Mornington's Jason Thatcher and his son Jay are off to build houses in Cambodia. Mr Thatcher is also shipping over his 4WD. N15ML702.11 October 2010
by Lily Partland
Morning Peninsula Leader
Victoria, Australia
A MORNINGTON business owner has designed an affordable and portable house to help tackle Cambodia’s housing shortage.
Jason Thatcher - who has volunteered with the Cambodian Children’s Fund for the past three years - said he had developed the house after working with families living in shacks made from bits of rubbish.
The durable houses are on stilts and mainly made of steel with polystyrene insulation, solar power, water filtration and secure windows.
The smallest flat-packed unit is 3m x 3m and, to combat the problem of increasingly prevalent land-grabbing, can be easily moved.
“We’re dealing with more vulnerable families who are likely to be kicked off their land,” Mr Thatcher said.
“If a family has to move for whatever reason, we can relocate the house.”
Mr Thatcher said the smallest house costs $1500, but he is presently working on developing an even cheaper model.
“The idea is to keep them as affordable as possible,” he said.
Mr Thatcher will market the houses through his business Global Village Housing to not-for-profit organisations operating in Cambodia, and will employ and train residents to help run the business.
He said people were already sponsoring houses and travelling to Cambodia to help set them up. Mr Thatcher said there was already a long waiting list for the houses.
Mr Thatcher said he has had a very positive response so far from NGOs and aims to build 1000 houses a year.
He will be heading over to Cambodia with his son, Jay, 18, at the end of next month to build two houses and plans to base himself in Cambodia from the end of the year.
Details: Jason Thatcher at jasonccfa@gmail.com.
A MORNINGTON business owner has designed an affordable and portable house to help tackle Cambodia’s housing shortage.
Jason Thatcher - who has volunteered with the Cambodian Children’s Fund for the past three years - said he had developed the house after working with families living in shacks made from bits of rubbish.
The durable houses are on stilts and mainly made of steel with polystyrene insulation, solar power, water filtration and secure windows.
The smallest flat-packed unit is 3m x 3m and, to combat the problem of increasingly prevalent land-grabbing, can be easily moved.
“We’re dealing with more vulnerable families who are likely to be kicked off their land,” Mr Thatcher said.
“If a family has to move for whatever reason, we can relocate the house.”
Mr Thatcher said the smallest house costs $1500, but he is presently working on developing an even cheaper model.
“The idea is to keep them as affordable as possible,” he said.
Mr Thatcher will market the houses through his business Global Village Housing to not-for-profit organisations operating in Cambodia, and will employ and train residents to help run the business.
He said people were already sponsoring houses and travelling to Cambodia to help set them up. Mr Thatcher said there was already a long waiting list for the houses.
Mr Thatcher said he has had a very positive response so far from NGOs and aims to build 1000 houses a year.
He will be heading over to Cambodia with his son, Jay, 18, at the end of next month to build two houses and plans to base himself in Cambodia from the end of the year.
Details: Jason Thatcher at jasonccfa@gmail.com.
1 comment:
Thank you Mr Thatcher for your "Project Home " to help the poor in Cambodia.
Good on you Mate !
Cheers,
A Khmer in Sydney
Post a Comment