HOME/DESIGN Base Bahay builds homes for Davao workers

Tackles housing gap,

BASE Bahay Foundation (Base) recently partnered with the Don Antonio O. Floirendo Sr. Foundation, Inc. (AOFF), the CSR arm of the ANFLO Group of Companies, to provide sustainable housing for banana workers and their families in Davao. The housing project leverages Base’s expertise and innovations to realize AOFF’s vision of uplifting the local community.

Through the partnership to provide affordable and disaster-resilient housing, Base is constructing two-storey duplex houses that are sturdy and made of high-quality bamboo. Designed to maximize space, the duplex house has one bedroom, a restroom, and a shower on the ground floor, and two rooms on the second floor, with the total floor area of each housing unit at 41.7 sqm and 83.4 sqm for the whole duplex housing.

The houses can resist typhoons with wind speeds of up to 250 kph, as well as earthquakes, based on the values in the National Structural Code of the Philippines. The bamboo is also treated for termites, making it as durable as other conventional housing materials.

Environment-friendly

“This project started with a vision—a vision to build sustainable houses for our employees and their families. One of the most unique features of this house is the use of bamboo in the construction of the houses making it environmentfriendly,” said Maria Cristina Brias, AOFF President, at the groundbreaking ceremony.

“This project involves resiliency,” adds AOFF Executive Director Norman Clemente. “We’ve been planning for the past three to four years, and our dream is now a reality.”

AOFF’s affiliate company, TADECO, has a huge bamboo production that is being utilized for a banana plantation and for housing development purposes. Prior to