Houses

The poor in Guatemala often build their homes from materials they are able to find for free. These materials can include pieces of rusting sheet metal (lamina), plastic, corn stalks, or even cardboard. Such houses are not durable and do not provide adequate shelter from the weather.

For those families who own their own land, LMR builds one-room homes with the walls and roof made of new sheet metal (lamina) and a cement floor. A team can complete a house in 3 days, at the cost of $1150 CAD.

Cement Floors

Homes often have dirt floors that become muddy during the rainy season and are a breeding ground for the growth of bacteria and parasites. A cement floor greatly improves the cleanliness and sanitary conditions for a family.

A team can help a local mason to pour a cement floor in half a day, at the cost of $255 CAD.

Bathrooms

A typical bathroom in rural communities consists of a toilet sitting over a hole in the ground and surrounded by plastic or other found materials. Often one bathroom is shared by several families. As well, there are families who have no bathroom facilities at all and must use the outdoors for these needs.

A new bathroom with lamina walls and roof, a cement floor, and a door provide families with privacy and dignity for this most basic human need. A team can build a bathroom in one day, at a cost of between $390 – $650 CAD, depending if it can be connected to the town sewer or if a hole has to be dug.

Wood Stoves & Kitchens

Cooking is often done over some form of open fire inside the house, especially during rainy season. This fills the home with smoke that the whole family breathes in. Women, who do the cooking, and children often suffer from respiratory diseases and eye problems. It is estimated that this smoke shortens the average woman’s life by 10 to 15 years.

A wood stove that vents smoke to the outside provides a much healthier home environment.  As well, these stoves are environmentally friendly because they are designed to use 74% less wood than an open fire. This also means less time has to be spent gathering wood.

To separate the cooking area from where the family sleeps, LMR builds simple kitchen structures to protect the wood stoves from the elements and to provide storage for wood and other kitchen necessities.

One wood stove costs $260 CAD and can be installed by a team in 2 hours.

A kitchen with a cement floor can be completed in 2 days and costs $670 CAD.