With the same intent of supporting in providing affordable housing, along the attempt to support the local economy, the third panel discussed catalyzing market systems aligned to housing value chains.
The session was moderated by Samar Farhat, architect, urban planner, and HLP & Urban Recovery Consultant for Habitat for Humanity. The panel hosted:
- Toufic Sanan, a civil engineer, member of the Board of the Order of Engineers in Beirut, and the head of the Guidance Committee at the Arab Union of Engineers.
- Ghassan Fayad, an Interior Architect, and founder of Blat El Atiq in 2017.
- Ziad Abi Chaker, CEO of Cedar Environmental – Lebanon, an Environmental and Industrial Engineer, and winner of the 2013 International Energy Globe Award.
- Elie Lotfi, previous Environmental Officer and current Head of Project Development at Rene Mouawad Foundation RMF.
Habitat for Humanity has recently developed a regional MENA strategy driven by its theory of change to respond to the urgent needs for affordable housing and urban recovery. The strategy for Lebanon has identified three main pillars to respond to the pressing demands of the housing sector in Lebanon, through strengthening equitable access to safe and resilient homes and basic services, supporting displaced and host populations to recover and build neighborhood resilience, and catalyzing market systems aligned to the housing value chain.

Since the market covers a spectrum of responses to crises, there is a need to understand its basic components as the access (demand side), availability (supply side), reform or market policies, norms, and rules, and services and infrastructure, to understand and read the market, and to consider the type of markets to be intervening in, whether:
- Using markets, through harnessing existing markets, including local procurement of materials (supply).
- Supporting markets by enabling access to what is needed in local markets, and training construction workers in building back safer approaches (supply).
- Or developing markets, which is a long-term approach to change the nature of a market system and make it more efficient, inclusive, or resilient, through strengthening the housing market value chain to allow for more affordable housing, providing advanced training for skilled people around “build back safer”, and introducing new, more resilient construction materials (supply).
Different categories are included when considering the market system, such as commodities and materials, labor, housing and land, financial services, legal services, and utilities (such as energy and water).
The panel focused mainly on locally produced and sourced construction materials, and laborers involved in the construction sector, whether skilled or unskilled labor, along with highlighting the challenges faced and the opportunities to be considered, especially at a critical time of multiple crises, where crises represent windows for opportunities, and with the need to support sectors as industry involved in the production of construction materials, along the need to secure foreign capital. Supporting local businesses and upgrading the technical and non-technical capacities of laborers increase the employability of ill-equipped youth,along with improving the quality of construction works through building back better.
Construction Materials
The rationale behind using local materials is directly linked to the economic crisis and to the environment. There is a need to stimulate and encourage local industry, and locally produced materials in the construction sector, due to its positive economic impact in securing foreign capital.
Thus, in his intervention, Toufic Sanan highlighted that the lack of a housing policy in Lebanon (only housing loans provided), the existing economic model benefitting real estate and developers, resulted in the loss of foreign capital, and in a large stock of large size apartments (varying between 300 sqm and 400 sqm) not considered affordable housing. Toufiq also highlighted the need to provide a master plan to organize housing and other services, and also to be able to protect the environment from excessive activities.

He also discussed occurring opportunities, with the devaluation of the Lebanese pound, through encouraging and orienting people towards industry. However, some challenges exist due to the shortage in services provided (such as electricity and water), the lack of raw materials, the absence of a transportation system, and the lower cost for imported construction materials, which favored the import over the local production.
Thus, Toufic considers that to be able to encourage locally produced materials and secure foreign capital, there is a need to implement customs policy and provide a level of protection for industrial activities, and a need to consider local labor, engage them in the construction sector and train them. There is an opportunity to encourage industry, however, this should be accompanied by financial and political reforms, in addition to the need to secure services and infrastructure, transportation systems, and protection for local materials.
When discussing construction materials, not only raw materials such as wood and stone (including sand, gravel, and cement), are referred to, but also manufactured and composite materials, in addition to innovation and creativity. On this matter, Ghassan Fayad, shared his experience in the industry, through founding Blat El Atiq, as a way to revive one of the vanishing traditional handicrafts, the colored cement tiles. As it used to be very popular prior to the civil war, Ghassan reused old techniques to manufacture colored cement tiles (or old mosaic tiles) in a modern approach, whether through the use of copper manufacturing molds for various patterns, or old machines. Ghassan deplored how the mosaic is currently used as a secondary tile covered with other finishing materials, although being a heavy-duty finishing material.
He explained that all raw materials used in the manufacturing are local, except for the coloring powder. However, the major challenge faced in addition to shortage in electricity, is the shortage in cement, and the increase in its price. The process of manufacturing one tile takes up to 15 min.
Ghassan explained that the cost varies between the colored cement tiles and mosaic tiles, based on the pattern, also based on the thickness of the tiles. The process can be mechanicalized to increase the production of tiles. However, it can result in losing the artistic sense of manual production. Environmentally, and economically speaking, a major success in manufacturing these tiles was perceived in the repairs occurring after the Beirut blast.

These tiles were used in almost all old houses and apartments in Beirut. Due to the flexibility in creating similar/matching patterns to existing old ones, repairs occurred easily and substituted the need for complete removal of a given pattern. Moreover, broken glass from the blast area was reused in manufacturing mosaic tiles.
Material is an essential element for construction linked to economic consideration, and also linked to innovation and creativity, and environmental considerations. Promoting local procurement of construction materials reduces the carbon footprint, and positive environmental impact occurs through reusing and recycling materials.

Ziad Abi Chaker, specialized in solid waste, shared his experience in developing and recycling materials following their vision of zero waste to landfills and incinerators. With the fact that waste represents a resource and not a problem, they developed a technique to recycle single-use plastic (as bags and packaging), and create boards, used a s profiles and beams, to replace steel beams due to their increasing cost. They also used this plastic in manufacturing toilet cabins, and started designing modular units from recycled materials, with their aim
to provide temporary housing units for emergencies, and they succeeded in implementing prefab houses. They also succeeded in profile plastic, by manufacturing recycled seating and benches, in addition to the use of plastic in manufacturing stands for solar panels, vertical farming units and manhole covers.
Ziad considers that plastic as a raw material, represents an opportunity, and can replace cement and concrete, due to their negative environmental impact, resulting from bad extraction and quarries. However, the major challenge facing recycling is the lack of energy, and its high cost.
Labors (Shelter-related labor skills)
This category contributes directly to catalyzing market systems by analyzing the skill gap in the construction and upgrading of shelters and building the technical and non-technical capacities of laborers. The outcome will not only improve the quality of the construction works (build back safer), it also increases the employability of ill-equipped youth.
Elie Lotfi shared an overview of RMF’s various programs, and their experience in supporting the market related to the construction sector and training construction workers in building back better/safer and ensuring the supply required for laborers, and also in supporting local small and medium enterprises MSMEs (workshops, materials…).
One of RMF’s initiatives is the technical institute responsible for providing TVETTechnical vocational and educational trainings. courses, providing job opportunities for beneficiaries, in addition to building capacities for MSMEs. With the economic crises, and the increasing need to secure income for Lebanese people, holistic approach programs on multiple axes were implemented, including development such as cash for work, food for assets, employment intensive programs, including the construction sector.

During the last couple of years, RMF was able to benefit a number of beneficiaries through short term cash for work. The process followed is usually market based, as they collect data for the required assessment based on small to medium enterprises skill needs, and they identify curriculum for identified topics.
As for building capacities, they supported a number of MSMEs, through cash or in-kind contributions. Minjara, a platform for wood work in the area is one example, that includes building skills, and machinery, and platform to support in supplying for local and external markets. However, the main challenges facing MSMEs are infrastructure, production support, access to capital, access to market, IT and accounting, business registration, entrepreneurship and diversity. Between 2019 and 2021, the economic crisis presented an opportunity, since due to the increasing need for employment, additional interest in construction activities occurred and Lebanese laborers were encouraged towards activities in the construction sector.
The discussions tackled ways to support the local economy through the market aligned to the housing value chain, along the need to promote localization (produced and sourced materials), and strengthening local actors involved in construction activities. It also considered investing in building capacity of individual laborers and companies and enhancing the quality of their services, which can result in uplifting standards of living for vulnerable people through building back better or safer, without neglecting the importance of innovation and best practices whether through labor workforce or locally produced and sourced materials.
The panel highlighted the need to change local behaviors and practices toward the economy and the environment, the importance of creating networks among the various actors involved, and map and assess our market, to fill the gap in the construction sector, create jobs for skilled/unskilled laborers, and support local SMEs, face challenges in scaling up their business, while ensuring the “do no harm” and reducing the carbon footprint, with both economic and environmental tackled.
In conclusion, Habitat for Humanity considers catalyzing the housing market system in Lebanon as one of the main pillars within their strategy for the coming years. Habitat will soon conduct a study on the market aligned to the housing value chain, at the regional level, and the national level for Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.
