Utilization of Bamboo Culm and Earth Materials in Construction for The Provision of Affordable Housing for Domestic Buildings at Mburumbu, Nkanu East L.G.A , Enugu State

Abstract

The study was carried out on the use of bamboo culm and earth materials in building construction in provision of affordable housing for domestic buildings at Mburumbu, Nkanu East Local Government Area, Enugu State. The purpose of the study was to determine the status of the use of bamboo culm and earth materials in construction at Mburumbu, Nkanu East; identifying the factors limiting the use of bamboo culm and earth materials in construction at Mburumbu, and examine the strategies that will improve the use of bamboo culm and earth materials in construction at Mburumbu, Enugu State. Three research questions and three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. A population of 80 respondents, comprising of 20 engineers and 60 craftsmen was used for the study. A structured questionnaire was developed by the researcher and was used as an instrument for data collection. The data collected was analyzed using mean and standard deviation, while t-test statistic was used to test the three hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that there are limitations in the use of bamboo culm for building construction at Mburumbu in Nkanu East L.G.A, Enugu State. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that the use of bamboo and earth materials in building construction should be introduced as part of the curriculum for construction education at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in order to sensitize the students of their potential uses and benefits. The government should also formulate a policy for adapting bamboo and earth materials that require minimal amounts of capital, foreign exchange, make use of available raw materials and skills in small-scale operations. Viable suggestions were also made for further research works.