About US

EarthEnable is on a mission to solve the housing crisis in Africa through our sustainable, affordable, and healthy home solutions.


FROM FLOORS TO PLASTERS TO FULL HOMES, EARTHENABLE IS TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES AND REVOLUTIONIZING THE HOUSING INDUSTRY.

Africa is facing a housing crisis:

1.

8

BN

people live in homes that JEOPARDIZE THEIR HEALTH AND SAFETY

400

M+

additional homes are needed by 2050

The need for safe, affordable climate-friendly and resilient housing is urgent – and growing.

With EarthEnable, we’re revolutionizing housing in Africa to be healthy, affordable, resilient and beneficial to the planet.

Everyone deserves a home to be proud of, in a thriving community. Together, we can make that a reality.

OUR VISION

Healthy homes for people, communities, and the planet.

OUR MISSION

EarthEnable’s mission is to revolutionize the rural housing industry through our innovative, affordable and sustainable products to create healthier and safer homes within thriving communities.

OUR MODEL

We combine locally sourced materials, innovative products, and climate-positive construction with a market-driven approach. Profitable markets keep operations running, while results-based financing and climate funds help reach underserved areas. By training local masons and partnering with community entrepreneurs, we’re tackling the housing crisis while creating economic opportunity—but we cannot do it alone.

Whether through a financial contribution or a strategic partnership, your support helps us reach underserved communities and scale lasting impact.
Join us in funding a better future—get involved today.

CONTACT US

OUR VALUES

Lead with Love.
– We set the bar for customer care, and exceed their expectations every step of the way.
– We treat everyone with the fairness, empathy, and concern with which we want to be treated.
– We give each other the benefit of the doubt, trusting each other to have the humility to support and the vulnerability to be supported.

Do Your Best and Never Give Up.
– We are “all in” to achieve our vision, relentlessly innovating to do what’s never been done.
– We are accountable to ourselves, our customers, our team, and our planet.
– We embrace failure as a way to grow, evolve and create more impact.
– Our optimism drives us every day, believing we can do more than the previous day.

Embody Fairness and Integrity.
– We walk the talk and do the right thing, living the world we envision.
– We question the status quo, understanding that many systems are ubiquitous but unfair.
– We remember that with great power comes great responsibility and constantly aim to decentralize power and advance equity, giving as much as we take.
– We are responsible stewards of our resources; our impact depends on it.

Work as One, Work with Joy.
– We prioritize team success over individual success and go out of our way to be the wing beneath each others’ wings.
– We work hard and work together, to achieve our most ambitious goals and dreams.
– We understand our interconnectedness, that our team, partners, customers, and planet all thrive together. One Earth, one EarthEnable.
– We celebrate each other and have fun together!

SUPPORT OUR WORK – DONATE TODAY

With your help, more families can have a safe, healthy, sustainable home

DONATE NOW

WE BUILD HOMES,

FROM THE EARTH, UP

WHAT WE DO

FLOORS & SEALANTS

Earthen flooring is an ancient flooring technique that has been revived and modernized in recent years, made of natural building materials that can be sourced locally (gravel, laterite, sand, clay and water).

Earthen materials are compacted and then sealed with a layer of drying oil to form a resin seal on the floor that is cleanable, durable and environmentally friendly. This offers much-needed protection and sanitation from parasites (such as jiggers), germs and poor-quality air caused by dust.

A study in Mexico found that a clean floor reduces parasitic infections by 78% and diarrhea by 49%.

Read more

Our proprietary flax-oil-based sealant is green, non-toxic, and free from the harmful fumes found in traditional linseed oil.

This innovation means strong, healthy floors that cost 70% less than concrete and emits 96% less carbon, making safe, high-quality flooring accessible to more families than ever before.

PLASTERS & PAINTS

Our wall finishes offer much-needed protection to the elements, water, insects, rats and mold infestations. They are breathable, they bind with the earthen substrate and are long-lasting as a result.

We also believe that homes should be personal and beautiful.

Our products bring warmth and character to every home, with naturally colored and customizable finishes to fit the customer’s tastes that are as healthy as they are durable.

HOUSING & COMMUNITIES

Our sustainable, low-cost housing solutions are revolutionizing the building industry in East Africa by addressing key areas in design, finance, climate resilience, and economic opportunities.

Our innovative, low-carbon home designs utilize hyperlocal materials, such as earthen walls and floors, stone foundations, and timber roofing, which are also resilient to seismic activity. 


They form part of a broader neighborhood design that, in partnership with local government, includes shared infrastructure and wastewater systems, providing healthy and sustainable living conditions. This supports in building thriving communities – with healthy homes being the foundations.

Read more

By partnering with local banks, we have created housing finance models that enable low-income earners to repay $20–50 monthly over 10 years.

Income-generating activities, such as greenhouse farming, are incorporated into the developments, to enhance residents’ economic resilience.

We’re committed to exploring financing models—including Results-Based Financing—that center community and drive impact. See how we’re partnering with people to create safe, lasting homes and stronger communities.

WATCH THE VIDEO TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR HOUSING INITIATIVE

OUR IMPACT

200

K+

people’s lives impacted

35

K+

housing solution projects complete or in progress

1

K+

jobs created in Eastern Africa

19

TN+

carbon emissions SAVED
At a glance:

Based in Nyamata, Rwanda. Working in Rwanda, Kenya, & Uganda.

Co-founded the Local Building Materials Think Tank with the Rwanda Housing Authority that wrote the standards for building with adobe blocks, legalizing this technology in Rwanda.

Our proprietary earthen floor is 70% more affordable and emits 96% less carbon than concrete.

Developed training curriculum for masons to learn to build our products to earn a livelihood of 2-3x the median income.

HEAR FROM OUR CUSTOMERS

Turning funding into impact

Solving the rural housing crisis through private sector engagement.

Every dollar invested in housing can and should lead to real, lasting change.

This is why we are spearheading a Results-Based Financing (RBF) fund for rural housing across Africa. Results-Based Financing (also known as Performance Based Contracts) turn funding from governments, aid organizations, and other partners into real impact by making it financially viable for private sector companies (including but not limited to EarthEnable) to serve the world’s poorest families.

Through this fund, both customers and donors share the payment to the implementor after the implementor proves they have achieved a measurable result—completed homes, better living conditions, and stronger community infrastructure. This approach drives efficiency, encourages innovation, engages a multitude of private sector companies fairly competing, and empowers communities to take an active role in shaping their future.

By aligning funding with impact, we’re not just building houses—we’re helping build thriving, self-sustaining communities.

Learn more about Results-Based Financing:

GPRB

GPRBA is a global partnership program in the World Bank Group. Through a diverse portfolio of projects, GPRBA funds, designs, demonstrates and documents results-based financing (RBF) approaches to improve the delivery of basic services in developing countries.

DOWNLOAD OUR RBF POLICY MEMO

HOW WE DO IT

Our model is literally rooted in community, works with any type of earth and easily scalable—all people need to get started is earth.

We train, resource and support local masons and sales people to build and sell our products.

Our approach:

GAME-CHANGING PRODUCTS
TRAINING AND BUSINESS-BUILDING
FINANCING
POLICY CHANGE
SCALE

We create ultra-affordable, sustainable, and high-quality earthen housing solutions. Our team is always innovating—testing, refining, and improving construction techniques to make sure our homes are durable, healthy and safe.

Our proprietary earthen floor is 80 percent more affordable and emits 96 percent less carbon than concrete.

STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT REPLACING A DIRT FLOOR WITH A CLEAN WITH REDUCES PARASITIC INFECTIONS BY 78% AND DIARRHEA BY 49%.

We don’t just build homes—we build skills.

We train masons in core skills, from materials testing to treatment, construction and business management, and salespeople to become experts in customer service, sales, and collections.

We support future micro-franchisees, helping them grow strong, independent businesses that make a real difference in their communities.

35K+ HOUSING SOLUTION PROJECTS COMPLETE OR IN PROGRESS.
1K+ JOBS CREATED IN EASTERN AFRICA.

Great housing should be within reach for everyone.

That’s why we partner with local institutions such as microfinance banks, local banks, SACCOs and cooperatives to offer flexible payment plans, low-cost mortgages, and innovate housing cooperative models, results-based financing mechanisms, and public sector partnerships for utilities.

OUR GOAL? TO MAKE SAFE, SUSTAINABLE HOMES TRULY AFFORDABLE.

We’re ensuring that earthen construction is safe by developing rigorous standards and guidelines.

BY WORKING WITH GOVERNMENTS AND INDUSTRY LEADERS, WE’RE ENSURING THAT EARTH-BASED HOMES ARE STRONG, RELIABLE, AND CLIMATE-RESILIENT.

We know that one company will not solve this problem, but an industry will solve this problem.

We are actively working with several partners who have scaled our products and processes to new geographies where they already have set up operations and sales networks.

We are actively seeking additional partners to scale our impact by selling the proprietary materials, training, processes, and quality assurance services needed to EarthEnable.

Step30 is a Taiwan-based NGO operating in Kitale, Kenya. One of their programs treated jiggers – a parasite that nests in dirt floors and burrows into the skin of children, causing painful infections.

Upon learning EarthEnable had a low-cost floor, they partnered with us to train local masons to use local materials to build our floors and plasters. They now independently operate, having served hundreds of customers.

PARTNER WITH US

How you can get involved:

We have a scalable solution to the housing crisis—an issue that impacts over 1.8 billion people across the globe today, and billions more to come. But we cannot make it a reality alone.

It’s critical to have partners who can super-charge our model—and that’s where YOU come in.

Policymakers & Bilateral Institutions

Are you a policymaker interested in solving the housing crisis in a climate-resilient and friendly way?

Interested in creating a standard or guidelines for earth construction for your country or partnering with us to extend affordable financing, utility subsidies, or RBFs to low-income families?

Let’s work together to replicate, and scale our model for lasting impact.

CONTACT US
Mission-Aligned Organizations

Does your work touch rural communities, through health, livelihoods, climate resilience, or social justice?
Housing connects to it all.

EarthEnable partners with like-minded organizations in various places to train masons to build our products, and provide ongoing support.

Let’s team up to build stronger communities.

CONTACT US
Innovators & Technical Experts

Do you have the expertise to help advance our products and construction methods?

Let’s join forces to push the boundaries of affordability and sustainability, and create even greater impact.

CONTACT US
Funders, Friends & Supporters

If you believe everyone deserves a safe, healthy home as part of a thriving community, you can help make it happen.

DONATE TODAY

SUPPORT OUR WORK – DONATE TODAY

With your help, more families can have a safe, healthy, sustainable home

DONATE NOW

Meet the Team

Our team is dedicated to transforming housing with scalable, sustainable solutions that create lasting impact.

Get to know us.
Gayatri Datar

Co-Founder and CEO

Gayatri Datar is the co-founder and CEO of EarthEnable. Prior to founding EarthEnable, her experience in international development has spanned the private, public, and NGO sectors with a focus on monitoring and evaluation, impact investing/social entrepreneurship, energy access, and agriculture.

Gayatri has served as a Senior Consultant at Dalberg Global Development Advisors and held roles with the World Bank, the Government of Liberia’s Department of Revenue, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the International Finance Corporation, and grassroots NGOs in India, Namibia, Nicaragua, Albania, and the United States.

She holds a BA in Economics from Harvard College, an MPA/ID from the Harvard Kennedy School, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she was an Arjay Miller Scholar.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
JANE OTIMA

Board Member

Nathalie Mpaka

Board Member

Anant Gupta

Board Member

Sylvia Mwangi

Board Member

Julie McBride

Board Chair

senior team
Muthoni Karimi

Chief Operations Officer

Rosie Goldrick

Chief Technical Officer

Daksh Sikri

Chief Finance Officer

Lina Ng’inja

Chief of Staff

Edouard A Cyuzuzo

Rwanda Managing Director

Douglas Dullo

Uganda Managing Director

BENJAMIN KLEMM

Sales and Growth Director

Rick Zuzow

Co-Founder

EarthEnable win 2025 Skoll Award for Social Innovation

EarthEnable is proud to be awarded this award from the Skoll Foundation for driving inspiring solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.

LEARN MORE

Recognition 
& Support


We’re grateful for the awards and grants that support our mission.

Thank you for believing in us.

FUNDERS & PARTNERS

Mulago

Extreme Design School

Marks Family Foundation

Woven Foundation

CRI Foundation

Dioraphte

Godley Family Foundation

Flooret

Osprey Foundation

AutoDesk Foundation

GLG

Dovetail Impact Foundation

SVCF

Sint Antonius Stitching Projecten

Skoll

Steele Foundation for Hope

Rippleworks

Floor & Decor

Ray and Tye Noorda Foundation

Pilot House Philanthropy

Pershing Square Philanthropies

Morgan Stanley

Izumi Foundation

Habitat for Humanity

Kissick Family Foundation

WHERE WE OPERATE

CONTACT


MEDIA SPOTLIGHTS

See what the world is saying about our work.