More than 50 per cent of the shelters of the people in the country are of temporary type. Out of remaining 50 per cent, more than 40 per cent are semi – permanent. This shows that most of the Nepalese people have shelter of very low quality, says the government data provided in the Shelter policy of Nepal.

However, with the aim to innovate and disseminate the appropriate technology for the enabling people to build their safe and hygienic shelter, Shelter and Local Technology development center(SLTD Centre) has been working to build low-cost houses.

“The rural house has one or two rooms per family of 5 to 6. There are no damp proofing and no windows for ventilation, exposing them to health hazards,” said, chairman of SLTD Centre Bhuwaneshwor Lal Shrestha. It is very much possible to provide cost-effective construction solutions, which include reinforced hallow cement block masonry as vertical element, partial pre–cast slab as horizontal elements, and masonry projection as doors and window frames, he added.

This technology made the door and window frame cheaper by 90 per cent than its timber counterpart and eliminates the use of timber helping to preserve forest resources.

Apart from rural housing projects, low-cost technology has been used in the massive construction as well.

The Pokhara housing project, whose cumulative economy in the construction due to the application of the cost-effective technologies is more than 30 per cent. Similarly, the 400-ft long Arcade in Pokhara, four cost-effective housings at Sitapaila and Tibetan Refugee camp at Ichangu are some of the examples of cost-effective constructions.

The designer of TRC architect Chris Redecke said, “The first design by a local firm using conventional construction estimated the cost to be approximately $100,000, more than twice the $ 40,000. Redecke also informed that the cost was reduced up to $ 42,000.”

“With the technologies of vertical reinforcement and horizontal RCC bands, the construction cost of the structure per sq ft for the urban housing would come to Rs 300 and the cost of finishing work varies from Rs 300-600 per sq ft,” said architect Jyotsana Gautam.

The only difference in the construction technologies used in the rural and urban construction projects is the improved technology. “Low-Rise High Density planning is the most practical approach for the poor countries like Nepal,”said Sarita Maskey, an architect at DUDBC.

The gross density per hectare in the project of Pokhara Housing project is 80 houses, compared to 25 houses in Kulechwor housing project, 38 houses at Dallu, and 45 houses at Galfutar, said Maskey.

source:Himalayan News Service (2010),"New housing methods for low-cost dwellings ",The Himalayan Times, 28 June 2010