Single-family houses in Kostinbrod

In 2013 in the town of Kostinbrod, on a land of 1,170 sq. meters that was acquired by the Foundation in 2005, the construction of 4 single-family houses began to resolve the housing issue of families with two or more underage children in need of housing. They were selected according to the selection criteria for candidates:

• To be Bulgarian citizens who have been living/working for the last 5 years in settlements in the Municipality of Kostinbrod or in Nadezhda District, Vrabnitsa District, Novi Iskar District or Lyulin District – Sofia Municipality;
• To not be owners of a home, villa or other properties and to not hold the right to use such property;
• To not hold the right to build, to not be included in individual or group housing construction, or to be cooperative members of residential housing cooperatives;
• To be families (or living on a family basis) with two or more minor children;
• To have a net monthly family income above BGN 600 and below BGN 1 000;
• To be willing to participate voluntarily in the construction process.

The design of the houses was developed by arch. Dobrinka Kamburova and her team. The houses are one floor, single family detached houses and are built with ceramic blocks “Porortherm”, produced by Wienerberger Group, which ensures high energy efficiency of the buildings. The project was supported by the Kostinbrod Municipal Council and was exempted from local fees for the investment process.

The construction of the houses was carried out with the active participation of the future homeowners and teams of volunteers – Global Village, Corporate, Youth and Local teams. They took part in all the construction activities required for the building of a new house – laying the foundations, masonry and plastering of walls, roof insulation, fencing, vertical planning. Over 400 volunteers from 45 countries have spent tens of thousands of working hours, helping to reduce labor costs.

For the implementation of the project, Habitat for Humanity Bulgaria involved corporate partners that provided building materials for free or at preferential prices. Thanks to the donations of corporate partners such as Wienerberger Group, Tondach Bulgaria, PipeLife Bulgaria, Saint-Gobain Construction Products Bulgaria, Titan Zlatna Panega Cement, Rollplast, Intext, Velux Bulgaria, Semmelrock Stein+Design, MetLife Bulgaria, Whirlpool, Procter & Gamble, etc., and the support and financial donations of the volunteers, a low cost construction was achieved.

The first two families have been living in their homes since 2015. In 2018 the next two houses were completed and are being prepared for new families to take up residency. Through this, the organization provided accessible and quality homes and a decent life for 10 children and their parents.