Hydraform International
Hydraform International was contracted to help rebuild communities through a low-cost housing project[5] and stimulating the local economy through job creation.
[7] In 2010, all 20 buildings for the Ongutoi Health Centre in Uganda were built using Hydraform International’s blockmaking systems.
[8] The project was funded by a charity organisation, High Adventure Gospel Communications Ministers, who praised Hydraform International for the cost advantages obtained that would not have occurred had standard building methods been chosen.
In 2010, Hydraform International machines were procured for a resettlement project by the Endeavour Mining Corporation.
In 2010, Aumazo Inc., a non-profit organisation, acquired a Hydraform International blockmaking machine that is capable of producing 1,500 bricks per day.
Hydraform International also organised a technician to train labourers on machine usage and maintenance on site.
In 2010, the Krizevac Project, a NGO started the construction of the Mother Teresa Children’s Centre North in Malawi.
[12] In 2012, the Department of Public Works in South Africa elected Hydraform International building systems for a rural housing development located in the Gombani Village in Zimbabwe.
The remoteness of the village meant that Hydraform’s mobile blockmaking systems were suitable solutions.
In 2012, the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) acquired 50 Hydraform machines as a solution to a sustainable housing scheme in under-developed regions.
Hydraform technicians conducted training on how to select soil, use the machines and construct public buildings .
In 2016, the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform unveiled 27 new low-cost homes built using Hydraform machines[16] and bricks.
Hydraform International also provides businesses who have procured their machines with training of skilled and unskilled labourers.
The training academy seeks to address job creation through skills transfer and community engagement.
Due to the interlocking nature of the stabilized soil block, unskilled labour can be utilised in construction thereby empowering rural communities and creating jobs.
Once blocks are manufactured it is "wet cured" for a period of 14–21 days to reach desired strength.
[18][19][20][21][22][23] Hydraform International has a product range of six machines that can develop stabilised soil cement blocks.
The block is made out of a mixture of soil, water and 5% to 10% Portland Cement[24] is required and placed in a Hydraform pan mixer.
The user can identify whether the brick is too moist or too dry based on the number of segment it shatters into.
Hydraulic pressure is used to compress the mixture into a mould of a block with interlocking depressions on its sides.
After the blocks have been developed, a labourer can connect using the grooves in each brick in a vertical and horizontal direction.
A potential benefit is that structural integrity of buildings using interlocking blocks cannot be damaged by termites like timber constructions are in rural Africa.
[29] The Hydraform machines used to develop these interlocking blocks on site need constant maintenance to ensure that they are powered and are regularly monitored for any defects.
