By Aida Franco de Lima and Paulo Bogler | H2FOZ
As it celebrates its 110th anniversary, Foz do Iguaçu looks back on its countless achievements and looks to a future with enormous challenges as well. How can we transform the city of the Triple Frontier, which welcomes citizens from all over the world, attracted by the world-famous Iguaçu Falls, and make everyday life compatible with sustainability? After all, as has already been said here in this H2FOZ, "Foz's biodiversity is not just made up of waterfalls".
Some initiatives by ordinary citizens should be praised by the city and replicated. Such as the case of the glass house in Vila C, a project started in 2020 by the couple Dóris Dias (50) and Lopes (54), which needs help to be completed and, who knows, inspire other families. In this project alone, 20 thousand glass bottles were no longer disposed of incorrectly, after all, residents do not always send them for selective collection. Often, they become waste or are thrown in a corner, even serving as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
In addition to other common construction materials, the couple used Styrofoam to help fill the spaces between the bottles. When thrown into nature, this product does not decompose, but instead transforms into small particles, which is highly polluting.
Furthermore, since this is a project based on the reuse of various materials, if the project is well organized, it is possible to find a new purpose for construction waste, which normally ends up in dumpsters. It is estimated that up to 33% of the value of a construction project ends up being transformed into rubble. And much of this could have a different purpose, like Dóris and Lopes' house. They are fighting to finish it and fulfill the dream that many Brazilians have, which is to have a roof over their heads.
It all started when Dóris, who works as a social worker, and Lopes, a stocker, decided to get married at the end of 2019, after being together for a long time. With her finances tight, she decided to make the party decorations out of recyclable materials. After a while, she noticed that there was a huge amount of bottles that needed a final destination. She researched what to do with all that waste and found that in Argentina and Santa Catarina there were people building houses using bottles instead of bricks.
And if the person who gets married wants a house, and she and her husband were renting, why not build a house out of those bottles too? “I looked at my husband, he looked at me and said: 'That look you gave me, I'll have to keep!'”
Dóris' parents donated space on their land, and the foundations of the house began to be built. The community contributed by donating bottles, other materials needed for the construction, and even by raising funds. However, it was during the pandemic that the project, which was moving forward at an accelerated pace, suddenly had its handbrake pulled.
“We still need to build a roof, plaster, and floor. But we already have the infrastructure for water, electricity, and sewage. We tried to find partnerships, but so far we haven’t been able to find them,” explains Dóris. She is currently recovering from surgery at her mother’s house, and her husband is working part-time in another city.
“I really want to finish this house, so I can move in,” he says. “I’ve looked for businesspeople, even at university. But they don’t seem to care. We can get a lot out of recycling, like building houses and doing other activities, and I and other people need support. A lot of people encourage me to keep going.”
- Dóris emphasizes that at the current stage she no longer needs bottles, but rather basic construction materials: cement, sand, lime, ceramics, wood for roofing, windows, doors, toilets, stone... “If anyone has any to donate, even if it is used, that’s fine. I would be happy if I could get it. Half a bag of lime might not be enough for someone who has just finished a project, but for us it would be a gift!”
Dóris dreams of transforming the house, once finished, into a place to visit to inspire other people to reuse materials. The space is 85m² and when finished will have a suite, a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room combined with kitchen, laundry room and garage.
Anyone wishing to help with donations in kind or any material can contact Dóris via social media or WhatsApp:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100038993722581
https://www.instagram.com/casa_de_vidro_doris
Tik Tok: @dorisdias45
Whats: 45 9964-9786
