On May 13th of this year, the top story of the Optimist Daily was about a nonprofit called New Story that had plans to build the world’s first 3D-printed neighborhood for poor people in Latin America. Well, we’re excited to tell you that the first homes of this neighborhood have been constructed.
The aim of the project, which is located in Tabasco, southeastern Mexico, aims to produce 50 homes for families in the area who are living in extreme poverty, often in dangerous and rickety makeshift shelters. So far, two homes have been completed and the families chosen will receive them at a zero interest, zero profit mortgage costing around 400 Mexican Pesos (about US$20 per month), which will run for seven years.
To build these homes, a giant 3D printer extrudes cement out of a nozzle, layer by layer, until the basic structures of the homes are completed. This process took about 24 hours per house. Human builders then came in and finished them off by adding roofs, windows, and doors.
With that said, the project hasn’t been without challenges. New Story says power can be unpredictable and local rainfall has often flooded access roads to the construction site. Still, that hasn’t stopped New Story from finishing the first two homes, and with a bit of experience behind them, the nonprofit expects that the remaining 48 homes will be filled with families by next year.
This story was one of the best from 2019, and we are happy to include it in our “12 Days of Optimism” as we get ready to welcome 2020!
