00:00Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, is growing rapidly.
00:04But while more than 380,000 new homes are needed every year,
00:08only about half that many are being built.
00:12Acquiring my own house is the primary goal.
00:16Everyone needs that. And that's what I want.
00:22And while Ethiopia's capital
00:24struggles with housing, it's also drowning in plastic.
00:27With 2,500 tons of it generated every year,
00:31a small start-up is turning this very crisis into an opportunity.
00:36We're turning hard-to-recycle plastic into low-cost,
00:40low-carbon construction material.
00:43An unconventional approach with a tragic origin.
00:47It all started with the deadly collapse of the Kaushay Landfill in 2017,
00:51which claimed 113 lives.
00:56This is actually how Cubic was founded.
01:00The founder and CEO of Cubic,
01:05Caduce,
01:06at the time, he was outraged by the situation
01:10and wanted to provide a solution, right?
01:14And so, that's why it's important for us
01:17to be solving our own problems.
01:21Here at this plant in Adama,
01:23five tons of plastic are assorted, shredded,
01:25washed, melted, and turned into interlocking bricks every day.
01:29A safer ILF is the plant's manager.
01:33Those plastics are mainly available in the market.
01:37So, we don't have any problem in that one.
01:40So, due to these factors, I think the cost will be very much less.
01:45The main cost in the construction of housing is mainly the material cost.
01:51So, if you are going to construct a conventional house,
01:54there is metal, there is cement,
01:58there is also some excavation workers,
02:00and finishing work, everything like that.
02:02So, this takes a huge cost by itself.
02:08Houses built with recycled plastic cost 40% less
02:12than those built with conventional materials
02:14and go up in days, not months.
02:16This daycare was built in just 16 days.
02:19It serves children of government workers,
02:21most of which are women.
02:22At the heart of our business,
02:24we're trying to make housing affordable,
02:26but simultaneously we're working on cleaning the environment
02:30and empowering women.
02:34The company specifically trains women
02:37in the fields of engineering, construction and finance.
02:43I think when you work on women,
02:47you're pretty much building a very resilient society.
02:53Also, we want to build gender equality.
02:56So, most of these fields, like the supply chain,
02:59engineering, construction, finance,
03:01they're mainly dominated by men.
03:04And we want to give the skill set,
03:07work on the skill set and also the opportunity for women
03:11to thrive in these sectors.
03:14While the vision is clear,
03:16the journey ahead is not without its challenges.
03:19There is huge awareness problem.
03:22There are a lot of plastic generations, you know.
03:25However, the collection rate is very low.
03:29So, the plastic materials that we are getting in the factory
03:33for the recycling purpose is very low.
03:35This is not because there is no other material.
03:37This is not because there is no other plastic.
03:39It is because we are not collecting as well
03:41and we are not segregating well.
03:43This starts from the household.
03:46If the awareness of the people was better,
03:49then our job would have been, you know, very easy.
03:51Despite that, the company is growing and changing minds.
03:56So, at first people are, like, confused.
03:59They are confused and they ask a lot of questions
04:02because we are changing plastic waste into building material.
04:09In terms of affordable housing,
04:12in Ethiopia I think the major issue is to have a house.
04:16So, mentioning that we are working on creating an impact
04:21and assisting the society to have their own house,
04:25affordable housing is, I think, a major impact.
04:28For the team around Hayat Berdane,
04:31building a house means problem solving.
04:33But for Zeleke Murad and his family,
04:36having a house means dignity.
04:39Every Ethiopian, not just me, deserves a better life.
04:43One that includes a peaceful home
04:45and the ability to raise their children.
04:49And that's why Hayat, Assefa and their colleagues
04:52aren't just recycling plastic or building houses,
04:55they're building hope.
04:57We'll see you soon.
04:59We'll see you soon.
05:02We'll see you soon.
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