Every now and then someone comes up with a remarkable idea. The
Ikea Foundation in Sweden, a philanthropic furniture branch in connection with the United
Nations High Commissioner of Refugees has come up with such an idea.
What they have created is truly amazing. When natural disasters
take place there is always the problem of housing displaced people. Often they
have to live in tents, on average up to 12 years often in very harsh
environments. It is estimated that 3.5 million or 10% of refuges continue to
live in these tents.
Ikea has developed what they call a flat-pack shelter the RHU that
comes in boxes, which can be set up without any tools in about 4 hours. It is
comprised of plastic panels that clip on to a metal wire and pipe frame and is
17.5 square meters. Bigger, more private that even has a solar panel to
generate electricity and light. In the future they want to improve them to do
water harvesting and purification along with lockable doors and windows, but
now it makes it too expensive. These unite cost about $500 the improved model
would double that.
About 50 prototypes are being used in Iraq, Lebanon and Ethiopia.
You would think the media would be all over this and they would be
being promoted like mad. Talk about a company that follows the golden rule,
these folks are saints.
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