Context II: poverty, housing types and unfinished dwellings
The intensification of land clearance to grow sugar cane impacted on housing in the local area in two ways. First, it reduced the availability and increased the cost of grass and tree poles to construct traditional houses, and second, the recent reduction in income from sugar cane production meant that many of the more prestigious, baked brick houses were left unfinished when residents failed to realize expected prices for their crops.Throughout the area, local leaders and residents described how mud brick with a thatched or corrugated iron roof continued to be a cheaper option for residents wishing to build a home, and this remained the case despite the difficulty of accessing materials locally. Study participants often described them as inferior, transitional, or temporary structures, and most residents of these houses aspired to build permanent, baked brick European style bungalows with separate rooms, including a sitting room, bedrooms, kitchen, bathrooms, and a garage, with large windows to allow sunlight in. The high status of these baked brick houses is reflected in their name Few residents, however, had sufficient funds to complete construction of such houses all at once; building continued step-by-step when funds were available. As a result, most owners were forced to live in unfinished dwellings, becoming resident once the roof, doors and window spaces were in place. Many houses with building ‘in progress’ had no ceilings, unplastered walls, unfinished floors, and metal roofing sheets which were weighted down with bricks or timber, rather than attached to the walls. Construction holes that enabled scaffolding to be attached to the house were often left unfilled so that building work could continue, and with no money to purchase windows, open spaces were either left fully open or covered with various materials, including plywood, iron sheets, or unbaked bricks, instead of glass.In this context, where many residents could not afford to complete their ‘modern’ houses, the house modifications were welcomed. They were considered by the local residents to be a substantial investment, which they would have been unable to make themselves. While those living in mud-brick houses often welcomed the intervention, they also expressed surprise that improvements were to be made in what they saw as temporary dwellings. This was especially true regarding eave tubes, which were sometimes described as ‘modern ventilators’ by participants.