https://olc.worldbank.org/content/cobblestone-streets-cities-ethiopiahttps://citiesalliance.org/newsroom...ting-jobs-and-empowering-ethiopias-urban-poorGermans came to Ethiopia to train 150 pavers and 1150 chiselers and trainers in 2007. From 2012-2015, Ethiopians constructed 350 km of cobblestone roads in over 140 cities at a cost of 58 million euros.
In the capital of Oromia, the cost of a cobblestone paved road was just 15 euros per square meter. A 200 m road, costs no more than 21,500 euros.
The three main steps of cobblestone road paving include:
Quarrying
Extracting raw material from a quarry near the city
Chiseling
Transforming the raw material into cobblestones
Paving
Laying the cobblestones
The heavy and capital intensive machinery required to build the asphalt roads that we currently use across Somalia make it cost prohibitive to pave roads in most places, especially rural villages.
Benefits of cobblestone paved roads
Far more durable and lower maintenance than asphalt roads
Cobblestones are reusable
Unlike asphalt, cobblestone roads are permeable, allowing water to penetrate the surface. This decreases flooding and replenishes groundwater stocks.
Significantly reduces dust and flooding which, in turn, reduces respiratory and waterborne illnesses like malaria and cholera
Provides charcoal workers alternative and environmentally friendly employment
Increases land value and promotes business along new roads
Teaches local municipal governments how to manage their own development projects due to the low costs and decentralized nature of the industry
Keeps money in the local economy since everything is made and sourced locally whereas asphalt flows money out through purchases of oil and machinery from different countries
Decreases public transportation costs
Provides employment for previously unemployed women and youth
Community driven so that locals have a stake in road quality as well as the skills to maintain it
Topic: Cobble stone roads employing 0.5M ethiopians - kenya need this (Read 4999 times)