In one of the poorest areas of Paraguay a woman named Elsa Zaldivar has made a difference. She has gathered the local women and created a way for them to sustain themselves by harvesting the local crop of Loofah and creating a revenue stream for themselves. Originally, the project started out with the women selling loofah based products such as insoles, slippers, mats, and of course loofah sponges with great success. Eventhough her group was experiencing success, Esla wanted a to find a use for the remaining loofah which was being wasted as a during the creation of the products. Working with a local industrial engineer, she devised a way to mix loofah with recycled plastic and corn husks to create a panel that could be used to form the structure for a home. The main benefits of this new building material is that its recycled, its low weight makes it ideal to handle during construction, and its sturdy composition makes it more safe in the event of an earthquake than conventional building materials. Additionally, if the home made from these panels were to collapse during a natural disaster, odds of injury of occupants would be reduced because the material is so much lighter. To top it all off, through various research and experimentation with different processes she has been able to get the price of the material down so that it is at the same price point as conventional material.
Lotsah Loofah
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