This year, like every year since the inception of Classroom of Hope (COH), we grew. This year though, we also decided to innovate. We decided to use new technology to build sustainably. While fighting the education crisis remains at the heart of our mission, our focus has expanded to include the plastic and climate crises.
Globally, building and construction operations account for roughly 28% of carbon emissions annually. We needed to find a way to keep building schools while also caring about our carbon footprint and helping our planet. Which is why we decided to make significant changes to our programs and start building schools from recycled plastic waste.
Block Solutions technology is carbon neutral, uses recycled plastic waste, and is earthquake resistant. Schools built with this technology are certified to last over 100 years.
In the past year, we did our due diligence and used this technology to build the world’s first Block School in Lombok, Indonesia. We needed to prove the concept to the government of Indonesia as a new option for building. It was a great success. Since demonstrating the concept, we have received endorsement from the Indonesian government to continue building Block Schools and Block Homes. Through this process, we are increasing capacity and training local construction contractors to build with this technology.
Next year will see the strong partnership between Block Solutions and COH build Asia Pacific’s first Block Solutions factory in Lombok, Indonesia. This factory will ensure that locally sourced raw materials, like plastic waste, are used to produce Blocks in a circular economy approach. Once the factory is complete, we will officially launch our new programs: Block Schools and Block Homes, and build 200+ schools and thousands of homes that have yet to be rebuilt since the 2018 earthquakes. We hope this technology scales across Indonesia and Asia for significant environmental and social impact.
It’s been a monumental year. We pivoted and have set our sights towards a big, bold vision to take care of the younger generations and our planet. We have our work cut out for us, but we know we can do this with our incredible team, partners and supporters.
A Letter from our Founders
Duncan Ward
Founder/CEO
Nicola Courtin
Founder/Creative Director