Selected
Climate: Ecosystems + Housing

Housing NOW

Prefabricated, modular, and low-cost housing in Myanmar using innovative bamboo structures.

Team Leader
Raphaël Ascoli
Prefabricated, modular, and low-cost housing in Myanmar using innovative bamboo structures.

The Problem

Myanmar faces conflict, climate shocks, and disasters. Since the 2021 military coup, over 4 million displaced and 120,000 homes burned. In 2025, floods and a 7.7 earthquake destroyed more housing. As needs rise and funding shrinks, scalable solutions are critical. Bamboo, abundant and resilient, enables rapid, low-cost rebuilding.

The Solution

Housing NOW operates a bamboo construction system designed to function under conflict, climate shocks, and funding scarcity. Using locally available bamboo, we deploy three integrated pathways.

Prefabricated structural frames (USD 1,300/unit) are transported through local logistics networks and assembled in one week by five workers. Twenty-six units remained intact after the 2025 magnitude 7.7 earthquake.

Where prefabrication is not viable, we support community-designed housing (USD 2,000/unit), providing funding, procurement, and structural standards while residents lead construction.

To reach areas inaccessible to external actors, we distribute a Burmese-language DIY manual (3,000 printed copies), enabling carpenters to build independently.

In parallel, we construct bamboo clinics, expanding durable healthcare infrastructure where conventional systems are unaffordable or logistically impossible.

Stats

Housing NOW has provided construction solutions to over 163,000 individuals through housing and clinics.

What is the name of your organization?
Blue Temple
What is the name of your solution?
Housing NOW
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Prefabricated, modular, and low-cost housing in Myanmar using innovative bamboo structures.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Bago
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
—
What type of organization is your solution team?
For-Profit
Film your elevator pitch.
—
What specific problem are you solving?
Myanmar faces conflict, climate shocks, and disasters. Since the 2021 military coup, over 4 million displaced and 120,000 homes burned. In 2025, floods and a 7.7 earthquake destroyed more housing. As needs rise and funding shrinks, scalable solutions are critical. Bamboo, abundant and resilient, enables rapid, low-cost rebuilding.
What is your solution?
Housing NOW operates a bamboo construction system designed to function under conflict, climate shocks, and funding scarcity. Using locally available bamboo, we deploy three integrated pathways. Prefabricated structural frames (USD 1,300/unit) are transported through local logistics networks and assembled in one week by five workers. Twenty-six units remained intact after the 2025 magnitude 7.7 earthquake. Where prefabrication is not viable, we support community-designed housing (USD 2,000/unit), providing funding, procurement, and structural standards while residents lead construction. To reach areas inaccessible to external actors, we distribute a Burmese-language DIY manual (3,000 printed copies), enabling carpenters to build independently. In parallel, we construct bamboo clinics, expanding durable healthcare infrastructure where conventional systems are unaffordable or logistically impossible.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
We serve internally displaced families, low-income urban communities, and conflict-affected patients in Myanmar. Prefabricated housing provides rapid, structurally safe shelter for families fleeing violence or disaster, validated by real earthquake performance. Community-led housing transfers construction skills and decision-making power to residents, strengthening long-term resilience. The DIY manual equips carpenters in hard-to-reach or insecure areas to build without external supervision. Our bamboo clinics deliver sustained access to HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria treatment in settlements where formal infrastructure is absent. Together, these pathways reduce dependency on aid while expanding safe housing and healthcare under extreme constraints.

Organization Type:
For-Profit

Headquarters:
Bago, Myanmar

Stage:
Growth

Working In:
Myanmar

Solution Website:
https://www.blue-temple.com/project/housing-now

Solution Team:
Raphaël Ascoli
Raphaël Ascoli
Architect Coordinator