IT was a dream Rowena Bublo, 48, and her husband longed for: a house they can call their own. She couldn't help but be nostalgic as she recalls how excited her husband was at the prospect of having their own house.

"My husband looked forward to this house, one that is concrete and has no leaking roof. While I'm sad that he didn't get to live here, I know he is happy that we now have a house where we can sleep comfortably," Rowena said.

Her husband died in a car crash even before they could start with their sweat equity. Sweat equity requires potential unit owners to contribute to building their houses through various forms of labor that range from construction work to administrative work.

Rowena's family is just among the 322 who benefitted from Habitat for Humanity's housing project in Silay City, Negros Occidental. Built using Cement Bamboo Frame (CBF) Technology, the house has proven to be disaster-resilient as it survived torrential rains and violent winds of Typhoon "Odette" in December 2021.

CBF Technology, developed by Hilti Foundation and Base Bahay Foundation Inc., is a prefabricated frame system accredited by the Accreditation of Innovative Technologies for Housing. It uses load-bearing bamboo with metal connections and mortar cement plaster. This system has been tested for resistance to earthquakes, typhoons, fire, and insect infestation. CBF is not only disaster-resilient and environmentally friendly but also offers shelter innovation.

The Negros Occidental Impact 2025 Project

In 2019, Habitat for Humanity and the Hilti Foundation forged a partnership to bring the use of disaster-resilient CBF Technology to scale and help address the housing gap in Negros Occidental. The Negros Occidental Impact 2025 (NOI25) project aims to build 10,000 housing units in sustainable communities that are clean, green, safe, disaster-resilient, and progressive for the most vulnerable families.

Silay City is the pilot site of NOI25.

"The project is part of the Silay City government's relocation program that aims to create a community for 534 families within the Bonbon Village Phase 3. The land is part of the property owned by the City of Silay. The Bonbon Village Phase 3 has a total area of 76,731.73 sqm, of which portions are allocated for open spaces, community facilities, and marketplace," Mardi Mapa-Suplido, Habitat for Humanity Philippines CEO explained.

Three more sites are identified as priority locations including San Carlos City with 230 units submitted for Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development accreditation and another 280 units under project development. Another 230-unit housing project in La Carlota is also under project development.

The government estimated that the country's current housing requirements are at 6.7 million units, which could balloon further to 22 million by 2040 if not addressed.

Of the many potential project sites, Habitat for Humanity selected the province of Negros Occidental as the pilot area because of three main reasons: there are about 166,000 informal settler families in the province; it is disaster-prone, and bamboos are predominant in the area.