China

Context at a glance

Habitat homeowner children in school in Dongrong village

China has become a global economic power in recent years. Yet an estimated 200 million Chinese people – 16% of the population – live on less than the equivalent of one US dollar a day each. With so many families, especially in rural areas, surviving on subsistence incomes, achieving decent housing is a major challenge.

A typical rural home is constructed with earth and wood supplemented with a tile or thatched roof. The rooms are usually dark with little or no ventilation. Families make trips to communal wells for water. Electricity is common in most areas, but toilet and bathing facilities are not.

Habitat for Humanity programme

Habitat for Humanity's operations in China began in Kunming, in the country's southwest, in 2000. The work has spread into neighbouring provinces through strategic partnerships.

Habitat works in rural areas in China, building houses with red brick and stone and compressed earth blocks. A flat roof is preferred as homeowners can use the space both for drying grain and for collecting rain water. Houses are about 70 sq. m. in size, and are suitable for three to six people.

Habitat builds houses in groups, normally about three at a time. Construction takes place over about seven weeks. The average loan repayment period is five years.

Back to list of countries