With greater Caribbean interest, DuraVilla Homes to produce 500 houses this year

DuraVilla Homes, a Guyanese company, has caught the attention of more Caribbean nations and this year, the company intends to produce and export 500 of its modular houses.

This was revealed by the company’s head, Rafeek Khan, during an engagement with reporters on Monday.

According to him, Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) is interested in 50 houses; Grenada, 500 and St. Lucia, 2,500.

The Heads of State of these countries were in Guyana recently for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) meeting and they were able to examine the model house on display at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown.

Since 2022, the company’s modular houses have found favour with regional markets. About 1,000 of these Guyana-made houses are being procured to support the housing revolution in Barbados. St. Vincent and the Grenadines also supports the venture.

Khan said 135 houses were produced last year and of that number, 98 were shipped to Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

“What we need to do this year is to increase the supply chain of raw materials that comes into DuraVilla homes,” Khan said, explaining that these houses are produced in collaboration with several other stakeholders in the forestry value-chain and other local businesses.

Those companies in the supply chain, Khan said further, are those which produce other supplies like windows, roofing and furniture.

Last year, DuraVilla Homes set an ambitious goal of producing 1,000 of the wooden, modular houses. The company’s Head, however, noted that access to financing was a challenge faced.

There was also the challenge of slow construction of the houses in the countries they were exported to. Now, however, Khan said warehouses have been established in both Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines to help move the construction along. The modular houses, once exported, can be assembled in a day.

Khan also noted that the formation of a local consortium, a process in the works right now, should also help DuraVilla Homes get supplies regularly.