UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cape Coast, the southern part of Ghana has a hot and humid climate. Building is usually done using stone blocks or clay bricks, but in 2013 Benjamin Bessy (ph) opened a laterite brick factory. He says laterite is cheaper and better at keeping houses cool.</s>BENJAMIN BESSY (ph): I (inaudilbe) brick factory goes to help my people to have better and at the same time affordable houses to live in.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Growing up in a brick home, Bessy (ph) dreamed of one day making bricks. The first brick kiln her built was for his mother.</s>BESSY (ph): The difference is that with brick made of laterite it's cheaper than the brick made from clay, because brick made out of laterite is air dried, but with clay you have to fire to get the desired quality. And to get that you either have to use firewood, which is not acceptable at the moment in this country, because of depletion of the forest.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bessy (ph) says he worked as a shipping agent for 28 years and started his business after retiring. He brought machines and now contracts people to bring him the laterite soil from the hills.</s>BESSY (ph): We use this and then we add fire to this. We add cement. The cement we use is very minimum, between 6 and 9 percent. Then we add water and then (inaudible).</s>UNIDENTIIFED FEMALE: Bessy (ph) says the Ghanaians are willing to use bricks, but there are still obstacles to overcome.</s>BESSY (ph): It has not been easy at all, because to get funding from bankers is highly impossible. The demands are so many. Even after you have satisfied the interest, which is killing, even to acquire land it is a headache. This is one of the buildings being put up with our bricks in Cape Coast. The companies have a good future and I myself will want to put up a factory in at least eight regions within the next five years to encourage more people to use the brick.
African Startup: Ghanaian Laterite Bricks