Social Housing For The Harmonious Integration of Indigenous Populations Into Congolese Society: The Case of the Republic of Congo

Abstract

Based on the premise that all people are equal before the law, the Republic of Congo Brazzaville has adopted laws and texts prohibiting all forms of discrimination against indigenous peoples. This is an important step towards their integration into Bantu society, instead of remaining victims of marginalisation, discrimination and inhuman and degrading treatment. Despite occupying large equatorial forests and vast territories of very low density, the indigenous population has not yet appropriated its land and natural resources. To this day, housing estates in the Congo's cities obey the principles inherited from the colonial period, including the distribution of populations according to social status and membership of a community or ethnic group; just as the existing housing stock includes dwellings and flats for westernised Bantu populations and foreigners. Having left the forest, indigenous communities now live in precarious and unhealthy villages and neighbourhoods on the outskirts of urban and rural communities. So there is an urgent need to rethink the habitat that will promote harmonious cohabitation between Bantus, indigenous peoples and foreigners. On the basis of demographic data, the study proposes a typical social housing model for indigenous households, with floor areas ranging from 75 m² to 220 m². The use of locally manufactured building materials and the participation of the beneficiaries in terms of labour will enable local people to master construction techniques on the one hand, and to optimise construction costs on the other.