French Polynesia: Developing Sustainable Materials for Roofing
The fare MTR (Maison Territoriale de Reconstruction), a kit-house designed to be hurricane proof, has become the major form of social housing in French Polynesia. The majority of the materials to build these houses are imported, with impacts on their economic cost as well as their carbon footprint.
In an effort to reduce carbon emissions, promote local industry and create jobs, previous research on the MTRs was devoted to identifying viable alternative materials that might be locally produced. Two materials stood out as promising but require further study: One is the traditional vegetal roof material of pandanus leaves. Pandanus roofs have become expensive and are now used mainly for high end tourist-oriented construction. The other material, coir board, utilizes an otherwise waste product from the copra industry in the outer islands to produce building panels. Our goal is to build on previous research, develop feasibility assessments to explore the industrial capabilities of these two products, and to explore the functional steps needed for a pilot program to begin in French Polynesia. |
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