In November 2020, Tvasta Manufacturing printed a 600-square-foot home in concrete over the course of 30 days. With improvements, the start-up hopes to cut that time down to about a week.

The build was made possible with investment from Habitat for Humanity’s ShelterTech. The ShelterTech accelerator — run by Habitat’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter and its partners — identifies, nurtures and accelerates start-ups like Tvasta, helping to bring new ideas and technologies to improve low-income housing for families and communities in need of access to decent, affordable homes.

The concrete used in this 3D printing is specially formulated for faster drying times, allowing Tvasta to build these homes more quickly and efficiently than traditional construction, which can sometimes take three to five times longer for a similarly sized structure. Tvasta plans to ramp up operations through partnerships with materials and industrial companies, as well as by licensing their technology to affordable housing developers who they hope can take 3D printed homes to scale across the country. That could translate into many more sustainable, affordable homes in countries like India, where at least a third of urban residents live in informal settlements with inadequate shelter.

“3D printing isn’t a panacea, given land tenure, financing and other key elements that go into affordable housing,” says Patrick Kelley, vice president of Habitat’s Terwilliger Center. “But the technology holds great potential to lower construction costs, save water and reduce material waste by up to 65%.”

Currently, ShelterTech is also working to empower leaders and foster housing innovation in Mexico, Kenya, Southeast Asia and the Andean region of South America.

Camilo first heard about Habitat’s work in the early 1990s. At the time, Habitat Mexico was helping families construct safe and durable homes near his village in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. Cut off from phone service in this remote area near the Guatemalan border, he frequently made the hours-long journey on horseback to their work site to check on their progress, learn about Habitat’s construction program and try to convince them to expand their program to his hometown further south.

His persistence paid off in 1995 when Habitat Mexico partnered with Camilo and his wife, Manuela, to build a home of their own — the first Habitat project in their community.

Camilo eagerly shares a photo of his home dedication, preserved in a pocket-sized plastic photo album, with anyone who asks. For him, the picture is a symbol not only of he and his wife’s long-held dream of homeownership coming true, but also of the ripple effect the home has had in the community over the past 25 years.

Through a translator, Camilo explains in Tzotzil, his native Maya language, that his payments toward the home have been reinvested by Habitat so that more farming families in his village can also build homes.

“If we pay on time, that means the program will continue in the community and that means that other families will have a proper place to live,” he explains. Since his inaugural build, more than 30 families have built a home of their own alongside Habitat — each one spurring the next.

“We are the example of the seed. We grow it, and we need to care for it to grow more and more,” says Camilo.

UN-Habitat predicts that 3 billion people will need adequate shelter by 2030, but making that need tangible — and such a large number relatable — isn’t easy. Habitat for Humanity Bulgaria has answered that challenge with something unexpected: art.

In 2020, as part of a larger campaign to raise awareness of housing issues around the world, Habitat Bulgaria invited 12 artists to translate the challenges and opportunities of rapid urbanization into the language of art. The result is a set of 20 posters designed to deepen Bulgarians’ understanding of housing globally.

“The complexity of housing and urbanization provoked us to seek creative ways to deliver the message and attempt to win the hearts and minds of people,” says Mincho Benov, national director of Habitat Bulgaria.

Initially, Habitat Bulgaria planned to display the pieces in art galleries. Instead, due to COVID-19, the works have been made accessible on their website, hfh.bg, with a poster of the collective works available as a download. Habitat Bulgaria encourages gallery visitors to print and display the poster in their own communities to help raise awareness of the urgent and growing need for safe, decent and affordable housing around the world.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, our homes became schools, offices, restaurants, playgrounds and so much more. Now more than ever, we’re all realizing that a home is more than a shelter. It’s our safety, our prescription for health and the foundation for the futures we build.

Another truth that COVID-19 has brought home is the tremendous balancing act that so many women have faced: working from home or serving as essential workers, often while helping their children navigate virtual school and keeping their families healthy.

Habitat for Humanity has long recognized the critical role women play in their communities as well as their specific barriers to homeownership. That’s why Habitat’s Women Build program brings together future homeowners and dedicated volunteers to help women build a better future for their families and communities.

We invite you to meet four homeowners – Nilda, Christina, Ai and Yessica – and longtime volunteer Teri to learn more about the difference that Habitat and homeownership have made in their lives.

Reaching full potential

Nilda wanted nothing more than to build a healthy home for her family. Air quality issues in her apartment were causing her daughter, Ariana, to have chronic asthma attacks. The family’s apartment was also invaded by roaches and mice that came in from the basement. Ariana was constantly in the hospital, and the medical bills were piling up. “Every time I saw a roach or mice or something like that, it would just drive me crazy,” Nilda says. She tried everything to keep the pests away, but nothing worked.

Christina and her husband, Joe, wanted a healthy home for their family, too. Mushrooms grew in the ceiling of one of their rental homes, and it made their eldest children Joseph and Jozlyn sick. The family moved often, and they often found themselves living in an unhealthy home with issues like black mold.

Both Nilda and Christina knew having a safe and decent home would significantly improve their children’s health. Both women found their solution in Habitat.

Nilda reached out to the Habitat Greater Newburgh affiliate in New York and applied to become a homeowner. Although her first two applications weren’t approved, she worked diligently with support from Habitat to improve her finances. Her third application was approved, and Nilda found herself on the path to homeownership.

Once Nilda and Ariana moved into their new home three years ago, Ariana’s asthma attacks stopped completely. “There were so many things that I had to do to be able to keep my house safe that I no longer have to do,” Nilda says. “It took away so many worries that I had, owning my own house.”

Eleven years ago, Christina contacted Rogue Valley Habitat in Oregon. While her home was under construction, she attended a how-to clinic at the local Lowe’s store to learn construction basics. Later, employees from the store’s volunteer program, known nationally as Lowe’s Heroes, showed up at the Women Build event at her home to help her paint. She says when they arrived it was like “seeing old friends.”

Since moving into their Habitat home, Christina’s kids Joseph and Jozlyn have thrived and enjoy good health, which has allowed them the energy to focus on their studies. Joseph was valedictorian of his high school in 2021. “My kids don’t have to move around anymore,” says Christina. “There’s nothing in this house that’s going to make them sick. I know that they will reach their full potential by us having this house.”

Enough to save and invest

Yessica knew paying an affordable mortgage was the key to being able to provide a stable home for her daughters, Lourdes and Yaritza. They lived in a small trailer in an unsafe neighborhood in southeastern North Carolina. Yessica grew afraid for her family’s safety when there was a homicide nearby. She reached out to Habitat Goldsboro-Wayne to learn more about their homeownership program and applied.

“Before Habitat, I felt insecure,” Yessica says. “Insecure about not having enough money for the month to pay bills or to buy groceries.” In her new home, Yessica’s mortgage payment is less than what she once paid for rent, and not having to worry about being able to pay her bills has allowed her to focus on her career goals. She obtained certifications for a job as a computer numerical control machinist and has gotten her associate’s degree.

Like Yessica, Ai was able to invest in her education after moving into her Habitat home. “I remember at one time, all I wanted was a Habitat house for my kids,” Ai says. “I wanted a house where each of my kids would get their own room and a mortgage I could pay for.” That was eight years ago, when Ai and her two children were sharing a bedroom in her parents’ Wisconsin home.

The newly single mom had made the tough choice to move back in with her parents while she finished her college education. “Those years were really hard,” Ai says, but she believed getting her bachelor’s degree would pay off.

Living in her Habitat home, the elementary school teacher has been able to go back to school and obtain her master’s degree in education. Having an affordable mortgage also allowed her to spend more quality time with her children because she didn’t have to worry about making ends meet every month to pay for her home. “I don’t think I would have been able to be the mom that I am now if I didn’t go through the Habitat program,” she says.

A safe place to shelter

As a registered nurse, Nilda knows that having a safe and decent home plays a critical role in keeping families healthy. She’s grateful to have a home where her family can spread out now that so much of their time is spent inside. “My children have their own space,” she says.

Even with taking every precaution, her son, Alexander, tested positive for COVID-19. Nilda quarantined him in the basement while her daughter, Ariana, stayed in her bedroom on the home’s second floor. “That was a scary moment. We were able to handle it well,” she says. “The house gave us that ability to maintain my son in a space where he was OK. He was isolated, but he didn’t feel like he was closed in.”

During the pandemic, Ai’s home has become a classroom. Brightly colored papers with messages like, “Be kind. Be respectful. Be safe,” hang on her walls. She taught kindergarten and first graders via a video conferencing platform while Angel and Kong attended college and high school virtually upstairs. Her youngest son, 4-year-old Bruce, bounded around the house visiting his family. “It’s been a safe haven for us, and we’ve been healthy,” Ai says of her home.

When Ai reflects on her journey to homeownership, she remembers one of her proudest moments working alongside volunteers to build her home during a Greater Fox Cities Area Habitat Women Build event. “I remember standing there, and I’m just looking at my house, looking at all the women that were working on it,” she says. “I felt so blessed to have all these people helping my kids and I get this house. That was a very happy moment for me.”

Working side by side

Yessica says it felt empowering to work with Women Build volunteers to raise the walls of her home. “I felt proud there were only women working that day because it shows that we can do it,” she says. “We’re capable of doing everything.”

Teri, a volunteer crew leader with Habitat Greater Los Angeles, agrees. Teri has volunteered for more than 12 years and enjoys seeing Women Build volunteers let loose and have fun while helping others.

As a crew leader, Teri greets volunteers and explains what jobs they’ll do to contribute to construction. “We explain how to hammer or drill a nail, but some people are afraid of certain things,” she says. That’s when Teri steps in to help. She encourages volunteers to give something new a try, and if they aren’t comfortable, she’s always happy to help them find something they love.

Full circle

Nilda, Christina, Ai and Yessica were all motivated by the same dream: having a home where their children could be healthy and safe and would thrive. They wanted to nurture their own goals, too, like going back to school and furthering their careers. By building safe and affordable homes with Habitat, these women also built a strong foundation to help them make their dreams a reality, and that’s exactly why Habitat continues to work with women across the country in pursuit of a world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live.

Learn more about Women Build and find out how you can participate.

By design, Habitat for Humanity homes provide a strong foundation for families to flourish.

That foundation begins with homes that are affordable, durable, healthy and easy to maintain for years to come. Habitat house plans are often uniquely crafted to meet the needs of individual communities, with local Habitats across the U.S. building homes inspired by local styles, climate and materials.

During our inaugural Habitat House Design Contest in 2020, generously sponsored by Simpson Strong-Tie, more than 100 Habitat affiliates submitted their plans for sustainable, resilient homes to help families in their communities thrive.

See which Habitat designs were selected as the best in affordable home design and construction: