winner, EarthEnable receives €500,000 (currently about $600,000).
Announcement from Green Challenge
“The Rwandan start-up EarthEnable is the winner of the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge 2017. During the finale, co-founder Gayatri Datar impressed the international jury with her sustainable alternative for cement to replace dirt floors. As the winner, she receives a cheque of €500,000 to further develop her green innovation.
The earthen floors offered by the Rwandan start-up EarthEnable improve the lives of the world’s poorest people and ensure significant reductions in CO2 emissions, as they eliminate the need for cement floors. More than a billion people still live on sandy floors, which are often a breeding ground for parasites and germs. A cement floor is often the only available alternative, but this is expensive and is not eco-friendly. EarthEnable supplies floors made from local, natural materials, which have been sealed using a plant-based oil. These floors are 75% less expensive, and produce 90% fewer emissions, than cement. ”
You can find more details at the Green Challenge Website.
Note from Extreme Teaching Team
Earthenable is one of those wonderful projects that does so much good in such a simple way. This organization, based in Rwanda, came out of the 2013 Design for Extreme Affordability course.
Their well priced flooring option means that dirt-floor-dwelling families who earn around $2 a day can afford to pave their floors. Paved floors gives EarthEnable customers many benefits: the dignity of a nice looking floor and the sanitary benefits of a cleanable floor… all without costing them years worth of savings. The organization is also benefiting their community and the world through their job-creating floors installations and environmentally-friendly alternative to concrete. Sales are easy, because most dirt floor dwelling families would LOVE to pave their floors, it just comes down to price. Concrete floors for an average EarthEnable customer are around $300, and the EarthEnable earthen floor option is 25% that - about $80.
The EarthEnable team, led by our alumna Gayatri Datar, has worked tirelessly since this was a project in our course in 2013 to make it possible for more and more Rwandan homes to be clean and dignified.
More from EarthEnable Website
80% of Rwandans live in homes with Dirt Floors. EarthEnable is changing that.
Dirt floors are just what you think: dirty.
Dust is kicked up, spills and puddles stick around, and the floors of people's homes become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, parasites, and all of the disease that comes with them. But the most common and affordable option, concrete floors, are just too expensive for many families, especially in Rwanda.
EarthEnable’s custom-developed earthen floors are the solution. EarthEnable eliminates unsanitary dirt floors and provides affordable, sanitary flooring that can be washed, cleaned, and used to create a healthy home environment for millions of people.
Facebook Announcement from EarthEnable
EarthEnable just won one of the world's largest sustainability competitions! We are so proud of our CEO, Gayatri Datar, whose pitch clinched it, and our whole incredible team. Our work is just beginning. Huge congratulations to the runners up: pond biomaterials, ARED / African Renewable Energy Distributor Ltd, Glowee, and Lightyear. Together we are building a more sustainable world. Thank you Green Challenge!