Vanuatu Pathway to Ownership

Creating a pathway to home ownership in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

Photo by Wendy Christie: Site in Port Villa.

This project will be Vanuatu’s first attempt to roll out a broad public housing initiative. If successful, it is expected to generate significant interest across the broader Pacific region as a prototype for public housing for Small Island Developing States. This comes at a critical time in Melanesia and the broader Pacific when rapid urbanisation is at the forefront of development issues.

Professor Mathew Aitchison

As part of the broader Fres Wind Development project, we are collaborating with the Ohlen Community and the Department of Lands (Vanuatu) to create a sustainable home ownership social impact initiative in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

The Fres Wind Development project will relocate some 83 households from an existing water catchment area to a site adjacent to Ohlen in Port Vila. The land has been purchased and subdivided by the Vanuatu Government’s Department of Lands for this purpose. The primary purpose of the relocation is to prevent contamination of the water supply caused by settlement within the catchment area.

In consultation with the Ohlen community and the Vanuatu Government, it was established that the greatest overall need for the new Fres Wind development is safe and appropriate housing.
The Pathway to Ownership pilot project will provide a platform to test the parameters and outcomes of the broader housing project, which is in essence a micro-lending scheme linked to improved housing outcomes.

In collaboration with the community, our group will assist with formulating building regulatory frameworks and provide loans to pay for the resources for three new houses to be built by the community.

This project aims to assist with building know-how and access to financial resources that are tied to land tenure, to facilitate long-term equity generation and improved housing standards.