Brian Onen on LinkedIn: Reflecting on my YEP journey and contribution to Easy Housing 😊 Working… (2024)

The YEP return training; a curtain raiser to an impactful career journey 👷🏾♂️I was privileged to once again visit the Netherlands to explore its architecture, urban planning, agriculture and culture. From visiting the Hoge Veluwe National Park to the Museum of the Canals, I was immersed into a deeper understanding of the rich history of the Netherlands. What a breather before I could start the YEP training!! The training which brings together 18 Young Experts, delved deep into personal development among other topics, looking at achievements from the previous year and setting goals for the upcoming one. The experience has not only influenced me personally but also Easy Housing, as it has given me the tools to expand my knowledge and abilities, and help the company grow from a startup to a scale-up.One great achievement from the Young Expert Programmes is finding a nexus in my backgrounds; Architecture, Sustainable Construction and Smart Farming which I'll leverage to not only continue creating impact at Easy Housing, but also serve hard-to-reach communities in having better access to healthcare, education and affordable housing.I'm glad to continue participating in the programme and even more energised to take on the challenges that lie ahead 💪🏾Valuable achievement can sprout from human society only when it is sufficiently loosened to make possible the free development of an individual's abilities ~ Albert Einstein

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I'm glad to have been a part of this project and seeing the impact it has created from contributing to sustainable forestry, reducing CO2 emissions and creating jobs through local sourcing of materials and labour.#sustainableandregenerativematerials#localvaluechains#zerocarbon

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The career shift!November 2021 remains a remarkable moment in my career after about 3 years of working as a freelance architectural technician and project manager in a construction sector that I hoped to changed one day. The many clients I had worked for always wished to have fast and affordable construction yet this was not achievable with cement, bricks, and steel which are some of the biggest contributors to the carbon emissions from the construction industry. Of course, it's not easy shifting to a career with limited practice in the country but I had to keep my head up and move forward amidst the challenges I encountered along this new path. The challenges even motivated me more to be enthusiastic about Affordable Housing and Construction. I attended a number of trainings and webinars that aligned with my passion and through this I met incredible people that further shaped my career in Green Building and Sustainability. Joining Easy Housing as a Project Manager for Uganda on a pilot housing project in a refugee settlement was a milestone after years of building a career in affordable housing, green building and sustainability. Being a new concept undergoing research and development, it exposed me to more like-minded people and a global team to work with. It's been a year now and I'm proud of how much I have grown in my career and seen Easy Housing scale up its building concept in Uganda and across the African continent with local and sustainable sourcing of materials and labour to close the housing gap while contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and making an impact in the localities in which it implements its projects. To the affordable housing, green building and sustainability enthusiasts out there, with focus and consistency, let's keep grinding hard to close the housing gap and achieve a carbon zero future. Much appreciation to UGREEN, Saving Earth Africa, ArtFriTecture Collaboration Studios, and Easy Housing for walking this journey with me!!

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I was pleased to co-facilitate user research with Butterfly Works and CEFORD for the Easy Housing RVO SBIR phase II project in West Nile, Uganda.We conducted interviews and co-creation sessions with supply chain partners of the project to find out their feedback on Easy Housing's design of the humanitarian housing typology, and explore opportunities for value chain and capacity development. The supply chain partners included carpentry workshops in Arua and Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement, and also the host community along the river Nile in Rhino Camp from which Easy Housing sourced papyrus stems for the pre-pilot house built in phase I of the project. Lots of valuable insights were shared by the supply chain partners in regard to the design, materials and cost of the humanitarian housing typology. It was interesting to hear their opinion on engaging women in construction, locally sourcing materials and labour, especially for humanitarian housing and how this contributes to local economic development for the persons of concern (refugees), and people from the host communities. In this project, Easy Housing aims to provide training to youth and local carpenters including women, to acquire skills in its building concept, and build homes for humanitarian agencies and organisations operating in the refugee settlements in West Nile. #womeninconstruction#circularandbiobasedhumanitarianhousing#sustainabledevelopmentandtheSDGs

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I attended the Young Expert Programmes' kick off training in the Netherlands two weeks ago, and since then, I've noticed a significant improvement in my work ethic at Easy Housing.From the training sessions on personal development, project management, business growth, and the Water-Energy-Food Nexus, I received knowledge and skills in communication, problem solving, mindset change, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), sustainability, and the circular economy. I also learnt about the various social, economic, and political challenges faced around the world and how best to solve them in an inclusive and sustainable way through the exchange of knowledge and sharing of experiences with my fellow YEPpers from over 10 countries.Valuable achievement can sprout from human society only when it is sufficiently loosened to make possible the free development of an individual's abilities ~ Albert EinsteinI'm grateful to Easy Housing and the Young Expert Programmes for giving me this opportunity to grow my career and profession!#careergrowth#personalandprofessionaldevelopment#sustainabledevelopmentgoals

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I'm glad to be a part of this gender balanced and energetic team always putting in effort to provide inclusive, sustainable and affordable housing across the globe.It's a call for everyone to take action and ensure inclusion of more women especially in the construction industry.#genderequality#womeninconstruction#internationalwomensday

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After 3 days of the intense personal development training of the Young Expert Programmes in the Hague, Netherlands, today I was honoured and privileged to present to the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), the progress of phase II of Easy Housing's project in Uganda; "Circular, disaster-resilient, and affordable homes for refugees in Uganda". Easy Housing received an assignment from RVO to further scale up it's sustainable, social and scalable housing solution for the humanitarian context and make it ready for market adoption, especially in Uganda.The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) helps entrepreneurs and organisations to invest, develop and expand their business and projects, both in the Netherlands and abroad through it's funding and networks. RVO is a government agency which is part of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. #emergingmarkets#homesforthehumanitariancontextinuganda#sustainablesocialscalable

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The way people feel about any space depends crucially on how it is divided up, painted, lit, entered and furnished.📷 Photo source: Internet#greenliving #sustainableconstruction #greenherorise

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