With one of the highest rates of urbanisation in the world, it is estimated that 21,000 housing units are required annually to meet urban housing needs in Malawi over the next ten years. The main building materials are substandard burnt bricks that are produced with a wooden mould and fired in inefficient kilns fuelled by firewood. In addition to quality concerns, production of these bricks places increasing pressure on Malawi’s dwindling wood resources as more wood is being consumed than is sustainably re-grown, and also emits greenhouse gases.

For this event, CCODE brought together brick producers and stakeholders from government, the housing sector, banking and finance, and non-governmental organisations to discuss improved technologies such as the Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK) that improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in brick production, increase access to reliable building materials and access to quality and affordable houses, promote sustainable livelihoods fostering green jobs, and enable Malawi contribute and progress towards Green Economy. The consultants presenting at the workshop were from Technology and Action for Rural Advancement (TARA), based in India, and Clioma, a local consultancy that identifies and develops carbon projects with strong sustainable development co-benefits.