Clean Tech East member, Extremis Technology, based at Hethel Engineering Centre near Wymondham, is poised to launch a crowdfunding campaign on the crowdcube.com platform to raise £100,000 of investment for its first production run.
The funding will pay for 25 of the company’s Hush1 shelters to be built and shipped to the Dominican Republic. The shelters are designed to be assembled rapidly and are big enough to house a family of 5. They are built using sustainable timber that reduces the impact of making them whilst making sure they don’t leave a negative impact when they’re no longer needed.
The clean tech business, which was only launched in 2012, is working with a charity, Techo, that wants to trial the shelters as a way of improving slums.
Chief executive Julia Glenn, whose previous career included working as software developer and international banker, said:
“They are an NGO (non-governmental organisation) working across Latin America so if the trial is successful it could lead to deployment on a much bigger scale.â€
The first shelters going to the Dominican Republic will be made by New World Timber Frame, in Saffron Walden, Essex, but Extremis has also agreed to sell the rights for further manufacture of the design to take place on the island.
