Echale a tu casa

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¡Échale! a tu casa is an assisted self-build program that provides sustainable community development through social housing production. Families build their own homes then pay for the houses slowly over time.

Market Opportunity:

• In Mexico 5.7 million families live in overcrowded houses made of unstable or dangerous materials. (source: Sociedad Hipotecaria Federal, 2009)

• Some 25.8 million people, or almost a fifth of Mexico’s population, do not live in physically stable, safe homes and are in need of adequate housing.

Unique Business Solution:

• Business Model: Echale a tu casa (which means “put your heart into your home”) is commissioned by the National Social Housing Production Program to help people build their own homes. Homes are made of Adoblock, an economic brick with high strength and excellent thermal and acoustic properties. Echale is committed to building communities and not just houses; to build strong communities, Echale implements a socially inclusive process and provides training, financial education, social organization, and technology.

• Competitive Advantage:

  • Echale has over 25 years of experience in the housing market.

  • Echale holds a patent for the terrapress equipment that is used to make the Adoblock.

  • Echale has a competitive price advantage; for an affordable price program participants can improve their home or build a quality home in just one month–a process that would otherwise take 10-15 years.

  • Echale builds sustainable homes that create savings for the homeowner.

• Social Housing Production Units (SHPUs), a group composed of community members and homeowners, are responsible for the implementation of the self-build process. SHPUs serve as builders and developers, creating eco-friendly construction materials and building homes directed by the inhabitants.

Environmental & Social Impacts:

• Echale homes are made of Adoblock, an adobe brick that serves as a natural insulation source thereby reducing reliance on heating and cooling devices.

• More than 90% of each Adoblock is made from local soil, which reduces waste and the use of environmentally harmful materials.

• Echale homes include rainwater harvesting systems. A purification plant is shared by 100 homes to purify the harvested water for drinking purposes.

• Homes have biodigesters–sealed units that do not leak to the ground. The biodigester produces fertilizer and methane that can be used to operate a stove or for other energy needs.

• Echale teaches homeowners and community members how to service the biodigesters, maintain the photovoltaics and sewage systems, repair any broken walls, and tend the gardens.

• Echale believes the best way to build social capital is through social inclusion. Echale creates a housing committee, composed of families, that holds regular meetings; the committee is empowered to develop the housing program, interact with other communities, NGOs, and the government, and replicate the social franchise. This leaves intangible capital within the community, ensuring that the community knows how to organize itself to address any issues they may encounter.

Successes:

• Since 2002 Echale has built and improved almost 11 thousand houses.

• Echale has received numerous awards and honors, including:

  • the Technologies for Social Housing Award from the Ministry of Social Development,

  • the Latin American Center for Social Development Award,

  • the National Housing Award,

  • selection as a finalist for Iniciativa Mexico, and

  • the Inspirational Man of the Year award from Conde Nast, Mexico.

Future Plans & Challenges:

• The interest rate for social housing in Mexico is extremely high (80%) and not affordable for families that participate in Echale’s program. Currently, Echale depends on government and philanthropic organizations to provide prospective homeowners with loans at lower rates. Echale has created a social fund to finance its housing projects and provide loans directly to families. With the social fund, loan financing will be more dependable and Echale can achieve greater scale.

• Echale a tu casa has a construction capacity of 5 thousand homes per year. In addition to having this hands-on presence in the communities, Echale will develop 100 social franchises per year in the next three years, for a total of 120 thousand homes.

Partnering with New Ventures:

• New Ventures Mexico helped transform Echale from a non-profit into a social enterprise. The New Ventures Mexico mentors recommended that, in order to make a more profound impact in the construction of social housing, Echale become a for-profit business and operate like a business, with a business plan, clear goals and targets, proper accounting, and competitive salaries.

• The mentors rigorously reviewed Echale’s business plan and numbers and, over the course of a year, helped Echale polish their business plan and management team.

Financial information on this company has not been included for confidentiality reasons. Please click here to learn how you can receive more information about this company.

Profile Updated: February 2011

Echale a tu casa attended the New Ventures Global Investor Forum: Green Opportunities in Tomorrow’s Markets in New York City on April 6, 2011 along with five other innovative New Ventures environmental enterprises. Click here to read about the Global Investor Forum and to learn more about upcoming regional investor forums.