Making safe homes affordable.
Build up Nepal trains entrepreneurs to produce climate-friendly Eco-bricks, build safe, affordable homes, and create inclusive jobs in low-income communities. Here’s how it all began…
Entrepreneurs
Houses
Jobs
Ton reduced CO2
emissions
Our story
Build up Nepal started with a dream of a safe, brick house. In 2015, a massive earthquake hit Nepal. More than 8,000 people lost their lives and hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed. Our co-founders, Björn Söderberg and Bina Shrestha, travelled around the country to help affected families rebuild. Björn recalls, “It was just heartbreaking. We understood that many poor families in Nepal dream of living in safe, brick houses, but cannot afford it.” As Bina explains, “We wanted to find a long-term solution and housing was the problem. We found this interlocking brick solution that was used in housing as a disaster-resilient kind of building. It didn’t require any kind of infrastructure, it was eco-friendly, and it could be done with local supplies.”
Nepal is one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries. There is an urgent need for affordable, safe homes, which are traditionally built with coal-fired bricks. The brick industry is a huge polluter, and linked to poor working conditions.
Build up Nepal is on a mission to make safe houses affordable, and to free the world of fired bricks. Our technology is greener, cheaper and safer than fired bricks. Our locally-led model trains entrepreneurs to produce Eco-bricks and build disaster-resilient homes in their communities. The result is financially sustainable enterprises, building safe houses and creating inclusive, local jobs.
We have supported hundreds of entrepreneurs to build more than 12,000 homes, create 1,900 jobs and remove 122,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. But, there is more to be done. By 2030 we aim to build 50,000 houses, save half a million tonnes of CO2, and scale within South Asia.
Meet the Team
Meet the people who lead our passionate team of change-makers building safer, greener homes across Nepal.
Bina Shrestha
Co-Founder and Director
Bina has over a decade of experience working with marginalized communities and women entrepreneurs. In 2021, she was awarded the Waislitz Global Citizen Award for her leadership in empowering rural women through sustainable business. Bina says, "If I am in a position to help others, I’ll do whatever I can do within my means."
Björn Söderberg
Co-Founder and Managing Director
Björn has spent his career building social businesses in Nepal that tackle poverty and climate change. He leads our strategy, technology development and scaling. Björn says, "Creating meaningful, lasting change is challenging. But if you listen to the people you serve, and act on what you learn, you can do it. Never give up."
Indra Dev Chaurasiya
Engineering Manager
Indra has in-depth experience in rural construction and is instrumental in embedding disaster-resilient practices into our building methodology, while ensuring we continue to innovate. Indra says, "Our Eco-bricks tackle environmental concerns and provide affordable, disaster resilient housing. I'm proud that we create job opportunities for women and youth."
Shweta Sijapati
Partnerships Manager
Shweta brings over 13 years of experience in the business sector and specialises in building strategic partnerships to strengthen our network and connect our entrepreneurs to opportunities for growth. Shweta says, "I love being part of this mission to scale Eco-bricks, empower local entrepreneurs and build safer, greener communities in Nepal."
2030 Goals
500 new micro-enterprises
Support 500 Eco-brick micro-enterprises to become financially sustainable, creating 10,000 inclusive jobs.
Save half a million tonnes of CO2
Save half a million tonnes of CO2 by replacing coal-fired bricks with Eco-bricks.
Build 50,000 homes
Build 50,000 affordable, disaster-resilient homes.
Scale in South Asia
Replicate our model through partners in South Asia, particularly in disaster prone countries.
Our partners
We collaborate with NGOs, multilateral organisations, government, donors and companies.
We are looking for bold, new partners who share our vision – get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.
Our digital partner
WebSearch – a Swedish web agency specialising in accessible, AI-driven, sustainable digital solutions – supports our website, technical infrastructure, and digital communication tools, helping us reach more people online.