Localworks
Localworks
The Busibo and Namabaale Teachers’ Villages emerged in response to a chronic lack of dignified housing for teachers in rural Uganda, which undermined staff retention and educational quality. Conceived and executed by Localworks, the initiative brought together architects, engineers and community members to design a prefabricated timber housing system adapted to Ugandan realities. The first two developments delivered 52 units, demonstrating how climate-smart construction can also meet social needs.
The EcoPrefab system is based on light-frame timber prefabrication, manufactured off-site and rapidly assembled on-site. It replaces the norm of costly, high-carbon brick-and-cement construction with a lower-carbon, more affordable approach which is quicker to construct. Materials such as lime-sawdust bricks (made from sawdust waste and recycled lime) and boron-treated timber were selected for both performance and circularity. Costs were kept competitive - estimated to be around 5% cheaper than conventional methods - while simplifying design for repeatability. The initiative is funded through project-based contracts with institutional clients, with Localworks providing training to local labourers for delivery and maintenance.
The primary beneficiaries are teachers, historically underserved in housing programs. The 52 units provide stable, well-ventilated homes that enhance retention and strengthen community presence around schools. Dozens of short-term jobs were created for carpenters, masons and labourers, who were trained in timber assembly and finishing techniques. While employment is not continuous, skill transfer has lasting value: workers from Busibo were re-hired at Namabaale with greater autonomy. Community design features, such as landscaping, stormwater management and shared spaces, foster resilience and pride.
By using locally abundant eucalyptus timber and lime-sawdust bricks instead of concrete and fired bricks, the project reduced embodied carbon and made use of biomass waste. Preliminary green building assessments using EDGE indicate a 75% reduction in total carbon emissions per unit compared to conventional construction. Each unit stores approximately 1.5 tonnes of carbon in its timber frame, with timber regrowth cycles allowing replenishment in about 6–7 days across Uganda’s plantations. Materials were chosen for low toxicity and high reuse potential, with boron-treated timber safe at end-of-life, and lime plaster breathable and long-lasting.
Strong design alignment with market realities, cost-competitiveness with conventional construction, and positive feedback from teachers and communities have been central to the project’s success.
52 homes delivered across two villages; cost comparison shows a saving of around 5% versus conventional methods; EDGE tool estimates a 75% carbon reduction; anecdotal evidence from re-hired workers demonstrates skill transfer.
Localworks has refined the EcoPrefab system for greater repeatability and cost efficiency, moving from one-off demonstration buildings toward a replicable housing platform.
Barriers include inconsistent access to dried timber, limited prefabrication ecosystem, absence of timber standards in Uganda’s building code, and the episodic nature of job creation without a project pipeline. Certification and traceability of timber also remain unresolved.
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