Tiny Abod Shelters Provide Humane Housing for Slum Dwellers in Just One Day

With roughly 32 percent of the world's population living in informal communities throughout the globe, the need for sustainable, humane housing is more pressing than ever.

Responding to this, Doug Sharp of BSB Design conceived the tiny Abod Shelter - a sustainable, lightweight home for slum dwellers that can be built by their owners in just one day.

Originally from Des Moines, Iowa, Doug amassed a team of designers to help him with his latest philanthropy project – lightweight shelters that can be easily shipped and erected anywhere in the world. Highly affordable and flexible in design, each shelter can be can be customized to fit each owner’s particular needs. Everything from kitchen and toilet units to end walls, loft expansions and special doors can be added to the core structure.

Mostly constructed out of corrugated metal, a translucent plastic panel can be used to incorporate natural lighting – a boon for slums that typically lack decent access to national electricity grids. Gutters incorporated into the shelters ensure that rainwater is directed away from the tiny homes to improve sanitation and a number of the houses can be linked together to create a small community. A fabulous humanitarian intervention, the first Abod community was constructed just outside of Johannesburg as a test pilot.