–Hinterland housing drive Phase II set to take off in Regions 1, 9

By Ravin Singh
PHASE Two of the Sustainable Housing for Hinterland Development Programme is in its initiation stage, with 12 hinterland communities poised to benefit from the US$3.1M project.The project, which is being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and run by the Ministry of Communities through the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA), is a component of the IDB’s Reformulation of the Expansion and Integration of the Basic Nutrition programme.
According to Advisor to the Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Mervyn Williams, the 12 communities which have been identified are all located within Regions One (Barima-Waini) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
A tell-tale sign that the project is ready to take off, he said, is a recent visit by CH&PA officials to Sebai, one of the riverine villages in Region One to finalise arrangements.
Noting that the true purpose of the programme is to improve access to housing and water for hinterland communities, Williams said that in terms of Region One, the deal is that six “full houses” will be built, while the roofs of 15 houses will be replaced.
In Region Nine, on the other hand, 11 “full houses” will be erected, and there will be 10 roof replacements.

‘FULL HOUSE’
Explaining what he meant by “full house,” Williams said that essentially, it’s a one-storey building made of either wood or brick, depending on the availability of resources and the nature of the village’s economy.
Each house is expected to be approximately 500sq ft. and will comprise four rooms, two stairs, corrugated zinc sheets, guttering, a 400-gallon water tank and a latrine.
Noting that some consideration is likely to be given to integrating of an element of indigenous people’s culture, Williams said this could be in the nature of a traditional thatched roof or some other traditional element, incorporated into the building so that there is no departure from the culture of indigenous communities.
In the case of roof replacements, Williams said this is predominantly required in communities located in Region One, where the water situation forces households to have a preference for harvesting rainwater. As such, he said that corrugated zinc sheets will be utilised to aid in this process.

‘SWEAT EQUITY’
Commenting on the reaction from the villages, Williams said that in many cases, householders have decided to come together and provide the manual labour, or what they termed “sweat equity,” in order to reduce the cost factor, so that the resources could be extended to more beneficiaries. But labour was not the only factor of production indigenous peoples were willing to contribute to.
As Williams revealed, persons have expressed an interest in providing lumber, free of charge, to the project.
Outlining the eligibility criteria which were used to identify the beneficiaries, he said that these included level of poverty in the community; cultural cohesion in the community; the organisational strength of the village council; and the land tenure.
The land tenure refers to whether the lands are State-owned or privately owned. Persons can benefit only if the lands are privately owned.
Meanwhile, he sought to suggest that this second phase of the programme will register a success, since the executing agencies which had completed and evaluated Phase One would have learnt some invaluable lessons from that first experience.
He also described the first phase of the project as being a huge success, and said that it is hoped that this programme is another of a series of interventions aimed at strengthening hinterland communities and villages.