About the Organization
Worldwide, 1.6 billion people live in substandard housing with dirt floors and mud structures, causing disease, poor quality of life, and physical insecurity. In rural areas, affordable and sustainable housing is scarce, leaving millions vulnerable to unhealthy living conditions. Concrete, commonly used for flooring, is expensive for many families, difficult to transport, and carbon-intensive.
EarthEnable is catalyzing the development of a green housing industry in Africa. The organization partners with and trains local masons to offer affordable, locally sourced, and environmentally sustainable building materials that ensure the comfort, health, and dignity of families in eastern Africa while minimizing the industry’s overall carbon footprint. Its innovative model fosters economic mobility and market-driven solutions while addressing the housing crisis in sub-Saharan Africa.
Dirt floors, used widely in homes throughout Africa, can harbor parasites and lead to disease.
Ambition for Change
EarthEnable is committed to transforming rural housing so that every family can live in a healthy, dignified, and sustainable home.
Path to Scale
EarthEnable aims to scale its operations to meet the growing need for affordable housing in Africa, expanding through partnerships to new regions. By 2030, it seeks to catalyze an industry of affordable, sustainable construction companies and provide healthy homes for all.
Gayatri Datar
Co-Founder and CEO, Earth Enable
Gayatri Datar is the co-founder and CEO of EarthEnable, a social enterprise transforming living conditions for vulnerable families through sustainable, affordable flooring solutions. Under her leadership, EarthEnable achieved a 60% growth in impact from 2023 to 2024, improving the health and well-being of over 200,000 people and covering 4.4 million square feet of floors. Gayatri’s innovation stems from her commitment to creating healthier, dignified living environments for underserved communities.
Before EarthEnable, she worked in international development with organizations like Dalberg, the World Bank, and the Gates Foundation, gaining expertise in social entrepreneurship, agriculture, and energy access. An Echoing Green Fellow and Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient, Gayatri holds an MBA from Stanford (Arjay Miller Scholar) and an MPA/ID from Harvard. Her work bridges global experience and local impact, addressing systemic challenges with scalable, human-centered solutions.
- More than 200,000 people across Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda have benefited from EarthEnable’s innovative approach to affordable and sustainable flooring, which has created or improved over 1,000 jobs in eastern Africa.
- EarthEnable's novel earthen floor and protective varnish product is 70% cheaper and uses 90% less energy to produce than concrete flooring.
- EarthEnable co-founded the Local Building Materials Think Tank, which wrote the nationwide regulatory standards in Rwanda for building with adobe blocks, and is currently advising adoption of the same regulations in Kenya.
Douglas Dullo
Uganda Managing Director, Earth Enable